The 8 Best Peptides for Your Skin

‘Peptides’: you see the word listed in the ingredients of all your favourite skincare products. But what do Peptides actually do?

These complexion-correcting compounds have come a long way since they were first introduced to skincare routines.

Lauded as anti-ageing heroes, they smooth, hydrate, and help repair skin.

Peptides are amino acids that benefit your skin. Amino acids give skin the building blocks it needs to make essential proteins. Collagen is an essential protein that our skin needs to stay looking plump, youthful, and fresh.

Without these essential proteins, skin will soon look depleted, saggy, lacklustre, and tired—no one wants that!

What are Peptides?

Peptides and Collagen Peptides are essential to the function and structure of the skin. When you add more Peptides to the skin, your body uses them to heal itself. Peptides for skin are sent directly to where your body needs them the most.

Every year after you turn 30, you lose 1% of your skin’s natural Collagen. So, it’s important you keep topping up those Collagen reserves to maintain a healthy balance and young, fresh-looking skin. While a Peptide serum won’t perform miracles, it’ll certainly leave your skin looking fresher and feeling better.

An anti ageing peptide serum will help you reduce the look of wrinkles on the skin when used consistently over time. If you want to tackle redness on the skin, Peptides can help reduce red patches with a powerful boost of antioxidants. Peptide infused skincare will help reduce the looking of sagging skin and by improving elasticity. The best Collagen Peptides have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin, which works especially well on sun-kissed skin.

Watch Dermal Clinician, James Vivian explain exactly what Peptides and Ceramides are all about in the YouTube video below...

How do Peptides Work in Skincare?

Peptides in skincare work by boosting the skin with Collagen, which helps it look more youthful. Peptides reinforce the proteins that naturally occur in your skin, so your skin feels softer and looks smoother for longer. You can enjoy several different types of Peptides in one skin-loving formula. These ingredients are most commonly found in anti-ageing creams and serums.

By using a product that includes many different types of Peptides, you can target various skin complaints at the same time. Make sure you always store Peptides properly, because they’re vulnerable to sunlight.

If you’re looking to up your skincare routine and introduce the best Collagen Peptides, we’ve done the research so you don't have to!

Before we give you a round-up of our fave peptide skin care have you heard of our skin care finder? Take our skin care quiz to find the perfect products for your needs....or continue reading our roundup below!

Best Peptide Skincare

Enjoy these Peptide products and get ready to show off your healthier-looking skin with pride.

Perfect for all skin types, LightStim Collagen Peptide Serum offers water-based rather than oil-based hydration. This is great news for skin that’s showing the first signs of ageing, because wrinkles and fine lines can be plumped from within for a more even texture. Use this formula with the LightStim For Wrinkles: LED Light Therapy device to boost your results even further. The non-comedogenic serum and LED device can also help treat adult acne safely and effectively. Apply the formula to clean skin and massage gently for the best results.

Vegan and cruelty-free, this formula is suitable and gentle enough for all skin types. It works by minimising the way the facial muscles contract, which helps reverse ingrained expression lines. The Collagen in the formula visibly plumps and smooths the skin and leaves you with a hydrated and healthy-looking complexion. Medik8 Liquid Peptides Drone-Targeted Peptide Complex will keep skin feeling soft. This hydrating serum absorbs in seconds, so you don’t have to wait before you apply moisturiser. Massage into your skin morning and night, and you’ll soon experience the benefits.

Skinstitut Rejuvenating 15 Serum features a loving blend of ingredients to help your skin look better than ever. Traditionally used in Chinese medicine, Magnolia Bark Extracts help correct any pigmentation, such as sunspots, that appears on the skin. Caprooyl Tetrapeptide-3 is a potent signal Peptide that helps give the skin a firmer appearance. Resveratrol is an antioxidant that helps the skin stay protected from any free radical damage. And Algae Extract works to detoxify the skin so it glows from within. Apply a small amount to clean, dry skin, morning and night, for the best results.

 Cosmedix Affirm Antioxidant Firming Serum is a Peptide serum that includes a host of powerful antioxidants to help keep your skin protected. Resveratrol and Polydatin derived from wine, as well as Blueberry Extracts, combine with Spin Trap to convert any free radicals into vital oxygen for the skin. The unique Biopeptides in the formula help tighten and firm loose skin and help the moisture levels in the skin stay high. Apply this cruelty-free firming serum at night to clean, dry skin using an upwards motion. Finish with your favourite moisturiser or wear alone.

Use on specific areas to target crow’s feet, laughter lines, and furrows between the brows. Drawing moisture to where your skin needs it most, PCA Skin ExLinea Peptide Smoothing Serum includes a high concentration of Argireline to help soften any future facial expressions. Free from synthetic dyes and fragrances, this cruelty-free facial serum soothes the skin instantly. Apply a very small amount to the area that you want to target and follow up with your favourite moisturiser.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum also includes a Probiotic Complex suspended in a base of Hyaluronic Acid to keep the skin super-soft and super-nourished. The oil-free and silicone-free serum leaves your skin hydrated and cared for all day long. Targeting multiple signs of ageing at once, this complex formula can be used regularly to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It’s also a safe product to use if you’re allergic to nuts or can’t tolerate gluten. Note that this formula’s blue tint is caused by the Copper Peptides, but the product appears invisible once applied and absorbed. It’s a great Peptide serum for your face. Apply it morning and night before moisturiser.

Amy explains the difference between The Ordinary Buffet and The Ordinary “Buffet” + Copper Peptides 1% in the video below...

Which Peptides are Best for Skin?

Peptides in skincare are known for being one of the most nourishing, rebuilding ingredients you can put on your skin. Peptides are chains of amino acids that give your skin the building blocks it needs to stay healthy-looking and plump.

Topical Peptides are what you use in your skincare routine. Carrier Peptides, such as those you might find in a Copper Peptide serum, carry stabilising trace elements to your skin. These trace elements help boost the Collagen that your skin needs to stay plump, hydrated, and healthy-looking. If you’re looking for an anti-ageing solution for skin, look for Copper Peptides in the ingredients list.

Neurotransmitter Inhibitor Peptides help give your skin a smooth, almost Botox-like effect. These Peptides work only on wrinkles caused by expressions and not wrinkles caused by the sun. Enzyme Inhibitor Peptides (e.g., Silk Fibroin Peptides and Soybean Peptides) stop Collagen in the skin from breaking down.

If you’re wondering, What are Collagen Peptides?, we have some answers. Signal Peptides (e.g., Matrixyl-3000 and Copper Peptides) send signals to the skin telling it to up its production of Collagen and Elastin. The Signal Peptide is the one that works hardest to keep your skin looking young. 

Food can also be rich in Peptides. Milk, eggs, soybean, fish, and meat are all natural sources of Peptides that can be consumed for healthy-looking skin. These dietary Peptides work to give the skin a youthful appearance when eaten as part of a balanced diet. You might also try taking a Collagen Peptides powder to boost the performance of your skin from the inside out.

If you’ve always seen Peptides popping up in your skincare ingredients, now you know exactly how they help your skin.

When choosing a product with Peptides, consider exactly what your skin needs the most and take it from there. You’ll enjoy healthier, plumper-looking skin with a few Peptides in your products!

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