'Losing money and getting sick' because of buying collagen online

Believing in online advertisements, many women spent half a month's salary to buy hand-carried collagen, only to bring disaster upon themselves.

"Chaos" in the collagen market online

Not yet 30 years old, Ms. Thanh Nga (Hanoi)'s skin is wrinkled and sagging like a woman in her forties. Every night she stays up late to work, the next day her skin is pale and dark. Hearing her colleagues say that if she does not supplement collagen to help firm her skin now, in just a few years her face will age beyond repair, Ms. Nga immediately went online to buy the product.

There are dozens of types of collagen introduced to Ms. Nga by online shops. Not only do they differ in origin (USA, Japan, France...), but also in ingredients, collagen extraction sources (fish cartilage, seaweed...), and dosage forms (water, powder, tablets). The prices are not small, the cheapest type is also around several hundred thousand.

The shop owner did not hesitate to praise the high-quality collagen, which costs 1.2 million VND/box, as the "miracle drug" for rejuvenating Japanese women. The seller also quickly advised the "customer" that if they wanted to see results, they had to use 3 boxes continuously for 3 months. Ms. Nga was so excited that she took out her wallet to buy the whole course.

However, after 3 months of continuous collagen "supplementation", Ms. Nga spent several million Dong but her skin condition did not improve, and her body even showed signs of worsening.

"After drinking for a while, my skin seemed to tighten but my weight did increase. I felt very heavy, often felt dizzy, nauseous, and had difficulty concentrating. I contacted the shop owner but got no response. When I asked for a return, the seller jumped up and scolded me," Ms. Nga recounted about the unforgettable scam.

The online market also forced Ms. Lan Anh (Hanoi) to quit her job in the pharmaceutical cosmetics business, because she could not compete with floating hand-carried goods. Currently, there are hundreds of types of collagen on the market from many different brands. They not only differ in origin (domestic, imported, hand-carried, handmade), but also in ingredients, collagen extraction sources (fish cartilage, seaweed, ...), and dosage forms (water, powder, tablets). The price is not cheap, about several hundred thousand to more than a million VND per bottle.

As a professional, Ms. Lan Anh knows many sources of collagen that are labeled as Japanese, French, German... but produced domestically or illegally imported from China. They often offer wholesale prices at discounts of up to 50%, making many people blinded by greed.

Many people advertise that they have relatives in the US who carry collagen to Vietnam, but in reality they buy products of unclear origin from foreign websites. Trying to access Taobao, Amazon..., Ms. Lan Anh found hundreds of types of collagen from many countries with many different prices.

Be careful when choosing beauty products

According to Dr. Huynh Huy Hoang, former Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Association, if you buy fake collagen products, produced in unsanitary environments, it will cause serious harm to your health. The products may not meet the required content printed on the packaging, contain impurities, heavy metals (arsenic, lead, mercury, copper, cadmium...) and toxic preservatives.

After the age of 30, women can supplement collagen to rejuvenate the skin, reduce wrinkles, strengthen joints, and sharpen eyes... Because collagen exists everywhere in the body, accounting for 70% of skin structure, 90% of cornea, 20% of bone structure and 50% of joints.

Dr. Hoang advises that women should buy collagen supplements from reputable cosmetic stores, pharmacies or authorized dealers. To avoid losing money, check the Ministry of Public Security's anti-counterfeit stamp by heating it over fire (if the stamp changes from white to red, it is genuine). In particular, prioritize products that have been clinically tested on a specific group of people to measure effectiveness and safety before, during and after use.

Currently, there are only a few collagen products on the market that are clinically tested. Therefore, when choosing to buy, you should find out whether the collagen has a clinical test certificate or not, how many people have been tested, and what are the actual customer reviews after a long enough period of use. This will help women buy good, safe and valuable products.

According to VNN