As Skin Health Experts, we talk to people every day about their unique skin needs and goals. From which ingredients target and treat specific skin concerns to how to curate a custom regimen for daily skin care, we love showing you how to better take care of your skin and maintain skin health.
Two of the most transformative skincare ingredients are peptides and retinol. Our founder Kate swears by them and with good reason. Peptides are amino acids that are the building blocks of certain proteins needed by the skin, like collagen and elastin. Your body naturally produces collagen but with age, collagen production decreases by 1 to 2% each year starting in your twenties. This may mean that by the age of 50, you have lost anywhere from 25-50% of your collagen deposits. If you’re experiencing the visible signs of collagen loss – sagging skin, less elasticity and bounce, fine lines and wrinkles – don’t despair. There are ways to stimulate and boost collagen production through skincare ingredients and products, including the use of peptides and retinol.
Retinol is a form of Vitamin A and is a key ingredient in skincare known for improving skin texture and tone, as well as fine lines and wrinkles by enhancing skins cellular turnover which (again) naturally slows down with age. Your cellular turnover is the rate at which new, healthy skin cells are produced at the bottom of the epidermis and work their way to the top layer of the skin, where they will become dry and eventually flake away. This process on average takes 28 days, however as we age, it can slow to 45-60 days, leaving those dull, dead skin cells on the surface much longer.
Just as retinol speeds cell turnover to reveal younger -looking skin, peptides work to plump the skin’s structure by stimulating collagen production to strengthen and firm skin. And while these two ingredients perform different functions and skin, both are essential in an age repair or age prevention skincare routine.
Here’s how to work both of these transformative skincare ingredients into your routine at home…
Peptides
Our KateCeuticals™ Total Repair Cream contains a Peptide-Infused Ceramide Complex which increases skins hydration levels, reduces visible redness, helps with firmness & elasticity and helps repair your skin barrier while smoothing the look of fine lines & deep wrinkles. It also contains Hyaluronic Acid which delivers immediate hydration, enhances your skin moisture while plumping the skin to visibly smooth fine lines & wrinkles. As well as Vitamin E which provides antioxidant benefits to nourish, soothe & moisturize while defending against free radical damage.
Build peptides in once a day as prevention in your 20’s to keep skin healthy and strong, and for age repair, use those peptides AM and PM daily to really boost that collagen production.
This can be product can be used in your routine both AM and PM as a daily moisturiser.
Retinol
+Retinol Vitamin C Moisturiser will help diminish the appearance of uneven skin tone and texture while you sleep and contribute to the age repair process by enhancing your skin’s cell turnover. As well as Retinol, it also contains Ascorbic Acid (Pure Vitamin C) which is wrapped in volcanic soil from Jeju Island in South Korea to help reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles while visibly brightening and evening skin tone. Retinol is such an effective and active ingredient it is best applied twice a week when first introducing it into your routine and slowly build up to more evenings with a total of no more than 5 times per week.
Retinol is best used in the evening 2-4 times per week (depending on your skin’s sensitivity) to resurface, renew and even skin tone. On all other mornings/evenings, this is when your Peptide cream would step in.
