Vital Proteins is arguably the most popular collagen brand in the U.S. The brand sells a wide variety of collagen products from collagen powder to collagen bars, and their products are promoted by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston. Many consumers use Vital Proteins supplements to improve their skin.
But does collagen powder actually have anti-aging effects? Do Vital Proteins products provide an effective dose of collagen? Does Vital Proteins contain unhealthy ingredients? And what was our Product Tester's honest experience trying Vital Proteins for a month?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in some of Vital Proteins’ most popular products to give our take on whether or not they're likely to improve skin, and whether or not they're healthy.
We'll review Vital Proteins Collagen Powder, Collagen Water, Beauty Collagen, Collagen Creamer, Protein Powder and Collagen Gummies.
We'll also analyze whether or not collagen can have anti-aging effects, and share our Product Tester's experience trying Vital Proteins Chocolate Collagen powder for a month.
Key takeaways:
- Collagen is clinically proven to have anti-aging effects
- Vital Proteins provides effective collagen doses
- We currently recommend Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Advanced
Does Collagen Have Anti-Aging Effects?
Collagen protein has a wide variety of health benefits, but most consumers take it for improvements to skin. As we age, our natural collagen production decreases which can accelerate skin aging and increase wrinkles.
Oral collagen supplementation is proven in medical research to improve a wide variety of skin parameters, including collagen density, skin elasticity and hydration.
The dose of collagen used in medical research varies, but we recommend a dose of 10 grams (g) daily, which appears to be the maximally effective dose.
A recent medical review summarized 19 clinical trials on collagen for skin and concluded that “collagen peptides can delay and improve the signs of skin aging by decreasing facial wrinkles and improving skin hydration and elasticity.”
All of the studies except one used a dosage at or under 10 g daily except for one.
Clearly research shows that collagen supplementation can improve skin quality and reduce visible effects of aging, and we recommend a daily dose of 10 g.
The improvements to skin typically take weeks to months, and are not instant.
Collagen Peptides Advanced Review
The ingredients in Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Advanced are shown below:
Collagen peptides in this supplement are sourced from grass-fed animals, and clinical studies have shown that food sourced from grass-fed animals is nutritionally superior.
The 20 g dose is within the effective range, as established in the previous section of this article.
Hyaluronic acid is included at a 120 milligram (mg) dose.
A 2015 clinical trial reported that hyaluronic acid improved skin moisture at this dose.
Vital Proteins has significantly improved this formulation since our initial publication of this review, increasing the hyaluronic acid dose from 80 mg (underdosed) to 120 mg (effectively-dosed).
There are no ingredients in this formulation we consider to be unhealthy.
Overall, we consider Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Advanced likely to have an anti-aging effect, and we currently recommend this supplement.
We Tried Vital Proteins Ourselves
One of our product testers named Hannah Westerman tried both the unflavored and the Chocolate flavors of Vital Proteins collagen powder for a month.
Here's her experience:
The powder does not come with a scooper so you need to use a tablespoon. The regular powder is a little harder to mix with liquid, it often gets clumpy. The chocolate powder mixes easily.
The taste of the regular powder is neutral but I find that it is best in smoothies, overnight oats and granola bars because of this.
The chocolate powder tastes good but is sweetened with stevia and that flavor is fairly prominent. If you don’t like stevia, you probably won’t like this powder.
These collagen powders helped me to stay full for a while, gave me energy and contributed to high protein breakfasts that stopped cravings later in the day.
I did not experience any side effects from either powder.
Overall, I rate this product line 9/10, and it's one I plan to continue purchasing!
Vital Proteins Collagen Water Review
Vital Proteins sells a variety of naturally-flavored Collagen Waters.
Peach juice concentrate and other natural sweeteners are used instead of refined sugar, which is a nutritious and healthy choice.
Each Vital Proteins Collagen Water provides 10 g of collagen which is an effective dose.
They retail for around $3/bottle.
From a cost perspective, this is less efficient than mixing 10 g of the collagen powder into a water, which only costs $0.96 per serving.
This product is packaged in plastic, which makes it less healthy than the powdered collagen in our view.
As we documented in our liquid collagen review article, microplastics can leach from single-use plastic bottles into liquid and have negative health effects.
We do not currently recommend Vital Proteins Collagen Water for that reason.
