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What is a Peptide? Peptides in skin care are now considered to be important ingredients in anti-aging skin care. Here is everything you need to know to make peptides work for you. Peptides occur naturally in the body. Like proteins, peptides are composed of amino acids. There are only 20 different amino acids in the human body and like words and sentences, different peptides and proteins in the body are comprised of different combinations and sequences of amino acids. When a chain of amino acids is over 50 acids long, it is usually called a protein, when contain less than 50 amino acids in the chain it is a peptide. So, a peptide is a portion, or a building block, of a protein.
All peptides influence or direct the cells of the body in some way. Different types of peptides influence different types of cells. The peptides used in skin care are ones that communicate with and direct the skin cells to behave in a certain way, such as producing more collagen or thicken the skin.
The peptides used in skin care are synthetic and they are able to enter the cells of the skin and remain intact. Because if this the future potential for the development of new peptide products is very promising. There are many different peptides and they all do different things. There are four important peptides in skin care: Acetyl Hexapeptide
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide
Palmitoyl Oligopeptide
Copper Peptide The trademark name for Acetyl Hexapeptide is Argireline. It is also called a neuropeptide. This is the product that is marketed as “an alternative to Botox”, because it claims to relax certain types of facial wrinkles by inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters. In a clinical study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, argireline at a 10% concentration was reported to reduce the depth of wrinkles up to 30% after 30 days of use.
Palmitoyl pentapeptide is also known as Matrixyl. It is the main ingredient in anti-aging products like Strivectin and was originally developed for use on stretch marks. It works by stimulating the deeper matrix layers of the skin to increase the production and synthesis of collagen and hyaluronic acid. (It "tells" the skin to make more collagen.) This action also helps the skin to heal wounds faster. Manufacturers of products containing Matrixyl claim that it is at least as effective against wrinkles as retinol without the common effect of skin irritation.
In clinical studies Matrixyl: - Increased overall collagen synthesis by up to 117%
- Increased collagen IV synthesis by up to 327%
- Increased hyaluronic acid synthesis by up to 267%
- Deep wrinkles were reduced by half and some smaller wrinkles and fine lines faded away completely.
- Every participant in the study showed a noticeable improvement within two weeks. The result was fewer wrinkles and younger-looking skin.
Palmitoyl oligopeptide is similar to Palmitoyl Pentapeptide, as it also stimulates the synthesis of collagen and hyaluronic acid in the deep layers of the skin. It also provides mild UV protection that helps protect the skin from sun damage. (You still need to use a sunscreen everyday!) It was developed as the result of research to duplicate the effects of retinoic acid (retinol) without skin irritation.
A group of volunteers used a cream with 3% Oligopeptide for 28 days. These statistics were reported following image analysis of the volunteers: - Surface roughness Reduced 17%
- Mean depth of wrinkles Reduced 23%
- Depth of main wrinkle Reduced 39%
- Skin thickness Increased 4%
Copper Peptide is also called copper gluconate and it is all about the copper, not the peptide. The copper is attached to a peptide so the copper can be delivered to the deeper layers of cells in the skin. Copper helps to accelerate collagen production and also acts as an antioxidant. Copper has been used for many years because of their positive effect on wound healing. They are needed for skin healing and regeneration and to help remove damaged collagen.
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