So what are peptides? Just a bunch of protein fragments used by cells to communicate. Peptides relate a cell's needs to other cells in its community and make known the cell's plans for its future. They give orders to produce dermal matrix materials like collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid (think Restylane(r)) and help process molecules from smaller to larger or larger to smaller entities in your body. Their use in cosmetics and medicine is a direct result of the genetic revolution kicked off by researchers in the Human Genome Project who recently finished mapping our genetic blueprint. What's the connection? Genes encode for proteins. Proteins make up the human body. Peptides are shorter members of the huge protein family.

All this high-tech talk simply means these things work better than anything we've ever put inside a bottle. Enabling us to communicate with cells directly instead of in a general way, multi-tasking peptides are intended to "correct and slow signs of aging". That's about all the FDA will allow us to tell you. Some researchers would even say they completely by-pass certain results of the aging process, like wrinkles, crepiness, sagging contours, loss of lip volume, dark circles, etc. etc. etc. You get the idea. Of course, you stand a better chance of getting the full benefit of any peptide the sooner you use it in life. But even if the damage has already been done, results from peptides can be dramatic.

Great partners with the other darlings of anti-aging cosmetic chemistry - AHA's, vitamins A, C and E and a plethora of antioxidants - peptides signal a new era in age-fighting that comes just in time to boost the effects of laser, microcurrent, IPL, LED and popular injectables like Botox(r) and Restylane(r).

If you haven't tried them yet, we suggest you do

by Rebecca James Gadberry