Vital Proteins Before-And-After Images
One of the most popular YouTube reviews of Vital Proteins collagen comes from a creator called Sarah Fit who used the product for three months and shares before-and-after images:
Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer Review
Vital Proteins’ creamer is a much healthier alternative in our opinion to commercial creamers like Coffee Mate which contain added sugar, vegetable oils, artificial flavors and all sorts of questionable ingredients.
Vital Proteins offers three creamer flavors: vanilla, coconut and mocha.
We recommend the Vital Proteins Coconut Collagen Creamer flavor (ingredients shown above) because it contains no added flavoring agents. The only ingredients are: collagen peptides, organic coconut milk powder, silica and organic acacia fiber which makes for the most nutritious and non-toxic creamer we’ve come across in an Illuminate Health review.
Acacia fiber is an especially nutritious thickening ingredient that's been shown in medical research to have beneficial effects on gut health.
A 2022 clinical trial found that acacia fiber supplementation helped to improve gut health and support microbial diversity in the gut.
We recommend Vital Proteins Collagen Creamer.
Vital Performance Protein Powder Review
The ingredients in Vital Proteins Vital Performance are shown below:
This product has a higher protein dosage per-serving (25 g), which is an effective dose for building muscle.
A medical review published in 2013 analyzed data from many individual clinical trials on protein and exercise, and concluded that 20 g to 25 g post-workout maximizes response of muscle protein synthesis.
We don't currently recommend this product because it contains 5 g of refined, added sugar per serving in the form of tapioca dextrose.
For elite athletes, consuming added sugar may improve power and endurance, but added sugar consumption is harmful to human health in excess, and many Americans consume too much added sugar from diet already.
Vital Proteins Collagen Gummies Review
The ingredients in Vital Proteins Collagen Gummies are shown below:
As we explained in our review of Olly vitamins, gummy supplements often contain unhealthy flavoring ingredients compared to powdered or liquid formulations.
That trend holds true with Vital Proteins Collagen Gummies in our opinion.
These gummies provide 2.5 g of collagen per serving, which is still an effective dose, but it's a much less cost-efficient way to get collagen than collagen powder.
The powder, as discussed above, costs $0.96 per 10 g collagen while these gummies cost $2.40 per 10 g collagen.
Glucose syrup and natural flavors are ingredients we recommend avoiding.
Citric acid is another flavor ingredient that has been shown in a series of medical case reports to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals.
We do not currently recommend Vital Proteins Collagen Gummies.
Does Vital Proteins Cause Side Effects?
Collagen is a very safe food product; it’s just a type of protein.
A thorough medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found collagen supplementation to be “generally safe with no reported adverse events.”
Vital Proteins doesn't appear to have been tested in clinical trials, but we can make an educated guess about the risk of side effects based on the stated ingredients.
We do not consider Vital Proteins likely to cause side effects in healthy individuals.
Even the formulations we don't currently recommend for health reasons are free of any ingredients we consider actively dangerous.
Other Vital Proteins Reviews
Vital Proteins Marine Collagen
Clean and effective formulation. Collagen sourced from fish. Good option for pescatarians.
We haven't come across any medical evidence that collagen sourced from fish is more effective than collagen sourced from animals, and this product is more expensive than the standard collagen powder, so we wouldn't recommend this product to individuals who eat meat.
We currently approve of this supplement.
Vital Proteins Matcha Collagen
Safe & effective formulation, no flavorings. Green tea has been proven to have some additional skin benefits like photoprotection.
We currently approve of this supplement.
Vital Proteins Bone Broth Collagen
This broth is sourced from pastured animals.
Bone broth is known to be a nutrient-dense food, but probably doesn’t taste good as a powder (and some reviewers have mentioned this).
A good option from a health perspective, but perhaps not the most cost-effective or tasteful way to get your daily collagen.
We currently approve of this supplement.
Vital Proteins Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Vital Proteins in our opinion:
Pros:
- Collagen is clinically shown to reduce wrinkles
- Effective collagen dose in all supplements analyzed
- Most supplements reviewed are free of unhealthy ingredients
- Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Advanced may have additional anti-aging effects
- Unlikely to cause side effects
- Reasonably priced
- Wide variety of options
- Some products have third-party certifications
- Our Product Tester loved Vital Proteins supplements
Cons:
- Gummies are relatively overpriced
- Gummies contain ingredients we consider unhealthy
- Doesn't appear to be clinically tested
