Live Conscious is a popular collagen brand that claims to have sold over 1 million bags of their collagen peptides. The product won a "Best for Skin" award in 2020 from Byrdie, and the brand describes their product as "Hair, Skin, Nail & Joint Support."
But is collagen actually shown to improve skin and joint health in medical studies? Does Live Conscious' product provide an effective collagen dose? Does it have any unhealthy additives? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of this product?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze medical studies on collagen to determine if it actually improves skin and joint health.
We'll analyze the ingredients in Live Conscious Collagen to give our take on whether it's effectively formulated or if it's a waste of money, and feature unsponsored customer reviews of the brand.
Is Collagen Overrated?
Collagen is the structural protein in skin, and it’s one of the most well-studied supplements for reducing wrinkles.
As we age, our body’s collagen production slows down, and medical research has shown that supplemental collagen can help replenish collagen levels in the body and improve skin.
An extensive medical review published in the International Journal of Dermatology analyzed data from 18 clinical trials on oral collagen supplementation, and concluded that it can significantly enhance skin quality:
“Based on results, ingestion of hydrolyzed collagen for 90 days is effective in reducing skin aging, as it reduces wrinkles and improves skin elasticity and hydration.”
A 2019 meta-study suggests that the effective daily dosing range of oral collagen supplementation for skin is 2.5 grams (g) to 10 g.
Collagen can also improve joint health. A medical review from 2019 evaluated whether orally-administered collagen could reduce osteoarthritis (OA) symptoms. The researchers concluded that collagen reduced OA symptoms overall, and was particularly effective for reducing stiffness.
We consider collagen to be one of the most promising therapeutic supplements for improving skin quality and reducing wrinkles, and also to have significant research backing for improvements to joint health.
A YouTube creator named Autumn Bates discusses whether or not collagen can also support weight loss in a video with over 70,000 views:
Live Conscious Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Live Conscious Collagen Peptides are shown above.
Collagen peptides sourced from grass-fed animals is the only ingredient, making this a clean, healthy and effective formulation.
As we documented in our review of Orgain Collagen Peptides, animal products from grass-fed animals tend to be more nutritious than animal products from conventionally-raised animals, based on medical studies we've surveyed.
The dose per-serving is 11 g, which is around the maximally-effective dose for improving skin quality as we documented in the previous section of this article.
We approve of this product from an ingredient perspective, and consider it likely to improve skin quality and support optimal joint health.
The price of this collagen powder per-10-g-dose (which we consider the maximally-effective dose) is around $1 per serving when factoring in shipping fees.
This is a similar price-per-serving to most of the brand we recommended in our recent best collagen peptides review article, although our cheapest pick was around 30% less expensive.
We Tried Live Conscious Ourselves
As the author of this article, I wanted to try Live Conscious collagen myself, to share my thoughts on the taste and overall product experience.
I take collagen daily, so I was curious to compare Live Conscious to the brand I usually use (Vital Proteins).
The powder mixed well into coffee (how I typically take my collagen peptides) and was tasteless. There were no "chunks" that I had to break up with a fork, as is the case with some brands.
This brand comes with a plastic serving scoop, which I appreciate.
As far as effects, I have noticed that collagen appears to improve my skin quality and make me look slightly younger. I don't take it primarily for this purpose, but I do believe this product can have a modest anti-aging effect.
Overall, I'd rate Live Conscious 9/10, and this is a brand I'd purchase from again.
Where to Get the Best Price
Live Conscious is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of the two products reviewed, at the time of publishing this article:
Collagen Peptides
Target: $35.12 (link)
Brand website: $34.99 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $34.95 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
Beyond Greens
Brand website: $36.99 (plus shipping, link)
Walmart: $39.99 (free shipping, link)
Amazon: $39.99 (free shipping, link)
Live Conscious supplements are slightly more expensive (around 5-15%) for a one-time purchase on the brand's website than at select third-party retailers.
Influencers Try Live Conscious
A YouTube creator named “I.Am.JenneKim” shares her experience using this supplement and whether or not it benefited her skin:
A TikTok creator named Sierra Devin claims that Live Conscious Collagen improved her hair and nails:
@sierradbaldwin Seriously has made my hair grow so fast & my skin loves it too! #liveconsious #collagen #collagenpowder #amazonstorefront ♬ original sound - Sierra Devin
Live Conscious Beyond Greens Review
The ingredients in Live Conscious Beyond Greens (the brand's green powder) are shown above.
All of the active ingredients in this formulation meet our standards.
Matcha leaf and chlorella are examples of nutrient-dense, whole plant material that can improve health.
A medical review published in the Nutrients journal found that chlorella has antioxidant, anti-diabetic, blood-pressure-normalizing and cholesterol-normalizing effects in humans.
It's worth noting that the total dose per serving is only 3.8 g, which is lower than most of the green powder supplements we've reviewed on Illuminate Health.
Natural flavor is an inactive ingredient that we consider to be questionable from a health perspective, although we rank it above artificial flavors in terms of healthiness.
As we documented in our Beauty Focus Collagen Plus reviews article, at least one medical review suggests that some flavoring additives and their metabolites may be toxic.
Overall we consider this green powder likely to support health, especially for consumers who don't eat many fruits and vegetables in their diet, but we don't currently recommend it due to the inclusion of natural flavor.
Real Customers Review Live Conscious
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
Live Conscious Collagen Peptides has been reviewed over 60,000 times on Amazon, with an average review rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “LECIA YOUNG” who claims the supplement is superior to a competitor:
“I was using another brand and I thought it was good but then I saw this brand listed as #1 on a survey so I decided to buy this one. Within 2 weeks of taking this, my very dry skin went away.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is from a user named “A. Nicole” who claims that there were quality control issues with one of their purchases:
“Upon opening the new bag I was hit with a very strong unpleasant smell that wasn't present in the first bag. I figured as long as it still dissolved well and is tasteless I'll ignore the smell. It dissolves fine but the taste was unbearable.”
Live Conscious has an average review rating of 1.38/5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, but the brand does currently respond to all customer complaints, which is a sign of quality.
Live Conscious has an average review rating of 4.2/5 stars on Facebook.
Live Conscious Collagen Peptides has an average review rating of 4.8/5 stars on Google.
Live Conscious Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Live Conscious in our opinion:
Pros
- Great prices
- Collagen sourced from grass-fed animals
- Collagen supplement should improve skin quality
- Collagen supplement contains no additives
- Mostly positive online customer reviews
Cons
- Greens product contains natural flavor
- Greens product is expensive per-gram
- Brand website charges for shipping
- Neither product we reviewed appears to be clinically tested
