Collagen supplement with amino acids for hair loss
What it found
In people with hair loss, adding a collagen, amino acid, iron and selenium supplement to standard drug treatment improved hair growth scores more than drug treatment alone over 12 weeks.
The supplement was generally well tolerated.
What they found
Studies in people
Hair growth scores
After 12 weeks, the supplement group had a higher average hair growth score (1.67) than the drug-only group (0.66). After 6 weeks, only the supplement group showed an increase.
More responders
Half of the supplement group (50%) reached a score of 2 or more, compared with 23% of the drug-only group.
Doctor and patient ratings
Doctors and patients both rated global clinical efficacy higher in the supplement group than in the drug-only group.
Tolerability
The supplement was generally well tolerated. Investigators reported good or very good tolerability in 97.7% of the supplement group and 96.1% of the drug-only group.
Stomach side effects
No gastrointestinal side effects were reported by 86.4% of the supplement group and 94.1% of the drug-only group.
What the authors conclude
“An oral supplement containing hydrolysed fish-origin collagen, taurine, cysteine, methionine, iron, and selenium has demonstrated to improve the clinical efficacy of specific anti-hair loss treatments in subjects with AGA/FAGA or chronic TE.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that the oral supplement containing hydrolysed fish-origin collagen, taurine, cysteine, methionine, iron and selenium improved the clinical efficacy of specific anti-hair loss treatments in subjects with AGA/FAGA or chronic TE.
- They note that additional studies are needed to fully understand the role of nutritional supplementation in managing hair loss conditions.
How it was done
The authors wanted to test whether an oral supplement containing hydrolysed fish collagen, amino acids, iron and selenium could improve hair growth when added to standard hair loss drugs, since no controlled data existed for this product.
They ran a 12-week randomised, assessor-blinded trial in 83 people with androgenetic alopecia or chronic telogen effluvium at six dermatology clinics in Italy. Participants took either the supplement plus their prescribed drug treatment or the drug treatment alone.
What it can’t tell you
- The trial was not double blind, so participants knew which treatment they received, which could affect subjective ratings.
- The study lasted only 12 weeks, so it cannot show whether the benefits continue or fade over longer periods.
- The two groups had different numbers of participants (48 vs 35), which may slightly affect the results.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- MM and FC are employees of Difa Cooper Catabria Labs that commercialized the food supplement. The authors report no other conflict of interest in this work.
The paper
- Title
- Efficacy and tolerability of an oral supplement containing amino acids, iron, selenium, and marine hydrolyzed collagen in subjects with hair loss (androgenetic alopecia, AGA or FAGA or telogen effluvium). A prospective, randomized, 3-month, controlled, assessor-blinded study
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Milani M, Colombo F, GFM‐O‐Trial Investigators Group (2023). Efficacy and tolerability of an oral supplement containing amino acids, iron, selenium, and marine hydrolyzed collagen in subjects with hair loss (androgenetic alopecia, AGA or FAGA or telogen effluvium). A prospective, randomized, 3-month, controlled, assessor-blinded study. Skin research and technology. doi:10.1111/srt.13381Free full textPubMed 37357646DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error