March 29, 2023

Ingredient Spotlight | Acetyl Tetrapeptide-5

It's a bit of a mouthful but, like all ingredients we use at Fountain Cosmetics, acetyl tetrapeptide-5 is worth knowing. You might have seen this wonder peptide on the labels of our Fountain Neuro Love Eye Cream and Timeless XI - Eye Recovery as Eyeseryl®.

What are peptides?

Peptides make up the proteins that are part of our skin, like collagen, elastin and keratin. Skin firmness, wrinkles and elasticity are dependent on the skin's collagen, elastin and keratin content. As we age, these proteins start to break down and renew more slowly. You can support your body's ability to produce proteins by eating a healthy diet and consuming beauty drinks containing peptides, or by using peptide-rich skincare. Not all peptides do the same thing, so a well-rounded skincare routine will include a buffet of different peptides for skin to soak up. (Looking for other great peptides? Check out argireline and Matrixyl Synthe'6.)

What does acetyl tetrapeptide-5 do?

This peptide is fantastic in eye skincare products because it has extraordinary abilities to:

reduce puffiness around the eye
fight water retention
enhance skin elasticity
calm and intensely hydrate the skin
fade dark under-eye circles

How acetyl tetrapeptide-5 works:

Skin ages for all sorts of reasons, but one particular reason is skin glycation. Skin glycation occurs when sugars react with proteins in an abnormal way, producing something called 'advanced glycation endproducts', which destroy the collagen and elastin that keep your skin firm. Acetyl tetrapeptide-5 looks for proteins that are being targeted by sugars and attaches itself to the protein, so that the sugar can't attach itself and cause glycation.

Finding products with acetyl tetrapeptide-5

Because acetyl tetrapeptide-5 is able to reduce dark circles and puffy skin, it's usually found in eye creams and eye serums. You'll find most companies use the trademarked name, Eyeseryl®, so look for Eyeseryl® on the front of the packaging and acetyl tetrapeptide-5 on the ingredients list.