Are the new wave of peptides really as promising as they sound?

Peptides are to skincare what the Z-press move is to fitness and what clean eating is to nutrition: convoluted and almost impossible to distil into a one-line explanation. For starters, there are hundreds of them, all working in different ways. 

And while they’ve been around for some time, they’ve historically played a supporting role, never quite achieving the star status of anti-ageing heroes such as vitamin C, glycolic acid or retinol. Until now. 

Thanks to advances in skincare science, peptides are now being harnessed in a whole new way. Brands from Lancôme to No7 are giving peptides a starring role in their formulations, with promises of delivering even better results for your skin. Never one to miss a beauty beat, TikTok is on board; peptides are currently the second biggest search term for beauty on the platform and Google search traffic for peptides has increased by 50 per cent since 2022. But are the new wave of peptides really as promising as they sound? 

FACE FACTS 

Like flat-pack furniture instructions and cryptic crosswords, peptides require your undivided attention to understand. "Peptides are the building blocks of proteins, which are made up of chains of amino acids strung together by peptide bonds," says Anjali Mahto, consultant dermatologist and founder of the clinic Self London. If you ever had a jewellery-making kit as a kid, the coloured beads are the amino acids that, when strung together, form a peptide. You and your childhood BFF might have had the same kit, but you probably ended up with different bracelets. 

As for their purpose? "Primarily, peptides are responsible for the skin’s natural resilience and strength, and they boost levels of elastin and collagen, the two main proteins in the skin that keep it buoyant and crease-free," says Dr Mahto. But that’s not their only line of business. "Peptides have also been found to send signals to skin cells to repair themselves, which is why they’re nicknamed cell whisperers," she adds. And the bad news? Just like your ability to endure a hangover, the prowess of peptides fades with age. "Peptides fall in number as they’re under attack from internal stress, along with external environmental aggressors, such as pollution and UV rays," says Dr Mahto. You’ll know your peptides are dwindling because you’ll see it on your face: enter fine lines, wrinkles and skin that’s duller than a budget meeting. 

TURNING THE TIDE

To understand why peptides are playing a starring role, you need to understand their origin story. This one begins in 1973, when the biochemist Loren Pickart discovered a copper peptide in blood plasma. After learning that it was present in greater quantities in young people than older people, he began to ask why. He found that copper peptide molecules can shift your skin’s biology from ageing to rejuvenation, but they do it in a safe and gentle way. 

And while it would be decades before peptides started playing a major role in the beauty industry, Dr Pickart’s discovery is credited with their use in skincare today. Fast forward to the early '00s and a cosmetic ingredient company called Sederma created matrixyl, a synthetic ‘pentapeptide’.

In 2003, Olay added it to its Regenerist range and it’s still used in the brand’s formulations today. Wondering what on earth a pentapeptide is? Let’s go back to our bracelets. Different prefixes indicate the number of amino acids (beads) that make up the peptide (bracelet); a dipeptide comprises of two amino acids, a tripeptide contains three, tetra is four, penta means five and poly means more than 20. Sederma’s pentapeptide was a breakthrough as it triggers a signal that stimulates skin cells to produce more collagen. "It’s the same as the peptide that forms when your skin is injured, which triggers the regeneration process," says Frauke Neuser, principle scientist at Olay. 

Olay’s Regenerist range was an overnight success, and Sederma’s matrixyl became the go-to peptide for beauty brands. And by 2013, it had the nod from the science community. Researchers from the University of Reading found that the right quantity of matrixyl could almost double the levels of collagen in your skin. And skin experts agreed; matrixyl was the secret behind which anti-ageing creams worked and which didn’t. Peptides were the biggest news in skincare—until they weren’t. In the years that followed, peptides fell out of favour. Big brands continued to use them, but they were sidelined by newer, buzzier ingredients that, from a marketing perspective, were deemed more exciting. ‘Peptides’ biggest problem is that there are hundreds of them," says Mike Bell, head of science research for No7. "In the context of skincare, you have a few that are magical and some that are completely useless, so it can take decades of research to find the right peptides that work for your skin." 

CREAM OF THE CROP

Now, that research is beginning to bear fruit. Earlier this year, No7 unveiled the ‘super peptide’ blend that’s the star of its Future Renew range. It’s been developed following 15 years of research and innovation using methods more commonly found in medical research than the cosmetic kind. 

Working alongside the University of Manchester, Dr Bell used an AI approach to identify which specific peptides—from a list of thousands—are most commonly found in the skin; which could be synthesised; and which could infiltrate the epidermis to the deeper skin layers where repair happens. After a process of elimination, they found two peptides that harness the skin’s natural repair process and the renewal of over 50 key proteins in skin cells, which reverse the appearance of multiple signs of skin damage and ageing.

