Peptides are some of the most impactful ingredients you can add to your skincare routine. Seriously—these little proteins can do everything from brightening your skin and fighting inflammation to firming and fading wrinkles.
And while peptides might be some of the hottest ingredients out there, are they really worth the hype? Short answer: yes, as long as the formula is just right to pack a real punch. Here’s what you need to know about peptides, including what they are and how they work to restore and rejuvenate your skin.
What Are Peptides?
Simply put, peptides make up proteins within the skin. They are short chains of amino acids that act as the building blocks of proteins like collagen and elastin, which create the structure of your skin and keep it looking firm and supple. This means they’re necessary for maintaining your skin’s strength, elasticity, resilience, and overall youthfulness.
Though peptides are naturally found in your skin’s own “recipe”, your body makes fewer of these proteins as you grow older. This means less collagen and elastin in your skin, which causes it to weaken. Fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin are all a direct cause of the loss of peptides.
To make up for this loss of collagen and elastin, skincare brands add peptides to their products. This helps boost the firmness and elasticity of your skin, allowing you to maintain a youthful complexion even as you age.
How do peptides work?
They’re found naturally in your skin, but when you apply them topically, peptides send signals to your cells to perform certain functions like producing more collagen and elastin. This can help plump up the skin, reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
You’ll often find a combination of different types of peptides in skincare products. But unless they’re formulated appropriately, their structure can disintegrate, reducing their effectiveness. This is why it’s important to look for dermatologically-tested products (like EVER’s products) when shopping for peptide-based skincare.
One of the main reasons these tiny proteins are a skincare favorite is because of their ability to travel deep into the layers of your skin, signalling your cells to boost collagen and elastin production.
Helping your skin produce more collagen is only one benefit of peptides, though. Let’s have a look at all the ways in which peptides help your skin.
Increase skin elasticity and tautness
In addition to sending messages to your cells to increase the production of collagen and elastin, peptides also inhibit the enzymes that break down collagen and reduce facial muscle contractions.
These functions put together make your skin firmer and plumper and visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles, sagging skin, fine lines, and crow’s feet. A study conducted in 2020 on a group of 22 women aged over 40 found that consistent use of peptides for two weeks helped reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
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Strengthen skin barrier
Your skin’s outermost layer (known as the epidermis, skin barrier, or moisture barrier) shields your skin from the outside world. It helps your skin retain its moisture and keeps pollutants and harmful bacteria from entering and causing infections.
While your skin barrier can normally repair itself, this ability turns sluggish as you grow older, leaving your skin looking dull and more vulnerable to environmental irritants. By rapidly increasing the production of epidermal cells, peptides help strengthen your skin barrier, making your skin more youthful and glowing.
An enhanced skin barrier results in less moisture loss, which means peptides protect your skin against dryness, too. Some peptides also help the synthesis of hyaluronic acid, which is crucial in moisturizing your skin.
Boost skin repair and regeneration
Collagen and elastin play key roles in repairing your skin from wounds and helping it bounce back from damage. By increasing the production of these two proteins, peptides boost your skin’s ability to repair and regenerate.
Certain peptides are also known to suppress the molecules responsible for inflammation. This makes them a great ingredient in skincare products meant to soothe and rejuvenate your skin.
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Protect against UV rays
The sun’s UV rays cause side effects such as cell damage, breakdown of collagen, inflammation, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation. Certain peptides have antioxidant properties, protecting your skin from oxidative stress caused by UV rays. This helps decrease the damage of the sun’s rays on your skin, helping prevent your skin from dullness or signs of premature aging.
Even out skin tone
Melanin is the substance that gives your skin its color. A higher amount of melanin signals a darker skin tone. UV rays stimulate melanin production, which can get distributed unevenly. This explains the dark spots (also known as age spots) that you sometimes get when you spend too much time in the sun.
Peptides inhibit this excess melanin production and reduce the oxidative stress of the sun on your skin, evening out your skin tone. Some peptides also smooth your skin by softening any rough textures or visible damages left behind by acne or inflammation flare-ups.
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Types of Peptides Commonly Used in Skincare
The peptides found in skincare come in different classifications, with each one performing a crucial action. The most common types of peptides are:
Signal peptides: These mimic collagen fragments to stimulate collagen production.
