Do we need animal proteins like collagen and elastin in our skincare products?
The short answer is NO. We don’t need them and they are not useful. Our skin has to make its own collagen, exogenous collagen will not work, plus collagen and elastin are insoluble, they simply can’t be incorporated into a serum or cream.
In any case, collagen (and elastin and other proteins) must be made “from scratch” by our own cells. The proteins we need in our skin will be made by our skin. But there are exceptions, and we will discuss them below.
At Skin Actives, we don’t use collagen or elastin, insoluble proteins that would not help you at all. We do use collagen peptides in a couple of products, but these are included to add nutrients for your skin to use as amino acid suppliers. We also use a full complement of amino acids, plus vitamins, minerals, lipids, and more, than your skin will happily use to make its own components. All of these ingredients are vegan, made by fermentation.
Is it true that plant proteins are not as good as animal proteins? Yes, that’s true for proteins from grains. Lysine is present in much lower than optimal proportions for human needs in grains, and the sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine and cysteine) are slightly lower in legumes than would be optimal for human needs. These deficiencies of plant proteins vs. animal proteins would be important for someone who ate only rice or only beans every day.
Exceptions: what proteins can be added topically and benefit the skin?
Antioxidant proteins don’t have to go inside your cells to make themselves useful. Growth factors don’t have to enter the cells either to work because they bind to receptors on the surface of cell membranes. Some proteins with antibacterial properties will fight bacteria from outside the skin cells. Please note that none of our active proteins are obtained from animals.
Skin Actives products with amino acids
Moisturizing antioxidant cream
and many more…
Skin Actives products with added, active proteins:
Anti-aging Day Cream with SPF30
and many more
DISCLAIMER: These claims have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent any disease.