Do Overnight Collagen Face Masks Work? Experts Weigh In.

All over social media, “collagen” has become a buzzword. Beauty influencers are waking up, turning on their cameras and peeling off translucent, collagen-infused face masks that promise to give you younger-looking “glass skin,” while minimizing pores and adding plumpness to your face.

These masks are intended to be worn for multiple hours at a time ― often overnight. They’re opaque when you put them on and become translucent after a few hours when your skin supposedly absorbs the collagen from the face masks.

In addition to leaving you with dewy skin, these masks claim to reduce fine lines and wrinkles, all while strengthening your skin barrier.

Can face masks really do all of that? Below, dermatologists share their thoughts on these viral overnight collagen masks.

Adding more collagen to your skin is an understandable want. As you get older, collagen production naturally decreases and this has impacts on the way your skin looks.

“Collagen is an important structural component of our skin,” Dr. Sa Rang Kim, an assistant professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine in Connecticut, told HuffPost via email. “The loss of collagen in the skin, along with the loss in elasticity and impaired skin barrier function, lead to wrinkles and sagging skin.”

But while collagen may be included on a face mask’s ingredients list, this kind of mask doesn’t actually do much to prevent the issues that come with less collagen production. “Despite its increasing popularity, the scientific evidence for its efficacy is lacking and it is important to understand its limitations; they do not increase collagen production and are not a substitute for professional treatments,” Kim explained.

“By applying collagen topically, the thought is that it helps with antiaging. The problem is that collagen is produced by cells in the skin, so applying it topically doesn’t necessarily do anything,” said Dr. Angela Lamb, the director of Westside Mount Sinai Dermatology Faculty Practice and an associate professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

“What most face masks are doing since … it’s just something applied to the skin topically, and it’s only for a short contact period of time, it’s really just to give you that nice glow and help your skin just feel better,” Lamb said.

When worn overnight, collagen…