Therapeutic Peptides in Aged Skin

By: Farzam Gorouhi, MD, and Howard I. Maibach, MD, University of California School of Medicine

Posted: August 28, 2009, from the September 2009 issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries.

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Lipopentapeptide: Another peptide, lipopentapeptide, in combination with white lupin peptide and antioxidants, significantly increased fibrillin-1 and procollagen I deposition at a 6% w/w concentration when compared with 2% tretinoin and the control.23

Keratin: Keratin is a major protein in the structure of hair and skin that can be extracted from human hair or sheep’s wool. It improves the hydration and elasticity of skin and hair when applied topically and thus is commonly used in moisturizers, firming agents and hair shine enhancers. Barba et al.²⁴ conducted a randomized trial comparing 3% keratin peptides to water and a control in 16 healthy females and found the keratin peptide to be effective on disturbed but not undisturbed skin.

In another recent trial, significant improvements were achieved for elasticity parameters and especially skin capacitance with the application of the keratin samples.²⁵ Among all the keratin creams tested, a combination of a keratin peptide with internal wool lipid liposomes provided the most significant benefits, compared with the aqueous solution.²⁵

Conclusions
Some peptides have notable effects on chronologically aged and/or photodamaged skin. According to the current evidence, GHK-Cu, Pal-KTTKS, soybean protein and keratin peptides exhibit the best results among the peptides. There is a large gap in data regarding the permeability coefficient of cosmeceutical peptides and proteins, and researchers should focus on this ambiguity to identify substances with better permeability. Large high quality, randomized, double blind, active-controlled trials are required to calculate the exact effect of molecule size in this regard. Results from such trials will lead to an understanding of the best peptide for antiaging treatments.

References
Send e-mail to gorouhif@gmail.com.
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