Collagen is the most abundant protein in the human body, but as we age, our bodies ability to produce collagen slows down. Other factors also play a role, such as poor diet, sun exposure, oxidative stress and smoking, which all negatively impact our collagen levels.
The benefits of supporting the bodies collagen production go beyond the desire to have youthful looking skin, as collagen is also imporant for healthy bones, joints, hair and nails.
So how can we protect and support our bodies collagen production as we age? Wearing a good SPF, avoiding too much alchohol and refined sugar is a good place to start. Eating a healthy balanced diet that includes good quality protien and an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables is also important. And, we can also take collagen supplements if we wish to do so.
However, collagen supplements are derived from animal sources, which may not be suitable for everyone, especially for those who follow a strict vegan diet. That’s where plant-based collagen alternatives come in.
Skip to Learn more about Plant-based Collagen Alternatives | Skip to product recommendations.
Collagen supplements
I have always been sceptical about taking collagen supplements for a few reasons.
If you’ve been here before and read some of my other posts, you’ll know that I am a bit of an advocate for all things sustainable and planet friendly. Suplementary collagen is entirely derived from animal sources. They are usually made from bone broth using pigs (porcine collagen), beef (bovine collagen), and fish (marine collagen).
It’s very difficult to know how these animals were raised and a lot of collagen supplements will not offer transparancy about where they source their collagen. It’s very likely that the collagen will have come from animals raised using intensive farming methods because they produce a cheaper product. This also has implications for our health because the animal products produced using intensive farming methods are often contaminated with nasty things we don’t want in our food, such as heavy metals and antibiotics. This is something I personally am not comfortable with. You can read more about my thoughts on that matter here in my post about organic farming.
The Organic Consumers Assiociation (OCA) tested 28 of the top best-selling collagen suplements and found that many of them tested positive for measurable levels of highly toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and cadnimun. You can read more about their findings here.
Trying a Vegan Alternative
Like most people, I am starting to think more about my health and my appearance as I age. As much as I would love to look youthful forever, this is an unrealistic way of thinking, and will only result in anxiety about wrinkles and sagging skin. Instead, I hope to postpone the negative symptons that comes with age while supporting my heath as much as possible, so that I can age gracefully and hopfully without any serious health problems. Supporting my bodies natural collagen production as it slows down will play a key role in this goal.
Plant-based collagen alternatives work in much the same way as animal-based collagen, by providing the body with the building blocks it needs to produce its own collagen. Unlike animal-based collagen, however, plant-based alternatives are free from hormones and antibiotics and other contiminents such as heavy mentals, making it a safer to consume.
I have so far tried two vegan alternatives, both of which contain a plant-based collagen biomietic called VeCollal®. You can read more about my thoughts on those products below.
VeCollal® and Amino acids
Although animal collagen has a similar amino acid profile to human collagen, it is not identical to human collagen.
Collagen is made up of 19 amino acids with high amounts of 3 key amino acids: glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. The ratios of these three amino acids vary depending on the source.
VeCollal® is different in the fact it is identical to human type 1 collagen (The type that is important for mainting youthful looking skin), making it a biomimetic as mentioned above. It supplies the perfect ratios of amino acids for building collagen naturally in the body. The formular also includes three additional nutrients, which stimulate the body’s natural collagen production; Vitamin C, Ginseng and Asiaticoside. You can read more about how VeCollal® works on their website.
How affective are Vegan collagen alternatives?
Studies on vegan collagen alternatives are still limited and ongoing. Further research is needed to fully understand the potential benefits and effectiveness of plant-based collagen as detailed here. Some initial studies suggest that it can be a promising alternative for individuals following a vegan lifestyle who are looking to support their skin and joint health.
According to their website, the principles that form the foundation of VeCollal® are supported by over 50 studies. I havn’t been able to find any of these exact studies online, but will keep looking and will share them here if I can find them. It looks like you can contact VeCollal® for more information about these studies as well.
It’s important to keep in mind that dietary supplements, including plant-based collagen, may not be evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and their efficacy may vary among individuals. It’s always recommended to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.
Products to try
First I purchased Feel Pro Collagen, and once I had finished my months worth of that, I decided to try a cheaper alternative from Bulk. I enjoyed both, but my personal favouirte of the two was from Bulk. Read on to find out why.
