Simran Sethi:
Welcome back to The SKIN Report. We are going to start a series where once a month I'm going to do a deep dive into a skincare ingredient that's trending. And because so many of you have asked about learning more about peptides, our first ingredient deep dive is going to be peptides.
I'm Dr. Simran Sethi, a board certified internal medicine doctor who specializes in medical aesthetics. Let's get started.
So peptides are proteins that I think can be broken down into two broad categories when it comes to skincare. The first is peptides that promote collagen production or healing of the skin, healing of the skin barrier, and the other is the actual collagen peptide. And we have different kinds of collagen, so there's different kinds of peptides. So if you think of peptides in skincare in those two categories, it's a lot easier to figure out when you need them and why you should use them.
So what do peptides actually do? So again, looking at those two categories, let's think about the pro-collagen or collagen-promoting peptides. Peptides are actually signal enhancers in our body. Our cells are told what to do when a peptide comes and talks to a receptor on our cell. So when it comes to skincare, if you have peptides in your skincare, depending on the type of peptide, it can actually promote your skin's ability to make new collagen or to repair your skin barrier. So when you are looking at peptides in skincare, likely you will need peptides to enhance production of collagen if you are not already making collagen well, as in the case of aging skin, when you go through menopause. There's a major drop in how much collagen or new skin you're making.
Peptides can trigger new skin barrier building in conditions like acne or rosacea or eczema where there's a broken skin barrier. So pro-collagen peptides are building peptides and they signal better skin building.
The next group of peptides, the collagen peptides are actually exactly what they're called, collagen. I know that many creams are popular because they're collagen creams, which means that they contain collagen to replace collagen that your skin has less of. These creams typically are anti-aging creams or marketed to mostly women as they're going through their 40s and above. The problem with these creams is, and it's not a big problem, but in my opinion, the problem here is that you are just replacing collagen temporarily while you have the cream on. You're not making your skin make more collagen. So if you had the option of picking something that enhances the amount of collagen you're naturally making every day all the time versus collagen that you're applying to your skin almost to sort of fill in gaps in your skin barrier, then I would pick something that allows you to have a better ability to make new skin and new collagen.
A common question I get is, who should use peptides? Peptides can be used in any age group for a multitude of conditions. So let's start with sort of a younger age group, and that would be people who have acne. Acne is an inflammatory condition that often results in skin barrier breakage. Peptides are an excellent way to promote skin barrier building and actually even reduce inflammation.
The second group that peptides are very popular in and are very indicated in is anti-aging or mature skin. But that doesn't mean you have to wait for your skin to fully mature or show signs of aging like fine lines, dryness. So incorporating peptides into your routine at an early age, like in your 20s, will only enhance your ability to repair damage from everyday environmental stressors, UV exposure. So short answer, everyone can use peptides in their skincare routine.
And then finally, "What kind of peptide should I use in my skincare routine?" For this, I would always recommend using a pro-collagen, pro-skin building peptide over using a collagen peptide. Remember, collagen peptide just allows you to apply collagen on your skin for the short time that that skincare product is on your skin. After you wash it up, there is no more of this collagen on your skin. So instead, pick something that is helping you make more collagen.
There are a lot of skincare products with peptides, so if you have any questions about them, please ask in the comments. And remember to subscribe and turn on your little notification bell so that whenever we release a new episode.
