Following on from last month’s pro-ageing blog post and to coincide with Menopause Awareness Month, here is the second part of our pro-ageing blog where we introduce you to more anti-ageing warriors – peptides and ceramides!

Hormone levels become unbalanced during perimenopause and menopause with a drop in estrogen levels and an increase in androgen hormones such as testosterone. 

With this drop in estrogen, skin can become drier and more sensitive but can also cause you to suffer from adult acne due to the androgen hormones.

The reduction in estrogen is also related to a decrease in the production of collagen, which leads to a loss of texture and elasticity in the skin.

This is a time of life when it is worth paying close attention to your skin, noticing any changes in your skin type, and making sure you are using skincare products that suit it. 

At Skin Trust Club, we know that your skin and skin microbiome are as unique as your fingerprint. Before making any changes to your skincare routine, especially around this time in your life when your skin can change drastically, we always recommend testing your skin to  find out exactly what it needs. 

Let’s look at two anti-aging actives that can help with hydration, improving skin texture, and delaying the signs of ageing – peptides and ceramides. 

Peptides are another buzz word in anti-ageing skin care. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, shorter than proteins, that can act as messengers to the skin telling it to build collagen and elastin for example. There has been a lot of research into peptides and whether they work and some results can be impressive. 

Before you invest in peptide-containing skincare it might be a good idea to research that particular peptide and search for information from the company on what their product can do for you. 

There are five different types of peptides used as skin-care actives: 

• Signaling peptides – they signal to skin cells to do a particular job, i.e. stimulate the production of collagen, elastin, or other proteins your skin needs to stay healthy and young.

• Carrier peptides –  They deliver trace elements, like copper and magnesium, to the skin. These trace elements boost collagen synthesis, improve elasticity and help skin heal faster. Copper peptide is one of the most popular peptides, the idea is that copper helps form amino acids, the building blocks of important skin proteins like collagen and elastin. So using copper peptides can help repair skin

• Enzyme-inhibiting peptides – they stop the processes that break down collagen so your skin doesn’t age as quickly. Most of them work by inhibiting a group of enzymes that degrade collagen

• Neurotransmitter-inhibiting peptides – they inhibit muscle contraction and so wrinkles and expression lines are not as pronounced. Popular examples are Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-28 and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38

• Antimicrobial peptides – they are used as part of the skin’s immune defense

Ceramides are waxy lipids that can be found naturally in the outer layer of the skin, the stratum corneum. Between our skin cells is a gloopy material called extracellular matrix and it is made up of mostly lipids. Ceramides make up about 50% of these lipids along with cholesterol and fatty acids.

Ceramides play a very important role in our skin barrier. They form a sort of water-proofing layer that keeps our skin hydrated. Natural ceramides found in the skin are the most effective but they decrease as we age. Luckily studies have shown that adding ceramides to our skincare routines can help. 

There are currently 12 classes of ceramides known. The difference between them is how long their carbon chains are.

The good news is that although their structure might differ their function is pretty much the same. So whether your product contains Ceramide EOP, Ceramide NG, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide 4 or one of the others, you can be satisfied that you are getting the correct ingredient.

As our skin ages, we can choose to embrace the natural ageing process and invest in skincare products that support our skin through this process. We can’t turn back the clock but we can equip our skin with the right ingredients to lessen some of the effects of ageing and to maintain hydration and natural radiance.

As well as choosing the correct active ingredients we should also be choosing products that are correct for our skin type to ensure well-ageing for the skin.