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In skincare, collagen is as good as gold for anyone wanting to retain a youthful appearance. What if you could invest in and preserve it? Welcome to the world of “collagen banking”, which has gripped skincare enthusiasts and aestheticians — giving brands a new way to promote collagen-based products. That the science behind it is iffy, doesn’t seem to matter.
Collagen is already big business for beauty and skincare: the global category surpassed $1 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow at about 6.5 per cent between 2023 and 2032. Figures released by UK retailer Boots at the start of the year showed that collagen was the third most searched-for skincare ingredient in 2023, beaten only by retinol and hyaluronic acid (both also associated with anti-ageing).
As demand has risen, so has the breadth and form of collagen products on the market. Typically a topical serum, collagen ingestibles are skyrocketing in popularity — expected to reach $8.59 billion by 2029 — as dietary supplements. Brands like Vida Glow and Vital Proteins sell collagen peptide and protein powders, while Goli and Neocell peddle collagen gummies and Skintē and Tru Beauty carry collagen-infused drinks.
Collagen is “like the scaffolding of your skin”, according to Dr Maryam Zamani, founder of MZ Skin, known for its upmarket LED masks. After a certain age — around 25 to 30 — our collagen production naturally drops off, and our skin gradually starts to lose the kind of plumpness and elasticity we associate with looking young. Until recently, the goal of skincare was to turn back the clock on that phenomenon. Now, that’s being replaced by pre-emptive anti-ageing, which is where collagen banking comes in: if you can build your collagen production before it depletes, the declining process will take longer.
It’s going to be an investment. Clinics like MZ Skin offer “in-office collagen banking” as part of its non-invasive rejuvenation treatments. It’s a combination of techniques, including microneedling, PRP skincare (platelet rich plasma), ultherapy (a laser tightening treatment) and LED light therapy — all designed to boost production of the protein before it begins its decline. Dr Shaimaa Jamshidi, plastic surgeon and co-founder of London’s Montrose Clinic, says collagen banking treatments can incorporate Morpheus8 and Thermage — both non-invasive skin tightening techniques — as well as Broadband Light laser therapy.
Even some serums are now using the buzzy “collagen banking” term to promote the idea that you can save up your collagen for a rainy (or saggy) day, like Dermalogica’s, which retails for $89. Also on the rise are exosome serums, made with stem-cell technology. Dr Barbara Sturm’s will run you $535 for a fluid ounce.
Can it really pay off?
Beauty writer and critic Jessica DeFino says there’s nothing particularly new to the idea. “It’s old science that has been twisted out into pseudoscience. Sorry, your body loses collagen — it’s just what happens as we age,” she says. “If there’s anything interesting in this new wave of collagen investment it’s this acknowledgement of beauty as a blatant form of capital.”
With the idea of “banking” in mind, customers are more likely to top up products more often, stick to a regimen longer or pay more visits for repeat treatments. “There is a very real fear of looking older [at play here],” adds DeFino.
The rise of collagen banking, and the non-invasive treatments that can help promote collagen production, also comes as more customers are becoming wary of the long-term effects of filler. Jamshidi treats patients who complain about everything from deepening nasolabial lines (laughter lines), or static forehead lines from frowning too much — and the sooner patients begin treatment, the less-invasive types of treatment they need. She recommends collagen banking, “a proactive approach to skincare”, for anyone and everyone who is worried about getting, or looking, older.
This obsession with ageing is one younger consumers appear to be buying into earlier than before. Gen Alpha are posting TikTok tutorials about their premature anti-ageing routines and stockpiling products aimed at and developed for older skin. The phenomenon has become so widespread that Swedish pharmacies introduced age restrictions on anti-ageing products, banning those 15 or younger from buying any products that contain AHAs, BHAs, retinoids and vitamin C.
But in the UK and the US no such restrictions apply, and demand for pre-emptive care is only growing: research from Trendalytics found that the volume of skincare and beauty products specifically mentioning anti-ageing has risen 10 per cent in the past two years, while data from Circana found 70 per cent of Gen Z (the oldest of whom are just 26) already use anti-ageing products “every single day”.
At the same time, the ideas around anti-ageing have generally changed somewhat. On social media, particularly TikTok, a backlash has emerged to the obsession with youth, encouraging people to age naturally and embrace a more natural look. Influencers like Molly Mae Hague and celebrities like Kylie Jenner have spoken openly about dissolving their facial filler, while products such as Topilase (a cream launched in 2021) help to gradually dissolve dermal fillers at home.
To adapt, the skincare industry has had to become more medicalised and health-focused rather than overtly opposed to looking ‘old’. “Because it’s based on scientific levels of a substance in your body, [collagen banking] is medicalised and framed as a medical or healthcare measure to protect your collagen levels,” says DeFino. “But if that was the case, wouldn’t we also be worried about the collagen in our joints?”
The bottom line: collagen banking, as aesthetician Dr Elena Duque explains, is “not black and white”. While she considers it pseudoscience, she also concedes that there are products and treatments that show promise in boosting collagen, like vitamin C serums and, yes, dermal fillers.
She says these products are sure to outlast the bubble that is collagen banking. Without concrete evidence that our bodies can hoard up collagen for later in life, the safest bet may be to stick to what we already know and avoid the impending crash when the bubble bursts.
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