Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm starting this out early at 27 years old and I'm starting on a pretty messy slate. Unfortunately, I have a bad mixture of illnesses that have a major effect on my nutrient absorption and hormones. PCOS and Lupus have done quite a number on my hair and skin for years and I didn't have the motivation to stick to a set routine and fix it. I was originally diagnosed with IBS diarrhea and constipation type as well at the time of my first review (now being treated for Crohn's), which I have to be careful with whenever it comes to staying away from foods and supplements that may worsen symptoms. If you have access to resources such as nutritionists and specialists, they are the people to check in with before you introduce any supplement into your daily regimen. All supplements are taken with the acknowledgment of my gastroenterologist, rheumatologist, and neurologist. They did not approve or disapprove but did not believe collagen would bother me (in fact all were skeptical of it doing anything at all), so I gave it a shot for the advertised hair and joint benefits. Now, supplements alone will NOT fix the damage if you aren't treating the cause. I am in now constant treatment and was looking for something to pick up the slack for the years of damage done. Here's where this collagen powder comes in. Initially started it 3 months ago and bought this previous month's supply from Amazon for the first time. No issues with my order, was completely full and the quality of this batch was the same as per usual. Was seeing some reviews about half-full or nearly empty shipments or discoloration so be aware of this possibility. I add this to hot chocolate mix usually; mixes well in anything hot without clumping. Coverage of the first month is not super significant: For the first two weeks I noticed no major expected changes (will explain further in paragraph), and I hope you don't expect any either. This is something that takes time and sticking to before you can see any results, but there are benefits, that you can be sure of. After the 3 week mark I started to notice that my hair wasn't falling out nearly as much as it used to. By the 4 week mark showers started being something to look forward to and not something to force myself through. I don't even mean just the boost of confidence seeing barely any hair at the bottom of the shower. Moving around and bending about in a cramped space was much easier, my joints weren't complaining nearly as much as usual. Now, to the unexpected benefit and an explanation for the headline: For a decade now I have not had normal stool. Near constant diarrhea, even after days of constipation. Occasionally, I will get hard, large, and painful stool to accompany the diarrhea. Within 48 hours of starting this I became regular. Medication specifically crafted to help with my IBS/Crohn's wasn't perfected until this was introduced to my bowels. When I was reading reviews, I noticed there have been more drastic and not-so-positive reactions to this collagen powder. Many low reviews with complaints of diarrhea when they usually don't experience this. I was geared up to have a terrible reaction, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not guiding anyone with IBS diarrhea/constipation type or Crohn's to try this and expect the same results, just an interesting observation I wasn't expecting, and has been a helpful benefit to me personally. Just be cautious with this product with the knowledge that in some way this could affect your gut for the worse or for the better. The start of the second month was when a lot of my outer improvements started to push through. I tried several months ago to do the wavy girl method (hair guide to have non-frizzy wavy hair) and it failed because my hair was too damaged on the inside. I tried it again the second month of taking this, and even before I began, my hair was starting to shine and is noticeably more hydrated. Week 5-6, it was so much softer than normal and a lot of regrowth was happening. Frizzy still from all of the breakage, restarting the wavy girl method during week 6 was helping to take care of a lot of my concerns with that. Hair is noticeably growing at an accelerated rate @ this point. I have bangs and have noticed it's growing around 2 times faster than what I'm used to. Week 7-9 were definitely there weeks where my skin showed the most change. No HG magic moments; only a realistic and minimally satisfying change to my skin's hydration. My skin retains my moisturizer for longer and doesn't immediately push it back out as oil so I'm happy with whatever minor change I can get. Month 3 is where all of my previous positive experiences with this supplement were boosted. Already my hair has always had the illusion of looking thick, even when it was falling out in clumps, because it was so dry and fuzzy. Now it looks thick because my hair is regrowing, the strands are thicker , my hair is hydrated, and the wavy girl method along with this has helped my natural wave pattern return. Swelling and pain in my joints has minimized (taken alongside lupus-oriented medication) and my skin looks plumper in areas that were starting to look indented and sallow. Again, don't expect any miracles, my under eyes still are incredibly tired and sunken. That is the cause and effect of illness and the collagen powder has done a lil improvement in the lines under my eyes and adding the tiniest bit of fullness to where my cheeks meet the sunken area under my eyes. This supplement can not give you what things like fillers/fat grafting/implants would, if fullness disappears from sickness or age there isn't much any powder is going to be able to do about it, but I do believe it does help you maintain and very slightly improve the thickness and tightness to your skin that you have now. They are subtle changes to the outside world but they feel drastic when your goal is to make believable improvements on skin texture, hydration, elasticity, joint health, and hair quality. I plan to continue purchasing and using this product and it lived up to all expectations. It's worth a try if you are interested in starting collagen supplements with no idea where to start, and I would recommend at the very least a two-month trial period to give it enough time to dazzle.