In this article
What Is Collagen and Why Is It Important?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, made up of 19 amino acids, including key ones like proline, glycine, and hydroxyproline. These amino acids, combined with vital nutrients such as vitamin C, zinc, copper, and manganese, form strong, rope-like fibers that provide structure and support throughout the body.
Collagen plays a crucial role in maintaining the health and strength of your skin, bones, muscles, joints, and connective tissues. It acts as the “glue” that holds your body together, supporting everything from skin elasticity and hydration to joint flexibility and bone integrity. In short, a strong collagen network helps you look youthful, feel strong, and move comfortably.
Why Does Collagen Decline with Age?
Starting in your mid-20s, collagen production declines by about 1–2% each year, and you may lose up to half of it by your 60s. This natural aging process is caused by slower cell activity, hormonal changes, and an increase in collagen-degrading enzymes.
This reduction leads to signs of aging like wrinkles, joint stiffness, and weaker hair and bones. The loss can be accelerated by lifestyle factors such as sun exposure, smoking, a high-sugar diet, and chronic stress.
How does collagen support and transform skin health?
Your skin is composed of a variety of essential elements such as proteins, lipids (fats), water, and minerals that all work together like the intricate parts of a finely tuned machine. But among all these components, collagen stands out as the true secret to youthful skin. Because while lipids help lock in moisture and water keeps skin plump, it’s collagen that acts as the main foundation, the scaffolding that gives your skin its structure, strength, and elasticity.
Collagen forms a dense network of fibres beneath the surface, holding everything firm and in place. Without it, the skin’s foundation weakens, leading to sagging, wrinkles, and a loss of that firm, radiant glow.
Why do most Collagen supplements fall short?
Many people turn to creams and masks for youthful skin. While these can hydrate the surface, they can’t reach the dermis — the deeper layer where collagen is made. Skincare experts realised that lasting change starts from within, leading to collagen supplements. But not all deliver; many are poorly absorbed or lack enough active ingredients to spark natural collagen production.
Most collagen supplements fall short for three key reasons:
- Poor Absorption: Collagen molecules are naturally too large to be absorbed effectively. Even when “hydrolysed” (broken down), the resulting peptides are often still too big or lack the correct structure to pass through the gut and be used by your skin or joints. Much of it is simply digested as generic protein.
- Lack of Stimulation: Many supplements only provide raw protein but fail to actively stimulate your body’s own collagen-producing cells (fibroblasts). They deliver materials but don’t switch on the “factory” to build new collagen.
- Missing Co-factors: Collagen synthesis requires essential nutrients like Vitamin C and Zinc to work. These crucial co-factors are often missing from supplements, making them incomplete.
An effective supplement doesn’t just add protein; it must be bioavailable and contain ingredients that activate your body’s natural ability to produce collagen.
Learn what to look for in a collagen supplement here
The science of Collagen activation
Collagen loss is a natural part of ageing.
While your lifestyle choices, like sun protection, nutrition, or stress management, can slow this process, collagen decline is inevitable and tends to accelerate significantly over time.
To stimulate the production of fresh, strong collagen fibres that improve your skin’s firmness, elasticity, and radiance, your body needs a powerful combination of specific collagen-supporting elements.
There are three key pillars of collagen stimulation:
- Collagen building blocks: The essential components collagen is made of
- Supportive co-factors: Nutrients that trigger and enhance collagen production
- Protective antioxidants: Compounds that shield newly formed collagen from damage
Together, these elements work synergistically to enhance, support, and protect your body’s natural ability to generate collagen — resulting in healthier, more resilient skin. Let’s examine how and why they are needed for collagen production.
What are the building blocks of Collagen?
Your body builds collagen from three specific amino acids: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline.
Most modern diets lack these building blocks, as they are primarily found in animal skin and connective tissues. This makes it especially challenging for vegetarians and vegans to get enough.
Supplementing with a targeted formula can ensure your body has the necessary raw materials to produce healthy collagen.
Watch this video to learn how the AVEA Collagen Activator stands out from other collagen supplements and what makes it uniquely effective by Collin Ewald, Scientist and Professor at ETH Zurich.
Which supportive co-Factors are needed?
Even with the right building blocks in place, your body can’t efficiently produce collagen without certain essential co-factors — nutrients that activate and sustain the collagen-building machinery inside your cells.
One of the most critical co-factors is Vitamin C. It not only plays a direct role in stimulating collagen synthesis but also stabilises the newly formed collagen fibres, ensuring they are strong, resilient, and properly structured. Another important supporter is Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG). AKG is a naturally occurring compound that provides essential metabolic support for collagen renewal at the cellular level. By enhancing cellular energy and metabolic efficiency, AKG helps your skin rebuild and regenerate collagen more effectively, promoting a healthier and more youthful appearance from within.
Why are protective antioxidants necessary?
Even after your body successfully produces fresh collagen, the work isn’t over.
Newly formed collagen fibres are extremely vulnerable to damage from external stressors like UV radiation, pollution, and oxidative stress.
