Utilizing peptides in skin care is a relatively new endeavor, but the effective little amino acid chains are really proving their worth. At the cutting edge of skincare, not only does Glowbiotics utilize the power of peptides in their revolutionary products, they've taken it a step further with Smart Peptides.
Just what can smart peptides do for your skin?
First Things First
Before we can get into the awesomeness of smart peptides, you first need to have an understanding of what regular peptides do and how they help your skin. That requires a little bit of an anatomy and physiology lesson, but we promise we won't be as boring as your freshman A&P professor.
What Are Peptides?
The short answer is peptides are the building blocks that make up protein. Protein is an incredibly important part of your body system, as it makes up 20% of the human body. It plays a crucial role in almost all biological processes. The most vital protein within your skin is collagen.
Amino acids are the acids that are responsible for ultimately creating proteins. If you think of peptides as building blocks, amino acids are like the ingredients used to produce the blocks, and proteins are the structures built with the blocks. There are 20 different amino acids, and some of them can be produced by your body, while nine others, essential amino acids, must be obtained from the foods we eat.
Amino acids become linked together through a biochemical reaction that creates a bond between each acid. When enough amino acids are bonded together in different arrangements, you have a peptide. An oligopeptide is a peptide that contains just a few (between 2-20) amino acids. A polypeptide is a long chain of many amino acids.
When you have one or more polypeptides together, you've got protein.
What Can Peptides Do?
Peptides work at the cellular level to increase cell-to-cell communication, or cross talk. They can function as neuromodulators, neurotransmitters, and even hormones. Because they're so pharmacologically-active, these molecules are of great interest and have been proven to have great benefit to cosmetic manufacturers and medicine.
Peptides are sort of like the bossy manager at work who tells everyone what to do. To kick off the process of cellular communication between all neighboring cells, all it takes is one peptide to kickstart the process. Think of the peptide as a "key," and the "lock" is a specific receptor on the surface of the cell. Once they get together the peptide tells the nucleus (the "brain") of the cell to change how the cell acts (its genetic expression). That cell releases messenger molecules from the cell to all of the surrounding cells. Change has begun!
That's especially interesting if you have aging skin. The number one way you can start to reduce the visible signs of aging is to encourage your skin's production of collagen. Peptides are small enough to penetrate the skin and can signal the skin to repair itself, triggering a boost in collagen. Other peptides can help with overall skin regeneration, helpful in healing sun-damaged skin, some are used in wound healing, and others help to improve hydration.
How Can Glowbiotics Make That Magic Better?
Glowbiotics utilizes a variety of polypeptides and oligopeptides in their products to do everything from calm inflamed skin to stimulate the synthesis of elastin and other proteins involved in the building of the elastic tissue. But the highlight of their anti-aging lineup involves a series of Smart Peptides. These are lipo-oligopeptides, peptides with fatty acids attached for better delivery, designed for specific functions.
Lipo-what? Huh?
It's easier than it sounds. Here comes another A&P lesson!
"Lipo" essentially refers to "fatty."
Your skin is designed to keep everything out. That's how it protects you.
So you can't just apply products to your skin and hope they're effective. You need a good delivery system in order to get the ingredients down into your skin. Effective delivery systems include phospholipids, liposomes, microcapsules, and hydrogels.
By attaching the fatty acid (lipo-) to the oligopeptide, it now has a better ability to get through the epidermis and into the skin's dermis, where it can really prove to be beneficial.
There are four different Smart Peptides they use.
Smart Peptide-13 stimulates production of enzymes known to inhibit or stop the growth of the Propionibacterium Acnes bacteria by breaking down the cell wall of the bacteria.
Find it in: Probiotic Acne Treatment Cleanser and Acne Clarifying + Refining Treatment
Smart Peptide-189 positively influences the skin's genes to produce the Retinal Dehydrogenase enzyme, enhancing retinoid performance and functionality. Find it in: Advanced Retinol Renewal Treatment, Advanced Vitamin C Brightening Serum, Probiotic Revitalizing Cleanser, Probiotic Brightening Renewal Lotion, Ultimate Youth Restoring Serum, Intensive Retinol Age-Lift Eye Cream, and Probiotic Multi-Brightening Anti-Aging Cream
Smart Peptide-239/Smart Peptide-240 Complex combines two lipo-oligopeptides that are powerful cellular communicators. They strengthen the dermis by production of key proliferative proteins.
Find it in: Ultimate Youth Restoring Serum and Calming Restorative Treatment.
Consistent use of peptides can provide a positive impact on your skin. Glowbiotics uses a variety of powerful peptides in their products to promote healthy skin and slow the aging process, working hand-in-hand with probiotic derived bioactives for well-rounded, enriched skin care. The use of Smart Peptides further enhances the ability of the products to function at their best, giving you the youthful skin you seek.