Head down any supplement aisle these days and the collagen supplement offerings are overwhelming to say the least. You have your powders and pills, bars and beauty gummies, even collagen-infused waters and shots.Â
But your choices donât stop thereâsome are sourced from bovine collagen (thatâs cow), others from marine collagen (thatâs fish) and others still from porcine collagen, otherwise known as pig. And did we mention there are 28 different types of collagen? That being said, only 3 of them (types I, II, III) are the true influencers of firm, glowing skin and stronger, healthier-looking hair. Even so, thereâs still a bunch of confusion out there about which types are found in bovine collagen vs marine collagen vs porcine collagen.Â
So before we dive into the details about marine collagen, letâs set the record straight: Cow, fish or pig, the source of collagen doesnât dictate the collagen type. Bovine collagen, marine collagen and porcine collagen are all composed of the same amino acid building blocks and contain types I, II and III, though each collagen source has different amounts of each type. For example, marine collagen tends to have higher amounts of types I and III while bovine collagen tends to have higher levels of type II. Whatâs important to keep in mind is that not all supplements will contain all types and each supplement will have varying ratios of different types. This all depends on the processing method, which is at the discretion of those formulating the supplements.Â
Now that we cleared that up, letâs take a closer look at this superstar protein.