Without protection, collagen can quickly degrade — undoing all the progress your skin has made. That’s where powerful antioxidants come in.
One of the most potent and effective antioxidants is Astaxanthin, a naturally occurring compound sourced from microalgae.
Astaxanthin acts like a shield for your skin’s collagen, helping to neutralize free radicals before they can cause damage — keeping your skin firmer, more resilient, and visibly healthier over time.
Why did AVEA developed AVEA patented Collagen Activator
We were frustrated by the lack of truly effective collagen supplements on the market.
Inspired by the science of natural collagen stimulation, we collaborated with leading longevity researchers from the renowned ETH Zurich to create something different — a formula designed not just to supplement, but to stimulate, activate, and protect your skin’s natural beauty from within.
It’s 100% vegan, sugar-free, and clinically proven to be 4-times more effective than regular collagen supplements.
Hear from Sophie Chabloz, AVEA Chief Science Officer, as she shares why the AVEA Collagen Activator is a product you can truly trust.
What is Colgevity™, our patented collagen precursor?
Our innovative formula is based on Colgevity™ — a clinically tested, vegan collagen precursor.
It combines the exact three building blocks of collagen — glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline — in the optimal ratio your body needs.
Unlike typical collagen supplements, Colgevity™ has been scientifically shown to convert more efficiently into real, functional collagen within the body.
Co-factors and antioxidants for maximum collagen support
To maximise collagen production and protect newly formed fibres, AVEA’s Collagen Activator combines powerful co-factors and antioxidants alongside our patented collagen precursor.
- Acerola cherry extract, one of nature’s richest sources of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis — it strengthens the collagen matrix, boosts moisture retention, and improves the skin’s resilience against daily stressors.
- Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AKG), a key molecule in cellular metabolism. AKG not only supports efficient collagen synthesis, but also helps reduce inflammation and promotes the body’s natural self-repair mechanisms at the cellular level.
- Astaxanthin, one of the most powerful antioxidants found in nature, provides critical protection against oxidative stress, particularly from UV exposure.
Watch this video to understand how each ingredient in the AVEA Collagen Activator works, explained by Collin Ewald, Scientist and Professor at ETH Zurich.
Together, these ingredients ensure that your body can build, strengthen, and preserve youthful, radiant skin from the inside out.
Finally! Vegan collagen solution that works
Our Collagen Activator is one of the very few truly vegan natural collagen supplements available today.
While most collagen products still rely on animal-derived sources like bovine or marine collagen, our innovative Colgevity™ precursor offers a 100% plant-based, cruelty-free solution — with superior effectiveness.
Because it delivers the building blocks of collagen instead of relying on animal-derived collagen itself, Colgevity™ empowers your body to naturally stimulate and produce its own collagen, leading to firmer, more youthful looking skin and lasting results.
Clinically validated results
Can you really measure the effects of a collagen supplement? With AVEA, the answer is yes.
Thanks to modern skin analysis technology, it’s now possible to objectively track changes in your skin before and after taking a collagen supplement – from texture and firmness to pigmentation and hydration. Using tools like high-resolution facial scans and UV imaging, improvements in skin health can be made visible and measurable over time.
To put our Collagen Activator to the test, AVEA ran a 6-month observational clinical study, in collaboration with the dermatology clinic Hatwerk in Zurich Isabel, one of the participants, was eager to share with us her experience with our advanced formula – designed to stimulate the body’s own collagen production. Here are the results:
After just three months of consistent use of our Collagen Activator, Isabel’s skin analysis revealed measurable improvements across multiple markers:
- Brown spots: Minor but steady reduction of 4.3% in the first month and 2.2% by the third month.
- Hydration: Skin hydration levels surged by 18.6%, especially on her cheeks and arms.
- Spots & hyperpigmentation: Saw a dramatic 144.4% improvement, leading to a more even skin tone and reduced dark spots.
- Wrinkles: Initial increase, then smoothed out to a 7.1% decrease, giving her skin a more youthful look.
- Texture: Rapid enhancement of 73.9% within the first month, stabilising at 39.1%, leaving her skin smoother and more refined.
- Sun damage (UV spots): Reduced by 42.9% in the first month, settling at a 14.3% improvement after three months.
- Red areas (Inflammation): Reduced inflammation by 11.8% initially, with continued improvement to 4.4% by three months.
These changes, captured through a professional Visia scan imaging, reflect more than just surface-level improvements – they indicate a real shift in skin health from within.
AVEA Collagen Activator isn’t just about beauty – it’s about supporting long-term skin vitality on a cellular level. And Isabel’s story is just one example of what’s possible when science backs your skincare.
Overall, our clinical study showed promising results within 3 months – with significant changes in skin quality:
- On average, we observed a reduction in biological age by 1.4 year
- Skin hydration improved by 30% within just 1 month
- Skin texture improved by 8% within just 1 month
- 97% of participants reported improvements in their skin quality within 3 months