In a subsequent study, the peptides were placed under a patch on the arms of volunteers. After 12 days, a biopsy showed that their skin had higher levels of fibrillin—proteins responsible for giving skin its bounce. The company also conducted a clinical trial which, unlike other scientific studies, was designed to explore the efficacy of a medical intervention; 44 female volunteers used the No7 serum on one side of their face and a simple SPF cream on the other. 

After the trial period, the two sides of the women’s faces were graded by experts using numerous clinical benchmarks, and the No7 serum appeared to have reversed signs of skin damage by five years. This research was met with excitement from the scientific beauty community, but in matters of peptide progression, it’s the tip of the iceberg. Lancôme enlisted the help of an AI company in the creation of its 300-peptide blend hailing from plants, rather than a lab. First, the AI technology identified peptide sequences in the three plants (lupine, linseed and pea). The brand then worked alongside the Western Institute of Technology, an engineering research centre, to identify every amino acid within the peptide sequence, as well as the order. 

"With that information, we looked into a large protein database to see if any of these peptide sequences had similarities to skin proteins," explains Annie Black, Lancôme’s international scientific director. "Amazingly, we found 300 exact peptide sequences in the plant extracts that are linked to the skin proteome (proteins within the skin)," says Dr Black. During subsequent testing, the researchers discovered that the blend not only boosted collagen, but also inhibited metalloproteinases—enzymes that hack and degrade collagen in your skin. Another study carried out by Lancôme found that for women aged 40 to 59, their skin renewed faster when using Rénergie H.P.N. 300-Peptide Cream after just 22 days, suggesting that the cream provides the right environment to allow your skin to regenerate faster.

The brand Paula’s Choice has also gone back to the drawing board. Its brand new Pro-Collagen Multi-Peptide Booster harnesses what founder Paula Begoun believes are six of the best and most stable peptides. These peptides were chosen for their ability to penetrate the upper layers of your skin and rebuild the dermal-epidermal junction—a network of proteins that interact and strengthen adhesion between the lower part of the epidermis and the top layer of the dermis, regulating the micro-environment for cells. 

While five of the peptides are ‘signalling peptides’ that work by instructing the skin to boost collagen, tridecapeptide-1 is known as a neurotransmitter-inhibitor peptide. Experts claim that this type of peptide can reduce expression lines and wrinkles on your face by blocking the messages that travel between your nerves and muscles, telling them to tense up when you frown or raise your eyebrows. In other words, it’s the perfect peptide for those of us who can’t help looking surprised. 

NEXT PEP

All of which serves as powerful proof of peptides’ promise. So, should we be giving up our gold-standard ingredients for the new class of peptides? "The data from the initial studies by these brands is encouraging," says Dr Mahto, who welcomes the use of various peptides within one formula as a way of targeting multiple issues at once. "It would be interesting to see more data on the effect on all aspects of skin ageing, though. The ageing process has other mechanisms, such as DNA damage, that reduce cells’ capacity to self-repair no matter how many peptides are hanging around," Dr Mahto adds.

Then there’s what’s commonly known as the ‘evidence gap’, whereby beauty brands will highlight the impressive studies done on the finished formula but attribute the findings to one ingredient at the expense of all the others. This means that it becomes harder to trust the results of trials that test finished skincare products, instead of focusing on specific ingredients. 

But Dr Mahto is adamant that peptides are worth the investment, for one simple reason: they can work for everyone. "Most people will find adding peptides to their routine to be of benefit, whereas not everyone can tolerate vitamin A [retinol] or acids," she adds. "We know peptides support the naturally occurring peptides that are already in our skin, and we know they really help to strengthen the skin barrier, so they can be of use if someone has sensitive skin or has damaged their skin by using too many actives." Ultimately, beauty brands have always been adept at convincing us of the value of a single ingredient to elevate our skincare routine. But in the case of peptides, they appear to be on to something.

Pep talk

In order to understand peptides, you need to speak their language. Consider this your dictionary 

Signal peptides: These instruct your skin to do something, such as produce more collagen. 

Carrier peptides: Think of them as your skin’s answer to Uber, ferrying repairing molecules around your body and delivering them to sites of damage. 

Neurotransmitter-inhibitor peptides:  They block the messages that travel between your nerves and muscles to tell them to tense up when you frown or raise your brows, which reduces wrinkles in the process. 

Enzyme-inhibitor peptides: They work to prevent the breakdown of collagen, helping your skin to hold on to its bounce for longer.

This piece originally appeared in the July edition of Penny Pinchers