Collagen, Curcumin, and Glutathione to Enhance Dermal Health in Aging Women with Declining Estrogen Levels -A...

Nutraceuticals represent promising strategies for preventing, delaying and addressing premature aging of the skin, especially as women advance in years (particularly after 30 years of age, when estrogen levels begin to decline, and remarkably after menopause when estrogen production ceases from the ovaries). This review is part of a larger project, and we present this companion review, which provides a detailed examination of the literature beyond polyphenols and/or phytoestrogens for estrogen-deficient skin. This narrative review covers the top-selling nutraceutical, collagen, along with the antioxidants, curcumin and glutathione, in women between 30 to over 65 years of age regarding their effectiveness in enhancing dermal health parameters. There were 23 clinical studies published between 2020 and 2025 that support collagen as an effective nutraceutical treatment. These studies showed improvement in various skin attributes, but investigations are lacking on collagen's effectiveness on scalp hair and nail health, which warrants further examination. Curcumin and glutathione, while these remain popular nutraceutical applications to improve skin health, had only a few clinical studies published; thus, more studies are needed to establish optimal dosing regimens and identify which combination approaches provide the most meaningful dermal benefits, especially in aging women. Trends and future directions in nutraceutical skin applications include the use of collagen (where many clinical studies have been reported), along with antioxidants and bioactives. Therefore, nutraceutical skin applications using collagen and antioxidants such as curcumin and glutathione demonstrate hopeful results for dermal antiaging effects, especially in estrogen-deficient skin. However, more investigations are warranted to expand their applications to meet the evolving dermatological challenges. Finally, there is a need to balance the psychological and ethical considerations in aesthetic medicine, distinguishing between objective beauty and subjective attractiveness, while emphasizing the importance of a patient's self-confidence in ethical practice.Graphical Abstract available for this article.