If you use anti-aging skin care, chances are that you’ve heard of peptides. Pretty much every anti-aging skin care product or line advertises peptides as one of their main selling points, but have you ever stopped for a moment to wonder just what peptides are, and how they can help your skin?

We believe that you should know your skin care products inside and out, so here’s the rundown of skin care peptides, and why you want them in your life. When you finish reading this post, feel free to comment with any questions you still have regarding skin care peptides and their uses!

Peptides are strings of amino acids
To understand peptides, you must first understand amino acids.Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins in your body, including one protein that’s very important to skin: collagen.

As you may already know, collagen is what keeps your skin from sagging—it’s responsible for the plumpness and firmness of youthful skin. Collagen synthesis is supported by amino acids. So how does this tie in to peptides? Peptides are strings of amino acids!

Peptides promote collagen synthesis, but also encourage the production of another important anti-aging component—elastin fibers. As the name may suggest, elastin is responsible for the skin’s elasticity, but it also contributes to firmness and wrinkle prevention.

The combination of collagen and elastin is pretty much the entire foundation of youthful-looking skin, and peptides support the creation of both collagen and elastin. Not only that, but peptides are found found in every human cell, often acting as messengers. In short, the body cannot function without peptides.

Does this mean that skin care peptides will improve every cell in your body? Probably not. But it does mean that the skin issues you’re looking to target will be benefitted by peptide skin care products.

Why you need peptide skin care
Since every cell in the body already has peptides, why do you need peptide skin care? In short: aging.

After age 30, people lose about 1% of their remaining collagen each year. This is what leads to visible signs of aging. Replacing that collagen isn’t as simple as rubbing peptides into your skin and calling it a day; the process is a bit more complex.

When you apply peptide skin care, your body sees the topical peptides as signals to begin a healing process that involves the natural production of collagen, especially in the areas where the collagen is most needed. In prematurely aging skin, your body will boost its own production of collagen (and perhaps even hyaluronic acid) to plump the skin and restore the skin’s natural barrier.

Essentially, applying peptides to your skin tricks your body into believing that it’s been wounded, and the body begins the healing process that leads to younger-looking skin. Different peptides will trigger different responses, so you’re able to customize the response your body gives and therefore the results you see.

The best skin care peptides
Since different peptides result in different skin responses, what you use really matters. Choosing peptide skin care should be based on the changes you wish to see, such as an improvement in firmness or elasticity, or overall skin health.

You should also choose peptide skin care based on its other uses. For example, a peptide cleanser only stays on the skin for a few moments, while an eye serum or moisturizer will give a much longer window of time for peptides to signal the body to repair the areas in need of attention.

You can also enhance the efficacy of peptide skin care by eating a diet rich in collagen or using collagen supplements. Collagen is known for improving the health of your hair and nails in addition to your skin, so incorporating collagen in your diet is a great way to improve your overall health and beauty.