The search for good anti-agent products can sometimes be unfruitful. There are products that claim to work but seem like they aren’t doing much. Thankfully we have peptides to the rescue. Peptides are a great way to help with anti-ageing and they are one of the great breakthroughs in skincare. The question is: Peptides for skincare, do they have side effects? This article will look into it.
Table of Contents
What are peptides?
There are hundreds of peptides out there. Peptides are protein fragments made up of various amino acids. When the amino acids are combined in specific ways what you get in the end is a specific peptide. When these are combined in a certain way they create proteins.
The skin is basically a combination of different proteins. Basically the building blocks of the skin. Without enough peptides in the skin, the skin loses its ability to look and stay youthful.
Are peptides good for the skin?
Yes, peptides are good for the skin. Peptides allow the skin to stay firm, keep its texture, and minimises the appearance of wrinkles. Collagen in the skin is what keeps the skin looking plump, young and fresh. Collagen begins to break down in the skin as we get older.
When you apply the peptides onto the skin they send messages that more collagen production needs to happen. This, in turn, produces more collagen and the skin looks younger. This is peptide serum is a favourite.
Peptides for skincare side effects
Peptides, when used on the skin for skincare purposes, have a low chance of giving you side effects. Generally, the ingredient does not have the ability to irritate the skin or give you an allergic reaction. If you find that you’re one of the unlucky people who are allergic to peptides you might develop redness, rash, inflammation or itching of the skin.
You should always do a patch test before using a product. This will entail using the product on a small patch of your skin and waiting to see if you have a reaction within 48 hours. If nothing happens then you’re good to go.
Negative effects of over-promoting peptides:
Sometimes peptides are marketed as being something that they are not. Yes, peptides have the ability to improve the skin in many ways and to address a variety of skin issues but they are not going going to magically fix all the problems you have with your skin.
It is not a magic ingredient that can be the answer to all your anti-ageing needs. Here are some things that peptides are not:
Not Botox: In an effort to sell, some peptides have been marketed as being a product that will do what Botox can do. A topical product cannot do what Botox can do (yet). Only Botox can do what Botox can do.
Not a filler: They are not able to get into the skin and plump the skin to the same degree that lip plumpers or other fillers can do. They also cannot make any sagging skin disappear.
Unstable: They are not all that stable, unfortunately when they’re exposed to light and air they become inactive and do not work as well. This is the case with vitamin c serums and retinoids as well.
Can break down: The skin has a variety of enzymes in it. The peptides are vulnerable to such enzymes. When used in the skin there is a chance that the peptides can be broken down by these skin enzymes.
What foods are high in peptides?
There are a variety of foods that you can eat that will boost your natural peptide production:
Milk:
This is a product that has a rich supply of peptides. In fact, out of all the dairy products available milk has the highest amount of peptides in it. If you want an easy to access food that is full of peptides milk is the way to go
Eggs:
This is also a rich source of peptides as well as a variety of other nutrients. If you’re not so keen on drinking milk to get your peptides then you can opt for eggs. They are the second richest source of peptides after milk and are pretty delicious too.
Soybean:
The peptides your body gets from soybeans have a variety of health benefits which include antioxidant and antifatigue properties. It is also shown that this type of peptide will increase collagen in your body.
Fish and meat:
This is especially true in the case of marine fish. This type of fish has a very high and rich source of peptides as well as other proteins that we need to stay healthy. If you consume the bones of the fish you will benefit as they are a rich source of collagen as well.
Grains:
If you want a more hearty meal and you still want to get your peptides in then you can eat foods such as rice, corn and wheat.
Supplements:
If you don’t eat the foods suggested above then you can take oral supplements to boost the number of peptides in your body.
Are peptides or retinol better?
Both these products are great to use if you’re looking to get rid of wrinkles. Before the rise or retinol peptides were the go-to ingredients for helping to get rid of wrinkles. Today choosing which one to use to fight wrinkles will depend on what kind of skin you have and what your skin’s needs are.
Peptides: These are ingredients that will help get rid of your wrinkles but are not as invasive as retinol. They won’t give you the harsh side effects that retinol can give you. As a bonus, peptides can be used on skin that is new to using ageing products.
Peptides, like retinol, helps the skin produce more collagen which will plump up the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. These amino acids are also called copper peptides. This is a well-loved peptide serum
Retinol: This is a great anti-ageing ingredient that helps the skin produce more collagen. Retinols have different strengths but they can all cause drying and flaking on the skin especially on skin that has never been exposed to retinol.
The product shouldn’t be used on sensitive skin. Retinols help to minimise wrinkles quite quickly. Retinol is derived from vitamin A and is simply called retinol. This is a well-loved retinol
Can peptides be used with retinol?
No peptides cannot be used with retinol. If you desire to use both you need to alternate use of each during the week. Apply the peptide the nights where you aren’t using the retinol.
Can peptides be absorbed through the skin?
Yes, peptides can be absorbed through the skin. Luckily for us, the peptide molecules are small enough to absorbed through the skin. The molecules penetrate into the skin easily and when in the skin they trigger the skin to produce more collagen which will firm up the skin.
