Why You Need Collagen

you better believe I added collagen to that iced coffee!

I am going to start out by saying this– I wish that somebody would’ve told me about this magical potion at 17, not 27. It hasn’t been until recently that I have chosen to take action steps towards preventing (or should I say, “slowing”) my aging process. I look back at pictures of myself from college when I thought that I looked “tired” and now I just laugh! I didn’t know tired until now, a sixteen month old and coming up on 30 weeks pregnant, NOW, my friends, I can say that I am “tired.” But, aren’t we all? Don’t we all feel better with a little bit of sun? Don’t we all feel more beautiful after investing and pampering ourselves with a facial? Obviously, but the reality is that the sun damages our skin and $150 facials take a major blow to the bank account..the reality is also that I refuse to stay out of the sun for the rest of my life, and sometimes mama just needs some pampering– but, what happens on all of those “in-between” days when a facial isn’t in the cards, nor is 8+ hours of rest– you guessed it, daily collagen peptides.

As you know if you follow along on Instagram (Grace.E.Allen), there is rarely a morning that begins for me without my collagen iced coffee. I am always doing my best to stay on top of health and beauty tips/trends and I had been seeing a lot of hype surrounding collagen for a while, but it wasn’t until my skin totally freaked out around week 17-22 of my pregnancy that I knew I had to do something (anything) to get it under control. I don’t know about you, but I have never had perfect skin. I know the way that acne, or even a single pimple can take me from feeling confident to making we want to hideaway from everyone. During pregnancy hormones do a lot of crazy things, and one of the “downfalls” of the hormonal surges are the way that my skin responds, some of the time. Long story short, I decided to take a shot at working collagen peptides into my diet and I can tell you now, I will never go back.

I have done my research on all of the collagen products available on the market and I have decided that my absolute favorite brand is Vital Proteins

Besides the incredible results that i’ve seen over the last 6 weeks, another reason that I love Vital Proteins is because they are all-natural, non-GMO, whole food based and cruelty free to animals. As of right now I have only tried the Grass Fed Pasture Raised Unflavored Collagen Peptides, but I am so sold. I like that these are unflavored– the reality is that if something tastes funky, or is unappetizing, I will not stick with it. That is not the case with this. I am planning to give the Beauty Waters and Beauty Greens a try next, and i’ll be sure to update you when I do.

I am all about being transparent about the things that I learn and the products that I love– that is why I do this, after all. I have found that a lot of the best beauty and health tips/tricks are almost “secretive” and saved for celebs and people that are willing to cash out the big bucks to learn them. So, even though I am not a celeb by any means and I do my best to be frugal with our money, I have come across some tips and tricks that have changed the game for me and I want to share them with everyone that I can.

Below I have written up the top benefits of Collagen and why you NEED this in your life. As always, if you have any questions please comment on this post, or message me on IG!

Enhance Skin, Hair and Nails

This is not a joke– I used to have dry, brittle nails and within 3 weeks I noticed a massive change in the strength and length of my nails. Let’s just say that when I went in for a trim a few days ago my hair girl Brooke couldn’t believe how long my hair had gotten since the last time that I was in. I want to be careful here and remind you that I am in fact pregnant, and sometimes amazing things happen to the hair during pregnancy–but, what I will say is that my hair didn’t grow nearly this much when I was pregnant with Luca. Apart from growing longer, my hair overall feels healthier and has added volume and curl. As far as my skin goes- I am going to write separately below about what i’ve noticed.

Glowing Skin 

As I mentioned above, the reason that I finally took the shot and tried Collagen Peptides was because my skin was freaking out. So much for that pregnancy glow that everyone talks about, mine was by far the opposite. Again, I want to be careful in saying that this “new glow” that my skin has acquired could potentially be affected by not only collagen, but also the fact that I am entering into my final trimester of pregnancy (again, hormones)… but, as I said above, I don’t remember the “glow” being quite this real with Luca. Apart from glowing skin, I have absolutely noticed better elasticity in my facial skin, as well as the skin on my entire body. I remember that around the 30 week mark my belly started to get itchy from stretching (although, I didn’t get any stretch marks with Luca (i’ll write a separate post on Preventing Stretch Marks During Pregnancy soon)) and I have yet to experience that this time around.

Improved Digestion 

Not really going to go into detail here, but just take my word for it– it works.

Boost Joint Health

So, sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night to nurse Luca, or race to the bathroom for the sixth time to pee (thanks, growing baby) my ankles and knees make a very unappealing “cracking” sound. I noticed this cracking the most after sitting still, or sleeping. The sound that my ankle used to make was loud enough for others to hear, and I am happy to report that I have noticed this happening far less since adding Collagen to my daily diet.

Increased Energy

I would be lying if I said that I haven’t noticed an increase in energy since taking Collagen daily. Of course, Luca keeps me busy and a growing baby steals a lot of my energy, but before Collagen I was reaching for another iced coffee mid afternoon, and I am no longer tempted to do so.

they say that beauty starts from the inside out, why not add a little more? xo, Grace