Feel Pro Collagen
Feel Pro Collagen was how I discovered VeCollal®. Their beautiful branding graced my instgram feed and pulled me in. I was curious to know more, so I did some research into the ingredients in the product, looked at some reviews on Trustpilot and then made my first purchase.
Save 20% with my refferal link
Flavour: 3/5
Enjoyable peach flavour, but quite subtle. It’s best disolved in about half a pint or it tastes too weak (personal preference). I also noticed a slight aftertaste and smell that is similar to disolvable orange vitamin C tablets that I’m personally not a fan of flavour wise. There is now also a pinapple and grapefruit flavour available, but I’ve not tried this one myself.
Packaging: 2/5
Although the packaging looks great, it’s not fit for purpose. It wasn’t air tight enough and about half way through the month of using the product, it had turned to clumps that would take ages to dissolve in water which was really frustrating. This is unfortunate because the packaging is made from 100% plant-derived, plastic-free, compostable materials, which is a great thing.
Price: 2/5
It is expensive. As of writing this post it costs £56.43 for a one-off purchase of 300g. You can buy animal-derived collagen for much less (although I would question the quality of cheap supplements… cheap usually also means low quality ingredients). They do give the option to subscribe and save 30% if you wish to do so.
Feel also sell a wide variety of other supplements. I can’t vouch for most of those as I have only purchased Feel Pro Collagen, and more recently, their new Smooth Skin supplement. It is too early to review the Smooth Skin supplement as I’ve been taking it for less than a month, but it’s an anti-cellulite supplement.
Bulk Vegan Collagen
After finishiing with my months supply of Feel Pro Collagen, I set out on a mission to find a cheaper alternative. That’s when I came across Bulk Vegan Collagen. Bulk Vegan Collagen is also made using VeCollal®, but it’s about half the price of Feel.
Flavour: 4/5
At first, I disolved the poweder in about half a pint of water and it was far too sweet for me, so I opted for a full pint for my second try, which was much better. There are two flavour options – mixed berry and orange. I chose mixed berry. It tastes a bit like forest fruits squash. I definitely prefer the flavour of Bulk Vegan Collagen compared to Feel Pro Collagen.
Once I had run out, I placed another order. They only had the orange flavour in stock, but since they were offering 70% off at the time, I decided to opt for the orange flavour. I didn’t want to miss out on the offer or wait for them to re-stock the berry flavour. Obviously flavour preference is totally subjective, but I found the orange flavour very unpleasant, so I wouldn’t recommend this flavour. I’ve only ordered the berry flavour since.
Packaging: 4/5
The packaging is not so pretty, but at least it kept the powder in powder form the entire time until I finished the whole pack! When I first started buying from Bulk, over 87% of Bulk pouches were fully home compostable, using a triple-layer of natural cellulose, biodegradable film and FSC-certified paper. I can’t find any up-to-date information on their current packaging, which recently changed, but you can read more about them here, which briefly mentions they use sustainable packaging. I find the pouch to be a bit big for the amount of powder and also a bit tricky to get the poweder out wihtout getting it all over my hand (could just be me being clumsey though). The pouches are re-sealable.
Price: 3/5
To me the price is far more reasonable. As of writing this post it costs £34.99 for a one-off purchase of 250g (50g less per pack than Feel). So far, I’ve not found a better/cheaper version of this product
———-
Overall Verdict – I’m a fan!
I’m really excited to see products like VeCollal® on the market. I like to make consious buying decisions with sustainability and health in mind.
I’ve been using the above products for about two years (edited March 2025). For the first first month I was using Feel, and for the rest of the time I’ve used Bulk.
There hasn’t been a hugely noticable difference in my skin in terms of signs of aging, because luckily I don’t have many signs of early aging yet (I’ve just turned 35 at the time of editing this). I have defintiely noticed an improvement in how hydrated my skin looks and feels.
Although the noticable difference is minimal, I am enjoying taking a supplement that provides my body with all the amino acids it needs to build collagen naturally. This has given me some peace of mind when it comes to looking after my skin as I get older.
Disclosure: Some of the links featured in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through to these products and make a purchase. I will only ever recommend products that I personally use and benefit from. For more information, please click here.
Thank you for reading, have a beautiful day.
~ Faine
Discover more from Tellurian Treasures
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.