Are chicken feet Choi Hwa-jung’s skin secret? Can food or supplements “replenish collagen”?

“What's good about chicken feet is the collagen. Eating them helps boost collagen.” Choi Hwa-jung said this as she cooked and ate chicken feet in a recent video on her YouTube channel, “Hello, This Is Choi Hwa-jung.” Still noted for firm skin at 64, she continued praising collagen: “People say these days that collagen isn't absorbed, but a new theory has recently come out.” When the producer asked whether it made skin stretch smooth, she firmly answered yes. Can eating plenty of collagen-rich chicken feet, pig's feet or pork skin really produce a lifting effect that smooths the skin?

Does oral collagen really work?

Collagen is a main component of the skin's dermis. It maintains elasticity, prevents wrinkles and firmly supports skin tissue. But it naturally declines with age, which is also why skin sags and loses firmness. The decline begins in the mid-twenties, and after forty collagen breakdown exceeds production.

That is why many people are interested in oral collagen. Beyond chicken feet, pig's feet and pork skin, a wide variety of collagen health supplements now come in jelly, liquid, film, powder and tablet forms. Some emphasize high absorption under the name “low-molecular-weight fish collagen peptides.”

However, collagen is broken down into amino acids in the gastrointestinal tract before absorption, so consumed collagen does not act directly on the skin. Some studies nevertheless suggest that low-molecular-weight collagen peptides may positively affect hydration or elasticity, making it appropriate to understand them as a supporting measure.

In other words, even if eaten in the belief that collagen is good for skin, inside the body it is simply protein fragments. For these amino acids to be synthesized back into collagen, the body needs suitable conditions and an environment for production, and they must be sent to the skin rather than used by other organs or tissues. These routes and actions are not yet clearly established, and the processes of resynthesis and redistribution themselves remain uncertain.

Oral collagen also has not received functional-ingredient recognition from Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. It can nevertheless be distributed as ordinary food or a health functional food. Some studies have reported skin improvement with collagen supplements, but most are small or short, so their scientific evidential strength is low. Most results also remain at improved hydration; findings extending to visible lifting or deep-wrinkle improvement are rare.

Ultimately, loss of elasticity from a collagen shortage cannot simply be replenished by eating collagen. Collagen production is a physiological process requiring delicate signals and energy stimulation. As skin cells' synthesis capacity declines with age, expecting recovery from consumption alone has major limits. Clear changes such as better firmness and softer wrinkles require other methods that stimulate the correct layer and directly induce collagen production.

Want to directly increase collagen inside the skin?

For immediate firmness improvement and collagen regeneration, noninvasive lifting that directly stimulates the dermis is more realistic than applying or eating products. In particular, when midface sagging or reduced jawline firmness becomes noticeable, radiofrequency lifting devices that induce collagen regeneration are most effective.

One representative device is Oligio. It delivers radiofrequency deep into the skin, contracting dermal collagen fibers while inducing new collagen production. RF heat reaching the dermis contracts those fibers, then induces the process by which the skin creates new collagen itself. Loose collagen structures become dense again, and skin tissue is reorganized more firmly over time.

Unlike conventional RF devices, Oligio uses a special handpiece that pulls the skin while delivering energy evenly. This allows more precise targeting of hollow or sagging areas. It can be customized for the cheeks, nasolabial folds, jawline, eye area and other sites. Treatment takes about 30–60 minutes depending on the area, with an immediate firming effect strong enough to feel tightness right afterward. Above all, recovery is short and pain relatively mild. It follows application of anesthetic cream, and washing and makeup are possible immediately without bruising or swelling, suiting busy workers or anyone wishing to avoid disruption to daily life.

Oligio is sufficiently effective alone, but combining other procedures is also useful for caring for the surface. Shining Rejuran, for example, is an injection effective for strengthening the barrier, reducing pores and improving moisture. Combined with Oligio's foundation for collagen regeneration, it can improve texture and firmness together. Silky Pore Injection refines enlarged pores and parched texture, giving skin lifted by Oligio a softer, denser finish. Finally, Baby Collagen injections directly add collagen ingredients inside the skin when collagen regeneration becomes active, aiming for a double-stimulation effect. Oligio builds the framework and Baby Collagen fills the volume.

Improving firmness and lifting therefore requires attention to inner structure and surface condition together. Simple masks or moisturizers have limits. Combining device-based lifting to strengthen the internal structure with injections that support surface recovery can provide more natural, longer-lasting firmness improvement. Rather than trying to solve collagen replenishment with food, it is important to identify the care your skin currently needs.

▼ For further details, please visit the official Dr. Seolreim YouTube channel.