Peptides
From a chemical standpoint, peptides are chains of amino acids joined together. They can also be thought of as fragments of proteins, which means there are a range of different peptides with different activities and different levels of evidence backing them up. Most peptides in skin care have anti-aging properties.
Why your skin might love it: The big advantage in using peptides is that your body already uses them to communicate, so they’re more easily recognized.
- Cu-GHK (copper tripeptide): promotes the synthesis of skin components including collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycan, and improves wound healing. In clinical trials it’s been found to improve skin elasticity, thickness, wrinkles, and pigmentation.
- Pal-GHK (palmitoyl tripeptide-1 or palmitoyl oligopeptide): promotes collagen and glycosaminoglycan production, which decreases the depth of wrinkles and increases skin thickness. It’s one of the components in the patented blend Matrixyl 3000, along with palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7.
- Argireline (acetylhexapeptide-3): It improves skin tone and decreasing wrinkles. It is often marketed as an alternative to botulinum toxin, since it has a structural similarity to its substrate.
Where to find it: Most products will market their peptides on the bottles, however most peptides don’t have many studies backing their effects, and often no independent data is available.
If you do purchase peptides, keep in mind that they often degrade easily, so it’s a good idea to keep any peptide-containing products in a cool area.