We cannot use collagen topically because the molecules are large to penetrate the skin. The best alternative we have is to introduce molecules small enough to penetrate the skin that can trigger the skin to produce more collagen.
When should you start using peptides?
You should start using peptides when the signs of ageing start to set in, this is around your mid-20s. This is when the collagen production in our skin and bodies start to decrease and we start to show some signs of ageing. It’s around this age where we need to start thinking about and using antiaging products if we want to prolong our skin’s youthfulness.
The sooner you start your antiaging skincare routine the better. In addition, if you apply tropical peptides onto your skin sooner the body will be trigged to produce more peptides on its own and be able to repair itself. You can use either peptides or retinol as your anti-ageing products.
What is the best peptide serum?
The best and most well-loved peptide serum is the Peptide Complex Serum by Eva Naturals. This anti-ageing peptide serum is well-loved by many for a reason. Not only does it contain peptides which will frim the skin but it also contains aloe and hyaluronic acid.
Aloe vera contains antioxidants which fight off dangerous free radicals which would otherwise damage your skin cells. The hyaluronic acid is a great hydrator, penetrating deep into your skin to give you hydrated, supple, soft and radiant skin.
After using this product your skin will look plumper, smoother and firmer. The more you use it the more you’ll see your youthful glow coming back into your face.
Can peptides be used with vitamin C?
No, you cannot use peptides and vitamin C together. The skin loves these two products separately but these two won’t work well on the skin together.
When applied to the skin at once the two products cancel each other out making each of them pretty much worthless. If you add peptides to vitamin C the peptides will cause the vitamin C to oxidize and break down very fast, it won’t allow the vitamin C to work on your skin.
If you want to use these ingredients in your skincare routine you should consider using vitamin C in the mornings with your sunscreen and the peptides at night. An upside to using vitamin C with your sunscreen in the morning is that vitamin C aids in sun protection.
What stimulates collagen production?
Aloe Vera: This succulent plant can be used to soothe burns, hydrate the skin and increase the collagen production in your body and your skin. It can be taken orally or be applied topically. Regardless of how you choose to take it you’ll notice an increase in your skin quality and collagen production
Ginseng: This plant is great at improving the collagen production in your body. Whether ingested or used topically ginseng is effective in helping to maintain the skins natural shape. The plant will promote the growth of collagen and as a bonus, it delivers antioxidants into the bloodstream.
Foods: There are various foods that will help boost the production of collagen in your body. Your diet has a big effect on the health and youthfulness of your skin. If you don’t want to apply the above topically you have the choice of eating food that promotes collage production
What foods are rich in collagen?
Chicken: Many of the collagen supplements on the market are derived from chicken. Chickens are relatively easy to produce and they contain large amounts of collagen.
Fish: Collagen is found in many types off animals and that includes shellfish and fish. The collagen found in fish is easily absorbed by our bodies and this makes fish a great source of collagen for us. The parts of the fish that contain the most collagen are the head, eyeballs and the scales
Citrus fruits: Whether you like lemons, oranges, tangerines any other citrus fruits you’ll be pleased to now that you can get quite a bit of pro-collagen from these foods. Pro-collagen is the bodies precursor to collagen.
Berries: Staying in the fruit arena, berries are a great source of vitamin C, vitamin C isn’t only found in citrus fruits. There is actually more vitamin C in strawberries than there is in oranges. Vitamin C is needed to produce pro-collagen.
Beans: Beans do not contain collagen in them but they are high in proteins and they contain the amino acids that your body needs to produce collagen efficiently. If you want a hearty food that helps to produce more collagen beans are the way to go.
How can I make my skin look younger?
Retinol: This is a product that can improve your skin overall. It can be used on your skin if you have acne, dark spots, wrinkles or just want to frim your face and improve the health.
Retinol speeds up the cell turnover rate of your skin, this, in turn, boosts collagen production in the skin and makes your skin look younger, more youthful and more radiant. This is a favorite retinol.
Moisturiser: Dry skin can make you look much older than you already are. When your skin becomes thin and dry wrinkles are more likely to form. You can minimise this phenomenon by using a good hydrator like hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid will penetrate deep into your skin and hydrate it. You should layer this with a good thick moisturiser. This will seal in all that hydrating preventing it from evaporating. This is a favorite hyaluronic acid and this is a favourite moisturiser.
Sunscreen: This is a preventative measure to make sure your skin stays protected from the sun’s rays. You need to be using a broad-spectrum screen to protect against both the UVA and the UVB rays of the sun. The UVB rays of the sun cause burning and the UVA rays cause premature ageing. By using sunscreen you’re preventing premature ageing. This is a favorite suncreen.
How long does it take for peptides to work?
Just as with any other skin product peptides won’t give you instant results. In addition, you need to use them consistently over a longer period of time for you to start seeing the results. If you use them consistently you will start to see results within 6 weeks to 3 months.
I hope you enjoyed this article looking at the side effects of peptides. If you enjoyed the article please it.
