What Are the Benefits of a Peptide Moisturizer?
What Are the Benefits of a Peptide Moisturizer?
We’re old enough to know that our skin needs moisture—but what we sometimes miss is that not all moisture works the same. The same lotions and creams we might have used in our teens simply don’t contain the ingredients that can benefit our skin the most.
Moisturizers can be powerhouse vehicles that deliver potent skin-benefitting ingredients, but if you don’t know what to look for, you can end up slathering on layer upon layer of lotion that isn’t going to penetrate your skin, support your skin’s moisture barrier, or address the skin issues that concern you most.
Some of the most beneficial ingredients to know about are peptides. Peptides are found naturally within the skin, helping support skin structure and make your skin look and feel firm and resilient. With age, the amount of these peptides declines, so supporting levels with a peptide moisturizer is a smart choice.
Understanding Your Skin
The skin changes with time; that’s no secret. Skin tone may appear uneven, and the texture of the skin may change, with patches of rough skin taking over places that used to be smooth. Perhaps the biggest change in the skin is a loss of firmness and resilience.
This happens for a few reasons:
Collagen and Elastin
Our skin is made up of proteins, and the two that give it the most structure are collagen and elastin. Collagen makes skin firm and plump, and elastin gives skin its bounce.
By the time we are 20, our collagen production decreases by one percent each year. This is the primary reason we begin to notice the development of fine lines and deep wrinkles.
Moisture Barrier
The stratum corneum, also referred to as the skin barrier, is a fine coating residing over the outermost surface of skin, known as the epidermis. It plays an integral role in regulating the traffic of materials that enter and exit the fragile ecosystem of your skin.
The chief function of your skin barrier is to lessen transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Given that 64 percent of your skin composition is water, it's important that a barrier is in place to prevent this water from escaping into the air that surrounds you.
In addition, the stratum corneum protects your skin against bacteria, toxins, and numerous other antagonists, thereby contributing to the maintenance of skin health. As the most expansive organ in the human body, the skin acts as the primary wall of protection against various external pressures—and this defense begins with, and relies upon, the stability of a healthy skin barrier.
Free Radical Damage
In addition to protein loss and issues with the moisture barrier, your skin is also affected by exposure to free radicals from sources like the sun, cigarette smoke, and pollution. These changes result in shifts in the skin’s overall tone and appearance and can result in dark spots and a loss of “bounce” in the skin.
What Are Peptides?
Peptides are chains of amino acids that comprise proteins all over the body. In your skin, specifically, peptides (also referred to as polypeptides) make up collagen and elastin.
When you use a moisturizer that contains peptides, you give your skin additional resources to work with—similar to the way antioxidants boost your skin’s ability to fend off free radicals, even though your skin produces antioxidants on its own.
How Do Peptides Work?
Peptides work by sending a message to your skin cells to work harder. As protein production slows, flooding the skin with peptides tells the skin to begin protein synthesis. Peptides are also extremely small molecules, so they can easily penetrate the skin and reach deeper layers.
Benefits of a Peptide Moisturizer
Of course, there are benefits to using a peptide moisturizer beyond the stimulation of protein production. The SUPER Hydrator is a peptide moisturizer that improves resilience and firmness—clinically shown to provide up to 48 hours of sustained hydration.
Free Radical Damage
Skin that has been damaged by free radicals can show signs of oxidative stress in the form of less resilience and dark spots (sometimes called sunspots). Peptides can help support skin function in a way that helps the skin restore and rejuvenate itself, causing these areas to visibly fade and return to their original radiance.
Peptides and Hyaluronic Acid
Pairing peptides with hyaluronic acid is a game-changing way to address moisture deficiencies. The skin’s moisture barrier often becomes dry, sometimes because the cleansers we use strip the barrier and interfere with its pH levels.
Peptides help replenish the moisture barrier, keeping it strong, protected, and healthy. Adding hyaluronic acid restores levels of hydration to the skin.
Hyaluronic acid is a molecule that can hold up to 1,000 times its molecular weight in water, and it's found naturally in the skin.
How Do I Use a Peptide Moisturizer?
Adding a peptide moisturizer to your daily routine is simple.
- After cleansing, apply The Resurfacing Compound.
- Allow the Compound to completely absorb before applying The SUPER Hydrator to seal in the Compound and ensure complete hydration that lasts for up to 48 hours.
- Finish with The RETURN Eye Concentrate.
Are Peptide Moisturizers Good for Sensitive Skin?
Peptides are a great solution for people with sensitive skin because the skin already contains them. These are gentle ingredients that are well-researched and considered safe. They’re known to be well-tolerated by even the most sensitive skin types.
Can I Use Peptides With Retinol?
Yes. In fact, combining a peptide moisturizer with a retinol product is a solution for targeting uneven skin tone and texture and addressing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
The Resurfacing Compound contains both peptides and stable retinol and combining it with SUPER Hydrator can effectively give your skin the support it needs to function more efficiently. If you’ve tried a retinol product before with limited success or struggled with irritation, our Resurfacing Compound is a must-try.
SIREN Capsule Technology™ delivers stable retinol to the skin in a way that delivers the benefits of retinol without the irritation.
Skin Reimagined
Skin that is growing up needs a moisturizer that can grow up with it. A peptide moisturizer can help support the skin and meet new needs that it develops with age.
Peptides are naturally found in the skin and help the skin make proteins like collagen, which can help keep your skin looking plump and firm. Consider U Beauty your source for skincare that contains the highest quality, scientifically-researched ingredients that reveal skin’s radiance and transform it from within.
Sources:
Why Does Skin Wrinkle With Age? | Scientific American.com
Hyaluronic Acid: What It Is, Benefits, How To Use & Side Effects | Cleveland Clinic.com
Anatomy, Skin (Integument), Epidermis - StatPearls | NCBI Bookshelf
A comprehensive review of signal peptides: Structure, roles, and applications | ScienceDirect
