Before your hair can grow, your hair follicle must be in its active stages of the adult hair growth cycle. During this phase of the hair growth cycle, your hair follicles are activated and the hair follicle cells, amino acids, and keratin needed to build your hair shaft are constantly being produced.
So can collagen peptides stimulate the activation of the hair follicle? With collagen and collagen peptides providing the necessary amino acids for keratin production as well as aiding in fighting against free radicals that damage the follicle, the answer is yes collagen peptides can help hair follicle activation.
Should You Use Collagen Peptides For Hair Follicle Activation
While hair follicle activation isn’t exactly caused by collagen peptides, they do offer support and essential factors to the whole active stage of your hair wherein the follicle produces hair. Collagen peptides, in particular, provide the short-chain amino acids needed for keratin that make up your hair during the cycle of hair growth.
Without sufficient amounts of amino acids and keratin in your body, it is unlikely for you to experience hair regrowth. In addition to keratin production, collagen peptides provide hyaluronic acids that are essential in retaining moisture and protection for the environment surrounding the hair follicle as it begins to produce hair in its active stages.
Collagen peptides can also help prevent damage to the hair follicle itself and as a treatment of hair loss. As natural antioxidants, collagen and collagen peptides can provide protection against free radicals and the possible harm or permanent hair damage they may cause to the human hair follicles.
Fighting against free radicals is important due to the fact that when human hair follicles are damaged it could take around 4 years to completely heal and allow proper hair growth again. In the worst-case scenario, severely damaged hair follicles may remain permanently dormant and never produce hair again.
Which Type of Collagen Peptide is Best for Hair Follicle Regeneration?
While collagen and collagen peptides are often used as an umbrella term in the cosmetics and health industry, the type of collagen and collagen peptide you produce or supplement can have a significant effect on your body and hair follicle activation. In the human body, there are 4 main types of collagen peptides which are labeled as Type I, Type II, Type II, and Type IV. Though all of these types play important roles in the overall health of your body, Type I collagen peptides are perhaps the most crucial type of collagen in building hair follicles cells and their active regrowth.
Type I collagen peptides are the most commonly found type of collagen within your body. It is responsible for things like the health of human skin, tissue regeneration, bone health, and active hair growth. While naturally occurring in your body, as you age and approach your 30s all types of natural collagen production begin to decrease.
With the decrease in collagen peptides, hair growth and hair follicle stem cell production tend to slow down the older you get as well. To prevent the loss of type I collagen peptides and other types of collagen, adopting a collagen-rich diet or adding collagen peptide supplements may help your body produce more collagen, subsequently continue aiding in hair follicle activation, and be a viable treatment of hair loss.
Collagen Peptide Supplements for Hair Follicle Activation and Hair Growth
If you’re looking to take collagen peptide supplements to help your hair follicle activation and hair growth, there are quite a few different types of supplements that are readily available in the market. While oral collagen peptide supplements can be found in either a powder or capsule, other types may vary in form.
Before taking any supplement, it would be best to contact your healthcare provider to assess which would be the most suitable for your current health condition as well as to avoid any adverse effects and reactions that may come about from the supplements. Here are just some general things to watch out for when choosing your collagen peptide supplement:
1) Choosing Between Powder and Capsule Collagen Peptide Supplements
While collagen peptide supplements regardless of if they come in powder or capsule form will help the production of hair follicle stem cells and hair follicle activation, you may want to take one over the other depending on what your body needs. The main difference between the two types of collagen peptide supplements is the amount of collagen you get per serving.
If your doctor prescribes a higher dose of collagen peptides as a treatment of hair loss to have better control of hair growth, then powdered collagen supplements may be better for you. On average, one serving of powdered collagen supplements will have around 20g of collagen peptides while a capsule may only have 3.3g per pill.
While you may think that taking a higher dose of collagen peptides will always provide you with better chances at hair follicle activation as it could provide more growth factors, taking too many collagen peptides may cause more harm than good. The effects of collagen when overproduced include damage to the human skin, hair follicle development, immune responses of the body, and internal organs.
If you weren’t prescribed a higher dosage of collagen supplements, a capsule should help hair follicle development and hair regrowth without the risk of overdosing and having any adverse effects take place.
2) Topical Collagen Supplements for Hair Follicle Activation
If you cannot take oral supplements for whatever reason, there are a few topical drugs and treatments that could aid in the activation of human hair follicles. Topical collagen peptide treatments usually come in the form of a cream or a gel that is then applied directly to the scalp and hair.
When absorbed by human skin, it’s possible that the collagen peptides will provide some visible benefits such as the healthy appearance of the hair shaft, vibrant hair color, and all-around thicker hair regrowth. It’s also important to note that while not as potent as orally taking collagen, topical collagen treatments have been said to provide support to the human hair follicles and promote the cycle of hair growth to a certain degree.
Types of Collagen Peptide Supplements for Hair Follicle Activation and Regrowth
Collagen peptide supplements can be either taken orally or applied on the scalp. Depending on a person’s unique needs and wants, the right kind of collagen peptide supplements must be recommended by the provider to them.
1) Oral Collagen Peptide Supplements
If the patients prefer having their collagen peptide supplements taken orally, they’re free to do so. But if the provider has a better recommendation, then this must be followed. Some types of collagen peptide supplements that can be taken orally include marine collagen peptides, bovine collagen peptides, and vegan collagen peptide supplements.
