What are the different types of collagen?

As mentioned before, collagen occurs in many places throughout the body, making up a huge 90% of the bone mass and 30% of all proteins produced. There are various types of collagen (at least sixteen), each type being found in different areas of the body: the skin, connective tissues, lungs, muscles, joints, blood cells, arteries, and more.

The five most common types are:

Collagen Type I

●  Found in skin, tendons, ligaments, and our heart

●  crucial for healing wounds and holding together our muscles and bones, in addition to making our tissue strong so it doesn’t tear.

Collagen Type II

● Found in cartilage and connective tissues

● Because our joints rely on well-lubricated cartilage, collagen is integral in optimizing our joint health. Collagen Type III

●  Found in our organs such as the heart and skin (alongside type I).

●  The reticulate (main component of reticular fibers), helps give skin and our tissue their elasticity and firmness.

Collagen Type IV

● Integral in lining our digestive and respiratory organs Collagen Type V

● Supports new formation hair and placentas Collagen Type X

● Important in forming new bones

If this sounds confusing, think about it this way.

If you divide your body into sixteen different quadrants, there would be some type of collagen in every single quadrant, and there are multiple types of collagen in varying quadrants. Type I and Type III collagen would be in every quadrant, because your skin covers your entire body-- and hence are considered to be the most abundant types of collagen.