Tried & True: This is The Best Collagen We Have Found On the Market
BY JENNY JUNG
Potent, transparent, locally-made and sustainable - this 7 in 1 beauty powder is the creme de la creme of ingestible beauty.
24 AUG - 2022
Get your glowjob to work from the inside out.
Whether it’s in the supermarket, the department store or on social media, I’m sure you have come across some form of collagen, one way or another. Thus, it begs the question, what exactly is collagen and how does it benefit us?
Collagen is the protein that maintains our skin elasticity and joint health. It’s the current it-ingredient that promises the fountain of youth - glowy and bouncy skin, stronger nails and lush locks. As we know, collagen is the most abundant protein in our body, however, with time and exposure to free radicals, the rate at which our bodies produce collagen declines dramatically, which in turn, contributes to the visible signs of ageing.
Pro You Marine Collagen Beauty Blend, $99.
Pro You Founder, Anna Thompson-Ford
However, with so many collagen products packing the shelves of every beauty store we walk into, it’s difficult to know which brand we can trust - after all, we’re committing to a daily routine of ingesting this powder. The questions that every consumer should be asking before making any purchase decisions for health supplements is whether or not the brand has transparency around their ingredients’ sources as well as their dosages, the scientific evidence to back their marketing claims, if the product is made under controlled conditions like GMP, and if there are cheap fillers in the product.
The Chatty Chums team has done a bit of research to find which products are legitimately clean and whether they are potent enough to be worth the money. After testing an abundance of products in this saturated market, we came to the conclusion that Pro You knocks every requirement out of the park.
It’s a New Zealand made company that has taken several steps ahead by developing a unique blend that is evidence backed and multifunctional. We’ve done all the hard work of researching Pro You’s Beauty Blend so you can be confident with your purchase decisions. Read ahead to find out why we’re all raving about this product.
Seven in One
This powerful and locally-made blend includes a supportive range of beneficial supplements at potencies that you would usually find in stand-alone products! Essentially, this is a 7 in 1 one-stop-shop. Talk about bang for your buck! The Marine Collagen Beauty Blend does not compromise on efficacy despite its boasting ingredient list. This means that you can take the Pro You Beauty Blend for all your vitamin and mineral needs including 8g of marine collagen, 500mg of vitamin C, 2440mcg of vitamin A, 2000 mcg of biotin, 15 mg of zinc, 100 mg of hyaluronic acid and 5mg of the strongest antioxidant of all - astaxanthin.
Flavoured with New Zealand’s FreshAs® freeze-dried strawberries, it’s incredibly easy to take - you can stir it into a glass of water or milk. Otherwise, you can get creative with your oatmeal, smoothie or use it in baking! You can be rest assured that this blend is free from artificial sweeteners, flavours, fillers and colours! Not to mention, this formula is 100% free of gluten, dairy and GMO’s.
This 7 in 1 beauty powder is the creme de la creme of ingestible beauty.
Transparency is Key
When embarking on the journey of finding the perfect beauty powder, it is imperative to land on a brand that is honest about their ingredients, the source of them and the dosage. Surprisingly, transparency is rare in this industry. In light of this, Pro You has been incredibly engaging with their audience. Not only do they aim to educate us on the benefits of collagen, Pro You provides plenty of research to back up their claims. Coupled with their transparent take on the ingredients of their products, ProYou is absolutely deserving of the Chatty Chums stamp of approval. Plus, Pro You is NZ made, women-led and sustainable!
Marine Collagen Beauty Blend 220g $99 NZD
The Fundamentals of Marine Collagen
The first thing to note is that collagen is too big to be absorbed whole and it must be broken down into peptides called collagen hydrolysates (CH). Once ingested, the body further breaks it down into bioactive collagen bipeptides and tripeptides which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. Depending on where your body needs collagen the most, the pathways that CH can take is to stimulate fibroblasts for improved collagen, inactivate free radicals to reduce inflammation and cellular damage, or inhibit inflammation by regulating signallers called cytokines.
There are three types of collagen that are currently on the market; bovine, porcine and marine. As collagen is found in hair, skin, nails and connective tissues, there’s no such thing as ‘plant collagen’ - so don’t be fooled by the greenwashing of ‘vegan collagen’ as there simply isn’t such a thing! Marine collagen has a lower molecular weight than bovine or porcine collagen and can be absorbed 1.5x more efficiently, and so, it makes for the obvious choice as a nutraceutical product. Plus, in its structural form, is the most similar to human collagen!
