If you’ve been around the skincare block as many times as I have, peptides will be nothing new to you. Everyone from No7, to The Inkey List to Olay includes the ingredient in their serums and moisturisers. So, if it’s nothing new, why have peptides suddenly become a buzzword again?
As with many things in our current climate, we have TikTok to thank – or blame, depending on your position. While peptides are commonplace in skincare, people on social media are using them as part of their wellness routines, claiming that injecting peptides into our body can improve everything from muscle recovery to metabolism and longevity – but it’s a contentious subject.
Cosmetic surgeon and aesthetics specialist Paul Banwell cautions: “The current peptide craze is being driven heavily by social media and influencers, but medicine has to be guided by evidence, ethics and patient safety, not hype.”
Aesthetics expert Dr. Sophie Shotter seconds: “Platforms such as TikTok have accelerated the peptide trend, with content often promoting peptide injections as quick, transformative solutions without appropriate medical context, safety information, or discussion of risks.”
Confusingly, while some doctors are denouncing injecting peptides into our bodies due to the unregulated nature, respected aesthetics expert Dr. Paris Acharya has just launched a series of skincare peptide injections in her high-end London clinic, making her among the first to offer the treatment in the UK.
The distinction here is crucial. Dr. Paris is at the helm of injectable peptides for skincare, which have been heavily tested for safety, while the peptide injections on social media are created to target mechanisms in the body – a use which has not been tested for safety or efficacy.
© Getty ImagesTo better understand, we spoke to Dr. Paris and other experts in the field to understand exactly what it is we need to know about peptides.
What are peptides?
Think of peptides as the project managers of your skin – or as aesthetics expert Dr. Ahmed El Muntasar says: “I describe peptides as WhatsApp messages between cells, helping communication happen more efficiently and quickly.”
For the scientifically minded, peptides are chains of amino acids that send messages around the body, telling your body what to do, from producing more collagen to encouraging hydration.
What can peptides do in the body?
There are countless peptides out there, with Dr. Sophie Shotter noting that they are highly specific in what they target, which is one of their biggest advantages.
Some peptides target metabolic pathways and appetite regulation (such as GLP-1s, which are peptides), others are marketed for tissue repair or muscle recovery, while some are positioned as anti-ageing or skin rejuvenation tools. Other peptides can support the immune system
Herein lies the issue, according to Dr. David Jack: “The difficulty is that the level of scientific evidence varies enormously between peptides. A peptide medicine that has been through full regulatory approval is very different from a compound being marketed online for biohacking.”
© Getty ImagesPeptides for wellness
So, are people injecting peptides in a biohacking sense, hoping to support their longevity, wasting their time – or risking their health? Dr. David Jack explains.
“In a sensible longevity framework, peptides are likely to sit quite low down the hierarchy for most people at present; that’s not to say that they won’t have a bigger role in the future.
“The biggest drivers of long-term health remain remarkably unglamorous: regular exercise, good sleep, balanced nutrition, maintaining muscle mass, managing stress and protecting the skin from ultraviolet damage with daily SPF.”
© Getty ImagesHe notes that peptides could become part of a fulsome wellness practice further down the line, though. “Peptides may eventually play a role in areas such as metabolic health, tissue repair or age-related decline, but we are still in a stage where the scientific potential is greater than the standardisation of how they are used. I would generally describe the field as promising but still maturing.”
Peptides in skincare
Where we can trust peptides is for skin health, with Dr. Paris’ new treatments at her Marylebone outpost, offering injectable peptides to target facial contouring, under-eye rejuvenation, plus skin clarity and brightness.
Patients tend to need three or four sessions for the best results, with skin improvements visible within a couple of weeks, but Dr. Paris notes that it’s long-term that we’ll see the benefits.
If you’re a fan of biostimulators (injectables that work with your own body to improve skin quality), you might think peptide injections sound remarkably similar. This is because peptide injections are a form of biostimulator, with Dr. Paris using them alongside skin boosters such as polynucleotides to target her client’s specific concerns.
For anyone who’s been using peptides in their skincare routine, Dr. Paris adds that they still deserve a spot in your regimen for their power to improve fine lines, plump the skin and give it a glowy appearance, but injected peptides work on a deeper, regenerative level.
The bottom line? According to Dr. Ahmed El Muntasa, the most important thing, whether you’re booking in for wellness or skincare purposes, is to ensure you are seeing a qualified medical professional, ideally a doctor. “Unlike standard aesthetic injectables, this is not an area where I would recommend going to non-medical practitioners,” he says.
Dr. Paul Banwell adds that if you’re considering peptide injections, you should ask the practitioner exactly what substance is being used, whether it is licensed or approved for that indication, what evidence supports it, what the risks are, and where it has been sourced from. “If the provider is vague, evasive, overly sales-led or making sweeping claims, that should raise alarm bells immediately.”
Dr. Ahmed concludes: “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is, particularly in a space that is not tightly regulated.”
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