A. Marine Collagen Peptides
Marine collagen peptides are derived from the bones, skin, and scales of fish. In recent years, these marine-derived collagen peptide supplements have risen in popularity as it has been shown to be a good source of type I collagen most similar to what is naturally found in the human body. When ingested either through a capsule or powdered supplement, marine collagen peptides have been shown to provide benefits specifically to skin regeneration, tissue engineering, and hair follicle protection.
Marine-based collagen peptides boost the amino acid levels found in the body and can help produce hair follicle cells as well as certain to activate the cycle of hair growth. In addition to this, these supplements also offer several other amino acids needed for hair follicle activation and hair protection such as proline and glycine.
Proline and glycine amino acids have antioxidant properties that fight off free radicals that could damage hair follicles cells that stunt the adult hair growth cycle. All in all marine collagen peptides could be an effective source of collagen and used as a treatment for hair loss and hair follicle activation.
B. Bovine Collagen Peptides
Similar to the marine collagen peptide supplements, bovine collagen is also a type of animal-derived collagen from the bones, skin, and cartilage of a cow. While similar, what makes bovine collagen different from marine collagen peptides is the type of collagen it provides. Both marine and bovine collagen peptides provide type I collagen, however, bovine collagen also provides type III collagen.
While Type III collagen is often used for skin regeneration and skin wound healing, these two factors play an essential role in hair follicle activation. When your hair follicle is damaged, it cannot properly enter the active anagen hair growth stage. By boosting type III collagen and wound healing capabilities, any injury around the skin of your scalp and hair follicle stem cells that prevent hair follicle activation can be addressed and repaired.
With bovine collagen peptides repairing the damage to your hair follicles, hair growth and proliferation of hair follicles may be activated or resumed.
C. Vegan Collagen Peptide Supplements
While most collagen peptide supplements for hair follicle activation are derived from animals, it’s possible to have a vegan alternative provide similar benefits. Since there’s no vegan source of collagen, most plant-based collagen peptide supplements include ingredients that promote the natural production of collagen in your body.
Though it’s not a source of collagen, vegan collagen peptides do have the amino acids and amino acid sequences that are needed to help build keratin and activate the hair follicle for hair growth.
2) Topical Collagen Peptide Supplements
If the patients prefer having their collagen peptide supplements applied topically, they’re free to do so. But if the provider has a better recommendation, then this must be followed. Some types of collagen peptide supplements that can be topically applied include retinol treatments and collagen hair masks.
A. Retinol Treatments
While retinol creams have been a staple in skincare for years, they can also be used as a topical drug treatment for hair growth. Topical application products containing Retinyl palmitate or retinol have been shown to promote collagen and cell turnover including hair follicle cells.
By increasing the hair follicle cells turnover, retinol treatments aid in decongesting the hair follicle and sebaceous glands on your scalp providing a healthy and ideal environment for your hair follicle and hair to grow in. With an increase in cell turnover and decongested hair follicles, retinol treatments may not only kickstart hair follicle activation but can also provide healthy and thick hair as an end result.
B. Collagen Hair Masks
Collagen hair masks are applied directly to the hair shaft and scalp to be absorbed into human skin. Usually a mixture of collagen peptides and oils, collagen hair masks also aid in providing an ideal environment for hair growth and hair follicle activation. This is because collagen hair masks provide moisture to the hair follicle and protect it against some free radicals.
While these types of mask can help the quality control of hair growth and promote hair follicle activation to a certain degree, it’s important to note that the effects of collagen from this treatment is unlikely to penetrate anything below the epidermal cells of your scalp. While it may show some visible benefits to your hair shaft or hair color, it’s very much a surface level solution for hair follicle activation and will probably do very little in treating genetic hair loss conditions like androgenetic alopecia.
Other Methods of Hair Follicle Activation
While the effects of collagen peptide supplements and topical drugs promote hair follicle activation, there are other ways to achieve this goal without taking or applying collagen peptides directly to your body. A copper peptide treatment and minoxidil, in particular, are great alternatives to collagen supplements and contain growth factors which can be applied to human skin.
A copper peptide treatment can help increase follicle size and prevent follicle inactivity which not only keeps your hair in the active growth stage longer but it can also help make your hair visibly thicker and healthier. Minoxidil, on the other hand, is applied to the scalp and promotes tissue regeneration while reactivating hair follicles that may otherwise no longer be producing hair. Minoxidil is often used as a treatment for genetic hair loss conditions like androgenetic alopecia as it can help with tissue regeneration and stimulate human hair follicles to produce hair.
Hair Follicle Development and Active Hair Growth with PEP Factor Only at FACE Med Store
With hair follicle development and hair follicle cells decreasing in production as you age, supplements and treatments become more necessary to promote active hair growth. While collagen peptides are great, there are many other treatments that help with the control of hair growth and the health of hair follicle cells.
Here at FACE Med store, we offer PEP Factor for scalp rejuvenation to promote scalp health. Combining the benefits of copper peptides and fibroblast growth factors, the PEP factor may help with hair follicle activation, control of hair growth and provide visible improvements to the appearance of hair.
Contact us today for wholesale purchases of PEP Factor.
Give your patients Pep Factor from FACE Med Store, and provide them with a unique alternative for promoting their skin and scalp health.