Pro You utilises Marine Verisol® F Bioactive Collagen Peptides - the creme de la creme of collagens. According to research conducted by peer reviewed randomised control trials, Marine Verisol® has been proven to increase the collagen content in the skin, improve skin elasticity, reduce eye wrinkles, enhance the health and growth of hair and nails, and decrease cellulite. With a whopping 8mg dosage of this top-grade ingredient, you will visibly notice these differences yourself!
Where is ProYou’s Marine Collagen Sourced?
Think of collagen like a piece of string that you cut into different lengths. Some lengths will be better for tying a bow, some will be better for hanging an ornament and some will be, quite frankly, a bit useless. It all comes down to the kind of marine collagen that is being sourced for these kinds of products. Thankfully, ProYou is one of the few companies that are readily willing to disclose the source of their collagen supplier. As a result, we are provided with research regarding the efficacy and safety of the products we are ingesting.
Pro You sources their collagen from a world-leading collagen supplier that has been based in Germany for the past 147 years - Gelita. Their collagen peptides are the most researched on the planet and no other supplier is able to match the level and quality of clinical studies on Gelita. The results of which have found improved skin and joint health, body composition, and other musculoskeletal conditions.
Over the last ten years, several clinical trials with nearly 500 study participants produced the results previously mentioned. The research on Verisol® uses data collected from peer-reviewed randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which are the gold standard for research. Furthermore, these RCTs assess a diverse range of ethnicities which are essential to understand the benefit to diverse consumers - not just a segment.
Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin is nature's strongest antioxidant that is a warrior against environmental stressors and pollution in the form of free radicals. An antioxidant 8000 times stronger than vitamin C, astaxanthin maintains skin health, firmness and hydration. Furthermore, it supports joint and tendon health as well as helping your recovery process from physical activities.
Pro You sources astaxanthin from AstaMAZ - a local and sustainable supplier from New Zealand, derived from non-GMO haematococcus pluvialis microalgae. They grow their algae in an all-closed tubular system with filtered water and natural sunlight and then extract the astaxanthin from the algae biomass via Supercritical Carbon Dioxide, without any other solvent.
Despite all these amazing benefits, ProYou is currently the only collagen product in New Zealand to utilise astaxanthin. With an impressive dosage of 5mg per serve, you can confidently strut the streets knowing that your skin is fighting off free radicals that impair your collagen production.
Hyaluronic Acid
Skincare 101: hyaluronic acid is the key to dewy, plump and hydrated skin! Sometimes, topical serums and face creams just don’t cut it and ProYou has presented us with the perfect solution via ingestible beauty.
As you may already know, HA holds 1000 times its weight in water. As a result, this ingredient draws and retains onto moisture like no other in the game. HA is naturally produced in our bodies in the form of long chains of sugar molecules called glycosaminoglycans. In the Pro You Marine Collagen Blend, it works like a magnet by holding onto collagen and elastin fibres in a proper, stable configuration. With a dosage of 100mg per serve, it competes with other stand alone HA supplements. So, why not take it in the form of a collagen blend? These two ingredients are a match made in heaven.
Sustainability
While Pro You may be operating on the premise that sustainability is an important value to the brand, working with suppliers that do not align with their goals would completely defeat their purpose. Pleasantly, Gelita is just as committed to sustainability concerns as Pro You. Such a collaboration actively seeks to engage in sustainability practices that ultimately contribute to a cleaner ocean and atmosphere ensured by their sustainability reports.
Beauty is one of the largest contributors to waste on the planet. As consumers, we have the responsibility to support climate positive companies who are self-aware and determined to make a change. Personally, seeing that Gelita is aiming to produce net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by halving emissions by 2030, I feel a duty to support the cause behind brands like ProYou. However, at the end of the day, in order to make a change, brands must be able to create excellent products - which Pro You is doing.
The founder of Pro You, Anna Thomson-Ford, makes a true effort to source her ingredients locally in New Zealand with Kiwi ingredients to support local businesses and further reduce carbon footprints. In terms of outer-packaging, the canisters that house the collagen powders are curb-side recyclable, while the pouches are home-compostable. Triple thumbs up!
Is the Marine Collagen Beauty Blend For You?
Boosting our natural collagen productive levels are a great way to supplement our joint health as well as refining our physical appearance. Afterall, the skin is the largest organ on the body and we ought to be kind to ourselves by rewarding our hard working mechanisms with ingredients like marine collagen, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A and rich antioxidants.
No one can have enough collagen in their system! Whether you have clear skin, acne prone skin, dermatitis, eczema or psoriasis - the blend of collagen, vitamins and minerals will be your lifelong best friend. Topical creams and serums that cost hundreds of dollars can only take us so far. If you are investing in your skincare, take some time to appreciate the health of your skin too.
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