Supplements for skin: hyaluronic acid capsules, collagen, vitamins C and E, and omega-3

What matters more for your skin than any vitamin

Sunburn increases your risk of skin cancer, and the NHS is clear that there’s no safe or healthy way to get a tan. No capsule protects you from UV. The NHS advice:

• Use sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and at least 4-star UVA protection.
• Apply enough, reapply often and always after swimming.
• Don’t rely on sunscreen alone: wear clothing, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
• Spend time in the shade when the sun is strongest – in the UK, 11am to 3pm from March to October.

“UVA” in a circle on the bottle means the sunscreen meets the EU standard for UVA protection. If you’re spending money on skin supplements but skipping sunscreen in summer, swap the priorities.

Vitamins for skin: what has been studied

There are shelves of “skin” supplements and little data on each. The table sums up what’s known so far.

Supplements help skin mainly when you’re short of something. If you eat a reasonable diet, don’t expect a visible change in the mirror.

Hyaluronic acid supplements

Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan) is found in all connective tissues, including skin and joint fluid. It holds water, which is why it’s added to creams as well as capsules. This section is about capsules.

What the trials found:

• 2017, Japan. 60 people aged 22–59 with crow’s feet took 120 mg a day or placebo for 12 weeks. Wrinkles measured from skin replicas were smaller in the hyaluronic acid groups.
• 2021, Taiwan. 40 healthy adults aged 35–64 took 120 mg a day for 12 weeks. Wrinkles, skin surface hydration, water loss through the skin and elasticity all improved.

The weak point: both studies included researchers from a company that makes hyaluronic acid. They were small, and all participants were Asian. So the fair summary is “there may be a small effect”, not “proven”.

Hyaluronic acid is often sold in blends with collagen, vitamin C and biotin. Compare each ingredient’s dose with the trials, not with the packaging claims. If you want to try it, use the trial dose of 120 mg a day and judge after 12 weeks. There’s no safety data in pregnancy or breastfeeding, so don’t take it then without medical advice.

Collagen for skin

Collagen is the most popular supplement “for firmness”. There’s more research on it than on hyaluronic acid: mostly women aged 20–70 taking 2.5–10 g of peptides a day for 8–12 weeks. Reviews that pool every trial show a small improvement in hydration and elasticity.

But a 2025 review split the trials by who funded them. Trials not paid for by manufacturers showed no effect, and neither did high-quality trials. For types and doses, see our guide to collagen supplements.

Vitamins C and E for skin

Vitamin C is needed to make collagen. Severe deficiency causes scurvy: wounds heal poorly, the skin develops small bleeds and thickening, and hairs become corkscrew-shaped. Signs can appear within a month on less than 10 mg of vitamin C a day. That doesn’t happen on a normal diet with fruit and vegetables. There’s no evidence that extra vitamin C improves skin if you’re not deficient. More in our guide to vitamin C tablets and daily needs.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant found in plant oils, nuts and seeds. There’s little evidence that vitamin E capsules improve skin. High doses, on the other hand, raise the risk of bleeding and interact with warfarin. Limits and forms are covered in our guide to vitamins A and E.

Vitamin A and skin

Vitamin A helps keep skin and the lining of parts of the body, such as the nose, healthy. You get it from cheese, eggs, oily fish, milk and liver, and your body makes it from beta-carotene in carrots, spinach and other colourful vegetables. So with a normal diet, you don’t need vitamin A supplements for your skin.

Retinoid creams and prescription isotretinoin are medicines, not a vitamin from a bottle. Don’t combine them with retinol capsules without medical advice. Preformed vitamin A has a low upper limit of 3,000 mcg a day, and too much in pregnancy can harm the baby.

Omega-3 and skin

Fish oil is often sold as skincare “from within”. The best-studied question is eczema. A 2012 Cochrane review included 11 trials of various supplements with 596 participants. Its conclusion: there’s no convincing evidence that dietary supplements help eczema. Two small fish oil studies suggested a possible modest effect, but that’s not enough to recommend it.

When you take omega-3 for other reasons, for example because you rarely eat oily fish, choose by EPA and DHA content. Our guide on how to choose fish oil explains how.

Who should be careful with skin supplements

• On isotretinoin for acne. The NHS lists vitamin A supplements among products that may not mix well with it. Show your dermatologist the label.
• Pregnant or trying to conceive. Too much preformed vitamin A (retinol) can cause birth defects. You don’t need beauty formulas now.
• On warfarin or other blood thinners. High doses of vitamin E and fish oil may affect clotting.
• Before blood tests. Biotin from skin and hair formulas can skew results.
• Children and teenagers. Beauty formulas are designed for adults. Teenage acne is a job for a GP or dermatologist, not social media ads.
• A rash, itching or redness after starting a supplement. Stop it and see a pharmacist or GP.

A dermatologist treats acne, eczema, rosacea and pigmentation; supplements can at best support treatment. Report a new mole, or a mole or patch that changes size, shape or colour, to your GP as soon as possible: skin cancer is much easier to treat when found early.

How to tell whether a supplement works

Skin changes with the seasons, sleep, stress and skincare, so it’s easy to mistake chance for an effect. Your skin in January, with the central heating on, and your skin in June are two different things, capsules or not. To judge a supplement fairly, change one thing at a time, take photos in the same light and keep an eye on the calendar: the trials lasted 8–12 weeks.

How to choose skin supplements on iHerb

1. Start with SPF 30+ sunscreen with 4-star UVA protection.
2. Check your diet: if you eat few fruit, vegetables and oily fish, fix that first.
3. Choose one supplement and the trial dose: hyaluronic acid 120 mg or collagen peptides 2.5–10 g.
4. Avoid formulas with megadoses of biotin, and with retinol if you’re planning a pregnancy.
5. Judge the result after 12 weeks. No difference – don’t carry on.

For more guides, see skin, hair and joints.