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Beauty

Pep Rally! Peptides demystified…

Do you find the myriad of different beauty ingredients a little confusing? You are not alone!! Today, Jeanie Scott, our Resident Skin Therapist demystifies ‘Peptides’… A common concern with my clients is the terminology used to describe ingredient families in their skin products. Although many of you are as obsessed and as investigative as your skin therapists and facialists, for most it remains a daunting list of ceramides, vitamins, peptides, humectants, retinoids, hydroxy acids and more. Peptides seem to be an area that can be confusing or complicated. So let’s shine the spotlight on them this month and break it down to give you all that, “Gotcha” moment the next time they are mentioned or noticed. As we age, the collagen, elastin and keratin in our skin slows in rates of production and diminish in composition. And this is where Peptides come into product (as part of a wider cocktail of ingredients) – to support this diminishing network. Peptides are short chains of amino acids that make up the foundations of protein in the skin such as collagen, elastin and keratin. As they weaken and slow, we look to them in our skincare as they work on the skin as little messengers to signal to such skin proteins to get building. In turn, this will lead to the skin becoming plumper, fresher and fuller. You might see the term “Bio Mimetic Peptides” used in skincare. This simply means that the peptides are synthetic but that imitate real peptides in the skin so that the skin recognises them and responds to them. Although they are a very important factor in supporting the skin network as it ages, you will also need to include humectants, retinoids, antioxidants and MOST importantly SPF. Perhaps we can look at another of these “families” next time. So that’s peptides – they will pep up your skin and hope that this peps up your “skintellect”! Jeanie  Scott, Skin Therapist