Hyaluronic acid, retinol, collagen, peptides… Skincare ingredients can be a minefield, but that’s where we come in to help! At TLC we’re not just here to help you look and feel your best, we’re also on hand to make skincare simple.
Let’s take a look at peptides and find out why they’re so good for our skin.
First thing’s first: what are peptides?
The name may sound technical, but peptides are simply amino acids that occur naturally in our skin. If we think about collagen, for example, it is a protein made up of a long chain of amino acids and when this collagen gets broken down as we age, it changes into short-chained amino acids or peptides. When this happens, the production of peptides tells our bodies to produce more collagen to repair the damage.
Why do we use peptides?
Peptides are known as the ‘IT’ ingredient that has had the greatest impact on skincare over the last 25 years and Dr Karl Litner, one of our favourite experts on the topic who is also known as the ‘godfather’ of peptides, hails peptides as the ultimate way to regain our skin’s youthfulness.
The reason for this is that peptides are deep-reaching in the skin, so even if we apply them topically rather than with an injection, they still have a brilliant effect. Peptides offer real skin repair rather than the superficial repair or ‘moisturisation’ found in high street products due to their ability to trick the skin into producing more collagen.
What effects do peptides have on the skin?
So what results can we see with peptides? Well, peptides are known to stimulate skin synthesis which has a firming effect over time, making them a brilliant anti-wrinkle facial treatment – even on the hard-to-tackle forehead and eye areas. They can also reduce the depth and appearance of wrinkles.
It’s not just the face they can be used on, though. Peptides are also great for improving cellulite and for strengthening the hair, too. As they are an active ingredient, this means they are biologically active and get to work addressing the skin concern they’re intended to target. So whether applied topically or injected, they are scientifically proven to give a desired effect on the skin.
What peptide treatments are available at The Lovely Clinic?
We are firm believers in the quality of Alumier’s skincare and lots of their products contain peptides combined with other skin-loving ingredients to give your skin a boost. Our favourites include HydraDew, Acne Balancing Serum and Retinol Resurfacing Serum.
Skincare pros Skinceuticals also have brilliant products that we can recommend – our faves are Redness Neutralizer and Tripeptide Neck Repair. We also love Professional C Peptide Complex from Obagi.
Finally, if you want an injectable, Nucleofill is made of polypeptides and is a great way to get the goodness of peptides into the skin, check out our video below 👇
