If you’re looking for an effective way to prevent wrinkles and have young, healthy looking skin, you may be surprised that the answer you are looking for could be in a metal. Copper, to be specific.
When you think about keeping your skin healthy, it’s likely you’ve never thought that something derived from metal could hold the key to young looking skin.
Most people tend to steer clear of metals and have a negative association with metals in the body. Though it may be surprising, copper (more specifically copper peptides) are a great way to get rid of dead skin cells and promote the growth of new, healthy skin.
Peptides are tiny pieces of proteins. Proteins are the base for most living tissues. There are some types of peptides that are attracted to copper and will bind very tightly to it. The compound that comes from this fusion is a copper peptide.
In the 1970’s Dr. Loren Pickart discovered that copper peptides were capable of encouraging tissue regeneration. He discovered and patented several types of copper peptides, including GHK copper peptides. One thing Pickart noted was that GHK copper peptides sped up wound healing, and reduced the formation of scar tissue, while also encouraging skin to grow back to the way it was before.
GHK copper peptides’ ability to help skin regrow to the way it was before is one of the things that makes it a good choice when your goal is to keep your skin young. Copper peptides can also soothe skin irritation, due to their inherent anti-inflammatory properties. Skin irritation will speed up skin aging because it can produce free radicals and other byproducts that are damaging to your skin.
Though more research could be done to give a more complete picture of copper peptides and their effect on the skin, there are still some very promising facts that we do know about copper peptides that suggest they are capable of doing for skin what some are suggesting. Skin needs collagen and elastin in order to stay smooth and young.
Copper is a part of the process that produces collagen and elastin. Exactly how collagen and copper intertwine in the body is not yet known, but it’s a strong foundation for the idea of copper and its ability to keep skin looking and feeling young.
Research has shown that copper can reduce the appearance of scars by encouraging speed in the cycle of skin renewal after an injury, whether from wound, acne, rash or other form of skin irritation.
Copper is available for several skin care uses, including in products that help to speed up healing of the skin after surgery, laser resurfacing, dermabrasion and/or chemical peels. It can stimulate hair growth or treat skin suffering from acne or psoriasis.
While there is still research to be done in order to fully understand the effects of copper peptides on skin, what we do know seems very promising.
There are many skin care products that contain copper that are safe to be used since the amounts of metals in the ingredients are small. Test some of these products and see what you think of the results.