If it feels like you’ve tried every serum, supplement, and cream to help reverse the signs of aging, it can be frustrating when you’re still not seeing results.

Before you throw in the towel and succumb to the signs of aging, give polypeptides a try. Peptides have been shown to rejuvenate and relax your skin through the process of protein synthesis.

What are Peptides?

“Peptides are short strings of amino acids, typically comprising 2-50 amino acids,” according to Medical News Today. These strings of amino acids eventually come to together to form protein. Because they are much smaller than an entire protein strand, our body is better able to absorb them through our skin. When your body absorbs peptides, your cells use the ingredient to produce more collagen, a keystone material used to rejuvenate dead or damaged skin.

How Peptides Work

When you apply peptide-based products to your skin, you are sending a message to your cells: “Produce more collagen!”

Collagen is a structural protein that keeps our skin smooth, firm, and youthful, but our bodies produce less and less as we age. As our naturally-occurring collagen deteriorates, our aging cells can’t keep up. This leads to one of the most dreaded side effects of growing older: wrinkles and loose, sagging skin.

Using products that contain collagen isn’t as effective as using products with peptides because collagen molecules are much too large for our skin to absorb properly. The smaller peptide molecules are able to deeply penetrate the upper layer of skin and deliver the signal that it’s time to increase protein production.

The 4 Types of Peptides

Not all peptides are the same. There are over 100 varieties, all of which play a different role in reversing the signs of aging. They typically fall into one of four main categories:

Carrier peptides

Neurotransmitter peptides 

Signal peptides

Enzyme inhibitor peptides

Some skincare products contain some combination of all categories of peptides, helping your skin maintain an offensive and defensive stance against the signs of aging.

Revision Skincare’s Revox™ 7 is “one of the only clinically-proven topical products that helps smooth the appearance of expression lines, this oil-free serum incorporates clinical levels of seven different peptides to reduce the appearance of seven different expression lines around the eyes, forehead and mouth.”

With just one peptide-packed power serum, you can battle against forehead lines, glabella (frown lines), crow’s feet, bunny nose lines, nasolabial laugh lines, lip lines, and marionette lines.

NeoStrata Triple Firming Neck Cream and Revision Skincare’s Nectifirm are formulated with peptides designed to firm skin on the delicate neck and decolletage. These peptide rich serums and creams are available at Advanced Skin Therapeutics.

Peptides for Brighter, More Youthful Skin

If anti-aging properties are at the top of your skincare wish list, it’s time to give peptides a shot. There’s no harm in trying out a range of products and routines until you find what works best for you.

That being said, you can save time and money by keeping a few key points in mind:

  • Opt for serums and oils, not masks and face wash. If you use the latter, you’re washing away all of the skin-healing benefits that peptides offer.
  • For best results, use it in the morning and at night. Daytime use helps protect your skin, while nighttime use is more effective for skin repair. Your body does a lot of healing at night, so applying peptides before bedtime gives your cells a chance to produce more proteins.
  • Always talk to your dermatologist. They’re experts in your skin, so they can help guide you to the best products for your particular needs.