Peptides

Peptides are short chains of amino acids used in skincare for many different purposes, including signaling, conditioning and delivery of minerals. Examples in cosmetics include palmitoyl peptides, acetyl hexapeptides and oligopeptides, but they should not be treated as one single active class with one mechanism.

Human evidence for topical peptides is promising but heterogeneous, and recent systematic review data are dominated by oral collagen-peptide studies rather than topical cosmetics. A peptide product should therefore be judged by the exact peptide, concentration, delivery system and clinical data for the finished formula.