Neurotransmitter peptides: These relax your facial muscles by blocking the nerve signals that cause muscle contractions, reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
Carrier peptides: These work as delivery agents, carrying essential elements such as copper and manganese to your skin, which boost the production of collagen and elastin.
Enzyme inhibitor peptides: These reduce the function of the enzymes that break down your skin’s collagen (such as tyrosinase), supporting a smoother complexion and reducing visible signs of photoaging.
Some of the most common peptides you can expect to find on the ingredients list of your favorite skincare products are:
Hexapeptides, such as Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, which enhance collagen synthesis and help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
Tetrapeptides, such as Acetyl Tetrapeptide-2, work to firm and revive skin’s elasticity.
Glutathione and Carnisone, two antioxidant peptides that help brighten skin and even out skin tone by reducing hyperpigmentation.
Syn-Hycan, a moisturizing peptide that fosters the synthesis of hyaluronic acid.
Copper peptide, a repair peptide that accelerates the self-repair ability of your skin.
Antimicrobial peptides, such as Tetrapeptide-7 and Tripeptide-2, stop the growth of pathogens. You’ll often find them in products designed to treat acne or other skin conditions.
How do peptides fit into your routine?
The first thing to consider when incorporating peptides into your skincare routine is the type of peptide-based products to choose. Since peptides work by absorbing into your skin, serums, facial oils, or moisturizers are best as opposed to cleansers that are just going to be washed off.
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Peptides can be used at any point of the day, in the morning and at night. Ideally, you should use peptide-based serums or moisturizers after cleansing and toning. Here’s the layering order we suggest:
Cleanse your face thoroughly to remove dirt, oil, and any other impurities.
Apply a toner to prime your skin.
Apply a peptide-based serum, such as the youthful Quattro Peptide Face and Eye Serum, to let the peptides sink into your skin.
Apply a peptide-based moisturizer to give your skin the hydration it needs
Layer on an SPF 30+ sunscreen during the day
To see visible results, use peptide-based skincare products consistently for at least 4-6 weeks. EVER’s users saw a significant improvement in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. They noticed a more even and radiant skin tone after 8 weeks of consistent use (based on a clinical study).
How Peptides Work with Other Skincare Ingredients
While a product packed with peptides may sound like the only thing you need in your routine, peptides actually need to be combined with other ingredients to do their jobs properly. It’s important to combine them with ingredients that repair, hydrate, and protect the skin to feel the full impact.
Here are some effective companions for peptides:
Vitamin C: A powerful antioxidant that helps fight against skin damage and is said to slow down the effects of aging on your skin. Together, peptides and Vitamin C can help brighten your skin and reduce wrinkles and hyperpigmentation.
Hyaluronic acid: A moisturizing ingredient that hydrates your skin and locks in moisture when combined with peptides.
Ceramides: When used with peptides, they strengthen your skin barrier and keep your skin moisturized.
Niacinamide: Also known as Vitamin B3, it helps reduce inflammation and improve skin texture. It goes well with peptides in enhancing overall skin health.
Retinol: Combats the effects of aging on your skin and boosts the benefits of peptides when combined.
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There are some ingredients that you should avoid using in tandem with peptides, as they might break down peptide bonds, rendering them less effective.
These include: Salicylic acid, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) such as glycolic acid, and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs).
Incorporate Peptides Into Your Skincare Routine with EVER
At EVER, we believe in empowering women to age gracefully. By incorporating peptides into our products, we’re meeting the needs of your changing skin by supporting it through the aging process. Our goal is to make you feel confident in your changing skin, all without compromising quality or safety.
Peptides are something of a game-changer when it comes to skincare products, especially the ones that target visible signs of aging. They reduce the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and crow’s feet, even out skin tone, smooth your skin’s texture, and even help your skin repair itself, which explains why we love it so much.
All of EVER’s products are dermatologically-tested, hypoallergenic, and made without any questionable ingredients such as heavy metals. Most of our users start seeing visible results in as little as 6-8 weeks of consistent use.
Get confidence-boosting skin by addressing the visible signs of aging with EVER. [Shop now]