More is not better: peptides in cosmetology

Danne Montague-King, Doctor of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, founder of DMK (USA)

Peptides are worker bees that help assemble and combine protein “building blocks” into a single structure. There are, without exaggeration, hundreds of peptides and their varieties in the world - both biologically natural and synthesized. And you know? Skin cells do not tell the difference between the two.

They also play the role of a “conveyor belt” for a collagen factory. Fibroblast cells move amino acid components from the factory gate to the loading dock, after which they are incorporated into the cellular matrix as new young strands of collagen. Peptides as such are not the primary source of energy, but rather precursors to other complex molecular processes.

Peptides fall into three main categories:

• short - consist of two amino acids with one peptide bond;
• medium - tri- or tetrapeptides (they are the most common in skin care products);
• long - polypeptide chains.

Apart from research by companies producing peptide-based cosmetics, their effect on the skin has not yet been sufficiently studied by science. But, apparently, some types of peptides increase the effectiveness of the effects of other cosmetic components on the cellular structures of the skin.

Use in cosmetology

Since "peptide" is a fashionable and representative word, people's attention is captured by any product that says "contains peptide" on the label. The truth is that peptides are naturally found in many substances, such as vitamin C, retinoids and other coenzymes, and therefore adding their expensive analogues as a separate ingredient is like carrying firewood into the forest.

For example, copper peptides actually have an anti-inflammatory effect - they suppress pro-inflammatory cytokines. I have used them in topical treatments with limited exposure time to the skin. I'm not at all excited about the prospect of researching the side effects of oversaturating the skin with copper, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Copper peptides indeed have valuable properties, but they are not a primary source of energy, but rather a means of intensive support.

Every time I see too many benefits being attributed to a single ingredient (accelerates the synthesis of collagen, promotes the synthesis of elastin, glycosaminoglycans, etc.), I chuckle and remember the old Westerns, the characters of which brandish a bottle of some “Dr. Smith’s magic elixir” - a cure for all ills.

There are many complex molecular processes that maintain in good condition that amazing organic computer that we call our body, and, what is especially important, it is necessary to influence it from the outside with simple and single tools, and not with multifactorial ones.

Argireline (acetyl hexapeptide-3) is an ingredient obtained by biosynthesis from animal nervous tissue protein. Consists of six amino acids. Colorless, practically odorless, soluble in water. Non-toxic, is an effective alternative to botulinum toxin without the use of injections, and is used externally. Reduces the depth of facial folds of the skin, penetrates the basal layer of the epidermis, interrupts neuromuscular transmission, thereby relaxing muscles and smoothing wrinkles.

The peptide combo contained in argireline appears to have an effective effect on the skin. When included in the formula of a good transepidermal delivery system, muscle contraction at the application site is reduced by 20-30%. Apparently, the positive effects accumulate and can be maintained.

But this remedy definitely cannot serve as a substitute for botulinum toxin preparations. Claims that serums or creams are superior to aesthetic medicine are absurd, they are simply advertising that exploits the fear factor of invasive procedures and the associated financial costs.

In principle, the W/O formula of argireline is very good to use after botulinum therapy, this helps to preserve and maintain the full effect of the injections.

More is not better

The reason I disagree with the addition of stand-alone peptides to products that already have peptide effects due to other, primary ingredients is rooted in this: peptides themselves are small, fragile amino acids. Synthetic samples seem to be more durable than natural ones, but we still do not have real data on their shelf life in the composition of the drug. Will they remain active enough to penetrate the skin at all?

In my opinion, there are ways to design even better "worker bees" - taking into account the 500 dalton rule, therefore convenient for topical use. This rule states: molecules weighing up to 500 daltons can penetrate the epidermis, but they are many times less stable, and molecules weighing over 500 daltons cannot.

But for now, we can with a clear conscience include ingredients with a natural content of peptides and time-tested argireline that performs its task as effective remedies.

The problem is this: many products contain very active ingredients in extremely high concentrations that actually affect the natural processes and changes in the epidermis, at best imitating the natural functions of the skin, as if it were young. If you also mix newfangled peptides into such a product, it will not necessarily become better or more effective.

But if you promote it with a big marketing campaign, accompanied by a few pseudoscientific phrases found on Google, it will simply be swept off the shelves.

The end results of the treatment are what create the basis for real change under the influence of the factors contained in the product, this is what determines the effect that marketers present as proof of the power of peptides.

Food for thought...

First published in " Les Nouvelles Esthétiques Ukraine" No. 3 (109) /2018