Our much-anticipated Peptide Serum is a hit, but we’ve had a fair few questions about why we recommend using it on damp skin.

Find out all you need to know about how to use the serum, and what’s included in the formula in this blog. 

Why damp skin is best for application 

1. Active ingredients can absorb more easily

When the skin is damp, it is more permeable, meaning the outer layer of the skin (the stratum corneum) is slightly softened. This increased permeability allows active ingredients like peptides to penetrate more effectively into the skin. Applying peptide serum on damp skin ensures that the skin can absorb these molecules more easily, enhancing their effectiveness.

2. Applies more evenly 

On damp skin, serums spread more evenly, ensuring that the peptides are distributed uniformly across the skin's surface. This maximises coverage and helps with absorption.

3. Closer to the natural environment peptides need

Damp skin is closer to the natural environment peptides need to work effectively. Since skin naturally retains moisture, applying peptide serum to slightly damp skin – like just after spritzing your Hydrating Toner – mimics this state, helping peptides interact with skin cells in an ideal environment.

4. Niacinamide is a water retainer

Niacinamide sounds complex, but it’s the scientific name for the vitamin B3. An essential nutrient for your skin, vitamin B3 helps to nourish your complexion, build proteins in the skin, and prevent dryness. 

By protecting your skin’s natural barrier, the niacinamide included in our Peptide Serum enhances your skin’s ability to hold moisture, preventing dryness and irritation. Locking in water, niacinamide helps your skin cells regenerate faster. It also has antibacterial properties designed to stop bacteria from breaking through the skin barrier.

This incredible ingredient is on average five to 10 times more effective than hyaluronic acid when it comes to hydration.

Why peptides are important for your skin

Peptides are strings of amino acids which occur naturally in the body and act as the building blocks for proteins such as collagen. These proteins, including keratin and elastin, play a significant role in keeping your skin healthy and happy. 

Let’s dive into the science 

Our Peptide Serum includes a biometric tripeptide complex – but what does this mean? 

Biometric: Mimicking the processes and structures naturally found in the body to enhance and support those functions, like boosting collagen and repairing skin.

Tripeptide: Short chain of amino acids made up of three natural peptides: glycine, histidine, and lysine (GHK).

Our trio of biometric peptides in the serum binds seamlessly to the skin’s natural peptides, creating a bridge that supports skin regeneration and collagen production. By improving the absorption of other active ingredients, they enhance their effectiveness, delivering more refined and visible results. 

Benefits of peptides for skin

Peptides help to repair your skin’s essential natural barrier against environmental stressors. Your skin barrier functions to keep your skin hydrated and moisturised, while preventing toxins from damaging the skin. A healthy skin barrier is a non-negotiable for healthy, plump skin and peptides are an ingredient that can help to both maintain and repair the skin barrier.

The essential building blocks for the protein collagen, peptides help to keep your skin moisturised, healthy and supple. Collagen is important for maintaining the structure of your skin cells and also the texture of your skin. 

Peptides also promote the production of elastin, a highly elastic protein that is found in the skin, and helps to keep skin firm.

Using our Peptide Serum

We recommend using our Peptide Serum morning and night to help boost collagen and boost skin elasticity. After rigorous clinical testing, our Peptide Serum has been proven to improve skin elasticity by 29% over the course of 14 days! 

Packed with skin-loving niacinamide and vitamin C, our serum is recommended for all skin types, even the most sensitive skin, due to its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Our upcycled ingredient, custard apple, is not only great at hydrating the skin, but it also contains antioxidants and antimicrobial properties that have benefits like preventing premature ageing, boosting collagen production and soothing skin irritations. 

How to use: Apply a few drops to your fingertips and massage into your skin. Apply before moisturiser to allow the hydrating properties to seep into your skin. 

When to use in your routine

We understand that as you add more products into your routine, it can become a little tricky to figure out in which order you should use your products. 

With our Peptide Serum, it’s completely water-based so should be used before you use Eye Cream or Moisturiser>. That way, all the deeply hydrating properties in the serum can fully sink into your skin before more product is added. 

After dabbing some eye cream gently under your eyes and smoothing on your moisturiser, it’s time to seal in all that wonderful hydration with our Face Oil. Entirely oil-based, this product acts as a humectant, locking in moisture and reducing water-loss through evaporation.  

Working to boost and brighten the skin, our Organic Face Oil is formulated with nourishing oils such as jojoba oil, rosehip oil and coffee oil. This oil helps to fade dark spots and hyperpigmentation, and also works to boost collagen production in the skin to keep skin firm. 

See our full collection of natural skincare at UpCircle.