Every year, the beauty world becomes obsessed with a new ingredient. There was once an obsession with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and now peptides. But, it’s not for nothing as using peptides has been highly recommended by brands and skin care specialists from all backgrounds.
The ingredient is praised for its ability to hydrate and prevent anti-aging. Ron Robinson, cosmetic chemist, founder, and CEO of Beauty Stat, for one, certainly stands by the peptides.
“There are so many types of peptides available on the market, and they can even be uniquely designed (designer peptides) to deliver unique benefits to the skin,” says Robinson. As a chemist, Robinson is specifically focused on neuropeptides for his skincare products at Beauty Stat. “Neuropeptides are peptides that signal facial muscles to relax to smooth the look of expression lines and wrinkles,” as can be found in his BeautyStat Relaxing Moisturizer.
Below, we go into detail about the hot ingredient of the moment.
What are peptides?
With so much hype around peptides, it can take time to understand the definition behind the popular ingredient. Before trying any ingredient, it’s important to know what we put on our skin. Learning more about these ingredients can determine if it’s aligned with our skin goals and if it’s worth implementing the product into our routine in the first place. “Peptides are short chains of amino acids,” says Robinson. When applied to the skin, Robinson describes peptides’ reactions to “act as messengers by triggering cells to promote more collagen.”
The Benefits
The benefits of peptides are simple. “Peptides benefit the skin by helping to soothe and calm the skin as well as help repair skin’s barrier,” says Robinson. Repairing the skin’s barrier can be an excellent addition for those struggling to rebuild it after a skincare mishap. An example of this is leaving on your exfoliating mask for too long or combining too many actives. Peptides can heal the skin and bring it back to a comfortable state. Those who struggle with dehydrated skin, like eczema, can also indulge in soothing their skin with peptides.
The greatest benefit of all is that peptides are a multi-beneficial ingredient, from anti-aging to collagen-promoting and everything in between. Most skincare ingredients have a singular purpose, which leaves us no choice but to layer our routines with multiple products. Adding peptides to our skincare routine can decrease the number of products we use on our skin daily, making our routines simple and more manageable rather than long-winded. Incorporating peptides can be the key to indulging in the luxury of multi-purpose ingredients.
Which are worth trying?
Outside of Beauty Stat’s Relaxing Moisturizer, plenty of beauty brands are incorporating peptides into their skincare lines. For clean beauty lovers, Youth To The People’s Skin Drip is an excellent serum with both peptides and niacinamide, providing barrier protection and glow. In Addition, Skin Fix’s Triple Lipid Peptide Cream is a high-potency face cream that aims to improve barrier function and overall hydration. All three of these options are perfect for the upcoming winter months. It is a time when our skin becomes drier than normal and calls us to protect the skin barrier. Staring off with a serum or going straight for a moisturizer is a step towards ensuring your skin is protected all season long.
