Loss Of Benefits When Supplementation Stops?
Evidence-led white paper derived from the 2024 peer-reviewed Wiley paper on the AC clinical trial.
Executive Summary
This white paper looks at one of the most practical questions in the trial: what happens after people stop taking the supplement? The answer comes from an exploratory follow-up in a subset of 32 participants who returned eight weeks after the 12-week intervention ended. In that subset, hydration had been up 11% at week 12 but was down to 4% by week 20. Elasticity had improved 53% at week 12 but fell back to 31% by week 20. Wrinkle depth had improved 20% at week 12 but retained only an 8% improvement at week 20.
These data suggest that at least some skin benefits attenuate after discontinuation. That is a useful insight, but it must be framed carefully. The post-supplementation phase was exploratory, based on a smaller subset, and not presented with the same statistical depth as the main efficacy phase. The evidence therefore supports a directional maintenance story rather than a definitive long-term persistence model.
Key Outcomes
| Metric | Result | What it means | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hydration after stopping | Hydration after stopping | Week 12: +11%; week 20: +4% in the exploratory subset. | Hydration benefit appeared to decline after discontinuation. |
| Elasticity after stopping | Elasticity after stopping | Week 12: +53%; week 20: +31%. | Mechanical benefit persisted partially but weakened over eight weeks off-product. |
| Wrinkles after stopping | Wrinkles after stopping | Week 12: -20%; week 20: -8%. | Some wrinkle benefit remained, but the magnitude was reduced. |
Study Snapshot
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| Study design | Study design | Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week clinical trial run under Good Clinical Practice. |
| Participants | Participants | 140 adults enrolled, 130 completed; age 40-60 years; Fitzpatrick I-VI; 90% female / 10% male. |
| Intervention | Intervention | Absolute Collagen supplement providing 8000 mg hydrolysed marine collagen plus 60 mg vitamin C, taken daily or every 48 hours. |
| Core assessments | Core assessments | Confocal microscopy and high-resolution ultrasound of collagen fibers, corneometer hydration, cutometer elasticity, profilometry of wrinkles, expert visual grading, trichoscopy, and self-perception questionnaires. |
Scientific Angle
The post-supplementation subset offers a valuable but exploratory view of maintenance and decline after discontinuation, a question with strong real-world relevance.
Discussion
Persistence data are rare and valuable because real-world use is not always perfectly continuous. Consumers pause, change budget, or alter routines. This exploratory follow-up therefore adds a practical layer to the evidence base: benefits may not disappear immediately, but they are unlikely to remain at peak levels after use stops.
Scientifically, the pattern also supports the view that the observed skin benefits were connected to active supplementation rather than to a one-off transient event. If gains diminish after discontinuation, that suggests maintenance may depend on continued intake. But because the follow-up subset was smaller and exploratory, the right wording is directional rather than definitive.
Limitations and Evidence Discipline
- The post-supplementation phase involved only a subset of 32 participants.
- The follow-up results were exploratory and not reported with the full statistical detail of the main trial phase.
- The subset week-12 values are not identical to the full-cohort week-12 values, so cross-paper comparison must be cautious.
Conclusion
“The exploratory follow-up suggests that benefit is at least partly maintenance-dependent: once supplementation stops, the skin improvements seen at week 12 appear to diminish over time.”
Source note: derived from the peer-reviewed 2024 clinical paper only; no unsupported external claims have been added.
Reilly, David M., Kynaston, Liane, Naseem, Salma, Proudman, Eva, Laceby, Darcy, A Clinical Trial Shows Improvement in Skin Collagen, Hydration, Elasticity, Wrinkles, Scalp, and Hair Condition following 12-Week Oral Intake of a Supplement Containing Hydrolysed Collagen, Dermatology Research and Practice, 2024, 8752787, 12 pages, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/8752787