Many Vietnamese consumers are now willing to use, eat and drink anything that is said to contain collagen, in what appears to be a beauty craze over the protein that is believed to make skin look shinier.

While collagen supplements and cosmetics are not uncommon and currently widely available in the Southeast Asian country, it is now trendy for people to directly ingest collagen for the sake of better skin.

Some restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City are selling meals with collagen added, saying the ingredient helps enrich the food.

A Japanese restaurant on Phan Xich Long Street in Phu Nhuan District tells diners that “collagen helps your skin become pink and white,” and an attendant will show customers how to add collagen, in the form of wax, directly to the boiling water of a kimchi steamboat.

“The collagen wax will melt in the water, which results in easier body absorption,” the attendant said.

Such a collagen-enhanced hotpot fetches VND350,000 to VND600,000 (US$16-28), and the new skincare property of the steamboat has lured many customers.

Another new food product that has attracted more customers amid the collagen craze is Vietnamese sausage, or lap xuong as locals call it.

The pig intestine, into which pork is stuffed in traditional lap xuong, will be replaced with a collagen wrap, which manufacturers claim is imported from Germany.

There are also collagen-added milk products for women, available at VN400,000 ($18) a can, which sellers claim can help fight skin aging.

The wide variety of collagen-added products has in fact confused consumers.

“My friends tell me to use collagen supplements to cure my arthritis, but I’m perplexed to see so many products which can be eaten or directly injested,” Bui Hien, who lives in Tan Binh District, said.

“I have no idea how long I have to use these products to see the collagen take effect.”

The craze for collagen products possibly emerged in Ho Chi Minh City around four years ago, when some domestic drink makers began producing collagen-laced beverages.

The new products were then attractive to consumers, particularly the elderly, and gradually created a habit of hunting for any product that contains collagen among local consumers.

Imports from South Korea, Japan, Russia, France and the U.S. thus began arriving in Vietnam en masse, all of which are advertised as having anti-aging effects, while helping consumers to plump up their skin and smooth out wrinkles.

While the real collagen content in each product is not always clearly stated on labels and packaging, few customers seem to care, and a collagen-spiked product will certainly fetch a higher price than the normal one.

Collagen has thus emerged as a panacea among some Vietnamese consumers, which doctors say is a misconception.

“There has yet to be any clinical evidence demonstrating that quick absorption of collagen has an anti-aging effect,” said Dr. Do Thi Ngoc Diep, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center.

“Once absorbed, collagen must undergo digestive and other processes in your body, so it is not true that the more collagen you take, the more of the substance your body regenerates.”

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