Amino acids are vital nutrients for cells. This is because amino acids are the molecular building blocks for proteins and peptides. Amino acids are assembled into proteins through a cellular process called translation.
Amino acids are essential for a variety of cellular processes including enzyme function, collagen synthesis, cell-to cell signalling, and skin cell renewal. They also play an integral role in water transport within the skin and can also act as antioxidants.
All of these different biological processes that amino acids are involved in allow them to improve all aspects of the skin. The skin cell renewal aids with repair of damaged skin while its role in collagen synthesis contributes towards firmer, lineless skin, among other things.
On top of all of this, if you’re looking for a fuller look, amino acids promote water retention around the face. To this point, it’s important to note that they’ll work even better when in conjunction with other water-retaining ingredients including glycerin. This particular amino acid effect also allows for your skin to be more hydrated in general, which can never be considered a bad thing.
Common amino acids found in skincare are cysteine, lysine, alanine, methionine, glycine, proline, arginine, and histidine. All of these have unique specialties and are specifically picked to be in skincare products depending on the goal of that particular product. But if you’re looking for more of a holistic approach then you would probably be best with trying to get all 20 amino acids into your body.
Basically, there are 20 amino acids altogether. 11 of these are considered ‘nonessential’ - meaning your body makes them naturally so you don’t have to worry about supplementing with any external products and/or food. The other 9 are ‘essential’ which are more or less the opposite - you have to figure out a way to get these into your body.
On a general day-to-day basis it’s important that you have a good balance of all of these for you to function as a human being. So adding them to your morning and/or nighttime ritual, or starting a new one, would actually be beneficial to your general wellbeing.
In this vein, amino acids also work to build peptides which then go onto produce collagen (a healthy skin essential). This means that not only do the individual amino acids have their own benefits but they also help to create other really useful proteins that help your skin immensely.
While there have been no proven side effects to this ingredient, it’s still a good idea to do a patch-test on a discreet part of your body, such as your forearm, before making it a staple that you can’t live without. Putting anything onto your skin, no matter how harmless it may seem, always has the potential to create adverse effects.
It’s been recommended that you start off by adding amino acids through products such as eye-cream and facial moisturiser, since this will be where the ingredient has the most benefit. More specifically, acids such as histidine and leucine have been proven to be particularly effective.
Generally speaking, amino acids obtained through topical application or diet will penetrate the skin well since the molecules are so small that they can get through the various layers. However, for those wanting a more intense approach, you can also find medical professionals who will inject serums with amino acids, along with other helpful skincare ingredients, into your body.
Regardless, the bottom line is that amino acids are a must-add ingredient to your skincare regimen. Your body already needs them and uses them in practically every biological process so it would be an oversight not to help those processes along where you can.
Not only this, but it truly helps enhance the efficacy of the other products that you’re using. The reason for this is that amino acids boost overall skin health meaning other products are working on a stronger foundation. Really, it’s a win-win-win situation all around.