Five Types of Peptides for Skin

Looking to up your skincare game? Discover the five types of peptides used in skin care you need to know about. From stimulating collagen production to reducing inflammation, learn how these powerful ingredients can benefit your skin. Read our in-depth guide now.

The following are the five types of peptides used as active ingredients in skin care products:

Signal Peptides

What are Signal Peptides in Skin Care

When skin is injured, the body produces peptides which act as messengers to promote healing. By applying peptides to the skin, it can signal the production of additional proteins and create a biological response to affect a certain outcome, such as building new collagen and elastin. These signal peptides contain an active amino acid sequence that instructs skin cells to perform specific functions.

Signaling peptides have been developed that claim to stimulate:

Collagen
Elastin
Laminin
Hyaluronic acid
Elafin
Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
Thrombospondin I (THBS1)
Decorin
Melanocyte-stimulating hormones (MSH)
Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)
Fibronectin.

Examples of Signal Peptides

Palmitoyl Pentapetide-4 (Matrixyl®)
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1
Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5

Enzyme-Inhibitor Peptides

What are Enzyme-Inhibitor Peptides in Skin Care

Enzyme inhibitors can disrupt the functioning of certain chemicals that participate in a particular process associated with aging. Specifically, they can impede enzymes responsible for breaking down collagen and other proteins in the skin, which theoretically helps prevent collagen depletion. Soybean peptides, silk fibroin peptides, and rice peptides are among the most widely used enzyme inhibitors for this purpose.

Examples of Enzyme-Inhibitor Peptides

Soybean Peptides

Soy oligopeptides are obtained from soybean proteins, consisting of 3–6 amino acids, mainly in the size range of 300–700 kDa. Various biological activities of soybean oligopeptides have been identified, such as antioxidant, blood pressure lowering, and blood lipid lowering effects. Topically applied soy oligopeptides data showed significantly increased Bcl-2 protein expression and decreased cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers-positive cells, sunburn cells, apoptotic cells, p53 protein expression, and Bax protein expressions in the epidermis of UVB-irradiated foreskin. Topically used soy oligopeptides seem to protect human skin (nine healthy male volunteers) against UVB-induced photo damage.
Zhou, B.R.; Ma, L.W.; Liu, J.; Zhang, J.A.; Xu, Y.; Wu, D.; Permatasari, F.; Luo, D. Protective Effects of Soy Oligopeptides in Ultraviolet B-Induced Acute Photodamage of Human Skin. Oxid. Med. Cell. Longev. 2016, 2016. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Silk Fibroin Peptide

Silk fibroin peptide is derived from the silkworm Bombyx mori. Scientific results show inhibitory inflammation and enhance the anti-inflammatory activity of tTAT-superoxide dismutase, which was previously reported to effectively penetrate various cells and tissues, and exert anti-oxidative activity in a mouse model of inflammation.
Kim, D.W.; Hwang, H.S.; Kim, D.S.; Sheen, S.H.; Heo, D.H.; Hwang, G.; Kang, S.H.; Kweon, H.; Jo, Y.Y.; Kang, S.W.; et al. Effect of silk fibroin peptide derived from silkworm Bombyx mori on the anti-inflammatory effect of Tat-SOD in a mice edema model. BMB Rep. 2011, 44, 787–792. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Rice Peptides

After a specially processing rice bran protein, low molecular weight peptides (<3000 Da) were obtained. Black rice oligopeptides were measured at approximately 1300 Da. These oligopeptides were noted for inhibiting MMP (matrix metalloproteinase) activity and stimulated hyaluronan synthase 2 gene expression in human keratinocytes in a dose-dependent manner [55]. Three new identified rice bran protein peptides had a C-terminal tyrosine residue, and exhibited significant inhibitory effects against tyrosinase-mediated monophenolase reactions. Additionally, one peptide called CT-2 (Leu-Gln-Pro-Ser-His-Tyr) potently inhibited melanogenesis in mouse melanoma cells without causing cytotoxicity, which might be of interest for melanin-related skin conditions.
Schagen, S.K. Topical Peptide Treatments with Effective Anti-Aging Results. Cosmetics 2017, 4, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics4020016

Carrier Peptides

Carrier peptides, such as copper and manganese, are popular in skincare products due to their ability to transport important trace elements for wound healing and enzymatic processes.

Dr. Loren Pickart discovered the wound-healing and skin-repair properties of carrier peptides when he isolated the copper peptide GHK-Cu in 1973. GHK-Cu is the most researched and documented peptide used in wound-healing and skin-repair products.

In a key study, GHK-Cu was found to have the most significant effect on collagen production compared to vitamin C and retinoic acid after one month of use

Copper Tripeptide

Copper tripeptide (Cu-GHK, lamin®) complex (Sequence: Copper Gly-l-His-l-Lys) is one of the most well-examined peptides. It plays a role in the extracellular matrix, and is released in wounds or inflammation to support healing. It acts as signal and carrier peptide, promotes regular collagen, elastin, proteoglycan, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis, and provides anti-inflammatory and antioxidant responses. In cosmetic applications, Cu-GHK is used in anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, after-sun, skin renewal, skin moisturizer, hair growth stimulating products.
Pickart, L.; Schagen, S. New data of the Cosmeceutical and tripeptide GHK. SOFW J. 2015, 9, 141. [Google Scholar]

Neurotransmitter Peptides

Neurotransmitter inhibitors are a class of peptides that are less common compared to signaling and carrier peptides. These peptides work by blocking the release of acetylcholine, which is a neurotransmitter that plays a significant role in muscle contractions. By inhibiting the release of acetylcholine, these peptides can help relax facial muscles and reduce the appearance of fine lines.

Neurotransmitter peptides like Argireline, are often compared to Botox due to their ability to create a similar muscle reaction. However, Argireline is notably less effective than botulinum toxin.

The main peptides in this class include:

Acetylhexapeptide-3 (Argireline)
Pentapeptides, such as pentapeptide-3 and pentapeptide-18
Tripeptide-3