Surgery, acne, falls… Scars always tell a story. But for some, one question keeps coming up: what can be done to make them less visible? How can we speed up wound healing?
Collagen supplementation is sometimes presented as a solution. And this intuition is logical: collagen is a protein in the body that actively participates in skin healing when the skin is damaged.
And yet, it is this same molecule that is produced in excess and in a disorganized way in the most problematic scars . It is therefore difficult to state with confidence that “more collagen” is necessarily synonymous with “better healing”.
I invite you to take a look at what the scientific studies actually show on the subject.
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What is the role of collagen in wound healing?
When the skin is damaged, it regenerates… but not identically, which is why a scar does not quite look the same as the skin around it.
This process takes place in four phases:
- hemostasis, meaning the stopping of bleeding in the minutes following the injury
- the inflammatory phase: immune cells rush in to clean the wound of debris and potential pathogens
- the proliferative phase: after a few days, granulation tissue appears, notably rich in fibroblasts that actively synthesize type III collagen
- the remodeling phase, which extends over several months, where the initially produced collagen III is gradually replaced by type I collagen, which is stronger and whose fibers are reorganized
Collagen is then a major player in the wound-healing process: it is essential for closing a wound and restoring its strength.
However, in some cases, it is produced in excessive amounts and poorly organized during the remodeling phase.
Collagen supplements: what is the evidence?
When a collagen supplement is consumed, it is digested like any other protein and releases its amino acids, which are then distributed throughout the body.
Theoretically, these amino acids could act on skin cells by stimulating fibroblast proliferation, and therefore the endogenous production of collagen. This is the conclusion reached by Mistry and his team in 2024.
But these results were obtained in the laboratory on isolated tissues. What about in humans?
Collagen and scars: what clinical studies show
A review from 2025 that compiled several trials shows encouraging results for the use of collagen dressings or gels compared with more standard care.
Other studies have even directly compared a topical collagen powder with a traditional surgical closure using stitches. In the 8 volunteers, the study showed that six of the eight standardized wounds treated with collagen were completely closed after 4 weeks, with better-organized granulation tissue on histological analysis.
However, I would still like to point out that the study was funded by the manufacturer of the collagen powder being tested. The results should therefore be taken with some caution.
On the dietary supplement side, several randomized trials have looked at hard-to-heal wounds, including pressure ulcers. A study from 2006 involving 89 long-term care residents showed a improvement in healing scores after 8 weeks of collagen supplementation, compared with a placebo.
These results are supported by another more recent trial. Nevertheless, the same problem arises: the study authors work for a collagen manufacturer.
According to scientific research, collagen could show benefits for supporting wound healing, especially in frail people. But today, there is no sufficiently reliable, large-scale scientific study to claim that a topical collagen product or supplement systematically improves all scars.
And for a scar that is already there?
No solid study has shown to date that collagen supplementation, whether oral or in cream form, significantly improves the appearance of old scars (acne, cesarean section, stretch marks, etc.).
Conclusion: a possible ally, not an eraser for scars
There’s no doubt, collagen is essential for wound healing and no wound could really close without it.
As for collagen supplements, there have been encouraging results for boosting active wound healing, especially in people whose healing is more difficult.
On the other hand, when it comes to reducing an already formed scar, I found no serious evidence that would allow collagen to be recommended today as a solution.
If you’re looking to optimize your healing, I recommend adopting other good habits :
- adequate protein intake
- normal vitamin C intake, an essential cofactor for the body’s collagen synthesis
- enough zinc, copper, and vitamin A, all three involved in skin repair
- stopping or reducing smoking
- Protecting recent scars from the sun to prevent them from darkening permanently
Finally, if you notice that your wound is healing poorly or that your scar is changing in an unusual way, I strongly recommend that you seek medical advice.
Sources and scientific studies
- Mistry K et al. (2024) Porcine‐derived collagen peptides promote re‐epithelialisation through activation of integrin signalling.
- Szlachcikowska D et al. (2025) Current Insights and Future Directions in Scar Management and Skin Regeneration
- Qureshi A et al. (2019) A Head-to-Head Comparison of Topical Collagen Powder to Primary Closure for Acute Full-Thickness Punch Biopsy-Induced Human Wounds: An Internally Controlled Pilot Study.
- Lee SK et al. (2006) Pressure ulcer healing with a concentrated, fortified, collagen protein hydrolysate supplement: a randomized controlled trial.
- Sugihara F et al. (2018) Ingestion of bioactive collagen hydrolysates enhanced pressure ulcer healing in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study.
