A Simple Peptide Skincare Routine, Morning and Night

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of the proteins in your skin. In skincare they're used to help skin look smoother, plumper and firmer, and they have one big advantage over retinol: they're gentle enough to use morning and night without an adjustment period. That makes them one of the easiest anti-ageing ingredients to build a routine around.

The best routine is the one you'll actually keep doing. Here's a simple one.

Morning

1. Cleanse. A gentle cleanser, or just water if your skin is dry.
2. Peptide serum. A few drops on slightly damp skin. Serums go before creams because thinner textures absorb best first.
3. Eye cream. A small amount, patted (not rubbed) around the orbital bone.
4. Moisturiser. Seals in the serum and keeps skin comfortable.
5. Sunscreen. Non-negotiable. No peptide, retinol or serum makes up for skipping it, because daily UV exposure is one of the biggest drivers of visible skin ageing. In a four-year randomised trial, adults who used sunscreen daily showed no detectable increase in skin ageing, unlike those who used it at their own discretion (Hughes et al., 2013).

Evening

1. Cleanse, removing sunscreen and make-up properly. Double-cleanse if you wear heavy make-up.
2. Peptide serum.
3. Eye cream.
4. Moisturiser.

That's it: the same three treatment steps twice a day. Consistency matters more than adding more products.

Adding other actives

Peptides layer well with most things:

• Vitamin C in the morning for a brighter look. Apply it before the peptide serum.
• A retinol alternative such as bidens pilosa if you also want to work on texture. It's gentle enough to use alongside peptides. See our guide to bidens pilosa.
• Retinol, if you already use it, is usually best kept to the evening. Introduce one new active at a time so you can tell what your skin is reacting to.

How long to give it

Hydration and a plumper feel usually show up within days. Changes in how fine lines look take longer: give any routine six to eight weeks of consistent use before deciding whether it's working. Patch test new products before first use.

Our peptide range

Our peptide range is designed to be used together in exactly this order:

• Peptide Anti-Ageing Serum: 2% hexapeptide-11 with hyaluronic acid. £30 for 30 ml.
• Peptide Age-Defying Eye Cream: a light peptide eye cream with vitamins C and E. £24 for 15 ml.
• Peptide Ageless AM/PM Cream: a day-to-night moisturiser with a peptide complex, hyaluronic acid and vitamins C and E. £32 for 50 ml.

All three come together as The Peptide Routine for £73, £13 less than buying them separately, and you can subscribe to have it delivered on a schedule that suits you. They're cosmetic products, made in the EU, designed to improve how skin looks and feels.

Comparing peptide serums? Read our honest comparison with The Ordinary's Buffet.