Peptides

Peptides Description

Peptides are among the most exciting ingredients in modern skincare, not because of marketing hype, but because there’s valid science behind them. The catch? Not all peptides are created equal, and how a product is formulated matters enormously.

Peptides are compounds composed of at least two amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Skin’s healthy, youthful appearance depends on proteins such as collagens, elastin, laminin, filaggrin, loricin, and keratins, among others. These proteins give skin its structure, resiliency, barrier integrity, and even help defend from external aggressors.

Numerous peptides occur in the human body, where they play highly specific messenger, carrier, enzyme-inhibiting, and neurotransmitter roles that ensure correct (and correct timing of) cellular processes, including healing of injured tissue, cell-to-cell signaling, and collagen protection.

Peptides are also found on and within the skin; for example, antimicrobial peptides are part of skin’s microbiome and growth factor peptides in skin govern cell renewal and the signaling cascades that keep skin healthy.

When used in skincare, peptides typically play a messenger role that begins by signaling within skin’s surface layers. The downstream effect may be seen or felt as line-smoothing, firming, tightening, texture-refining, brightening, soothing, or even improved hydration and plumpness. Peptides for skincare can also play a role in helping to repair skin’s barrier, visibly reverse dullness, calm redness, and support youthful collagens via various pathways. Some of the newer peptides act on intrinsic factors that influence skin’s longevity, meaning the amount of time skin stays vibrant, energized, and healthy-looking.

What’s so fascinating about peptides in skincare is the vast range of potential amino acid sequences that can be generated. These sequences can be customized (increasingly via artificial intelligence) to deliver highly specific results, literally homing in on a key area of skin that needs to get back on track.

The way the peptide is made and stabilized for use in skincare products matters greatly because peptides can become unstable in water-based formulas and in the wrong type of packaging (such as clear, wide-mouthed jars). Further, because peptides are vulnerable to enzymatic attack, the abundant enzymes present in skin can break the peptides down to the point where they have no effect.

That sounds disappointing but worry not: long-term awareness of these inherent weaknesses has led many ingredient manufacturers to develop synthetic peptides engineered to be more stable on and within skin. Such peptides can survive intact on skin and better reach (or send messages that reach) their target areas to deliver the intended benefits.

You may wonder if peptides are so effective, why are they often seen at the end of a skincare product’s ingredient list? It can depend on the peptide’s potency, but the truth is many of them are highly potent, working in the parts-per-million level to improve skin; think of this like how adding just a pinch of seasoning to a recipe alters its flavor, often in a pronounced way.

Almost without exception, peptides are most effective in leave-on products such as serums and moisturizers rather than cleansers that wash off before they can do anything.

A word of caution: don’t get seduced by the notion that there’s a best peptide or peptide blend, because there isn’t. There are literally hundreds of remarkable peptides and more being discovered (or made in a lab) every day. A wise approach is to look for peptide skin care products that blend tried-and-true peptides with up-and-comers and be skeptical of peptide claims that sound too good to be true. There’s credible research supporting the efficacy and method of use for many peptides but do keep expectations realistic, or at least cautiously optimistic!