What Is Collagen, Really? A Plain-Language Explainer

Collagen is a structural protein—your body's most abundant one. It is the material that holds skin, connective tissue, cartilage, and bone together, essentially acting as scaffolding at a cellular level.

Why supplements use "hydrolyzed" collagen

Collagen as it exists in skin or bone is a large, tightly-wound protein that the body cannot absorb intact. Hydrolyzed collagen has been broken down into smaller peptides through a process called hydrolysis, which is what allows it to be dissolved in a drink and taken as a daily supplement in the first place.

Where collagen supplements actually come from

• Bovine collagen — sourced from cattle hide, most common on the market
• Marine collagen — sourced from fish, typically skin, primarily Type I
• Porcine collagen — sourced from pork, less common in Western markets

Each source starts from the same basic protein, processed differently. What actually varies between them is origin, allergen profile, and how the peptides mix—not some fundamentally different substance.

What this looks like in practice

Unmade is a single-ingredient marine collagen: wild-caught, hydrolyzed into peptides that run over 92% protein by weight, with no flavoring, filler, or additive to dilute that. One 10 g scoop is the whole formula—nothing to evaluate except the collagen itself.