WHAT ARE AMINO ACIDS?
Amino acids play an important role in maintaining your overall health and getting beautiful skin. There are many amino acids, but only 20 are really important for our health and can be divided into 2 types: essential and non-essential amino acids.
- Essential amino acids are amino acids that are not produced by the body itself. You only get their benefits from eating certain foods or supplements.
- Non-essential amino acids are produced by your body and therefore it is not 'essential' to get them from your diet or supplements.
There are 9 essential amino acids: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. They are found mainly in products that contain animal proteins (such as seafood, beef, poultry, dairy products and eggs) but also in vegetables such as quinoa and soy products.
The 11 non-essential amino acids are: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, proline, serine and tyrosine. Some of these non-essential amino acids are only produced when we are sick or stressed.
HOW AMINO ACIDS HELP YOUR SKIN
Amino acids are indispensable for healthy skin. They are the building blocks of peptides and proteins and each amino acid performs a specific function in skin care. Some types occur naturally in the skin and work together with aquaporins (the water transport system of your body) to transport moisture through the skin. Some amino acids work as an antioxidant, but most help your skin to reproduce its own antioxidants. Research has shown that synthetic amino acids hydrate better than amino acids originating from an animal or plant source. Whether produced internally or applied topically, amino acids help to strengthen the immune system, maintain the skin’s hydration, resilience and an overall healthy appearance. They protect skin from free-radical damage and reduce signs of ageing.
THE BEST AMINO ACIDS FOR YOUR SKIN
All essential and non-essential amino acids play a role in getting a beautiful skin, but there are some that have extra benefits:
- Arginine: helps to restore visible skin damage.
- Histidine: soothes the skin and has antioxidant properties.
- Methionine: protects the skin from harmful substances.
- Lysine: strengthens the skin’s surface.
- Proline, leucine and glycine: make fine lines and wrinkles less deep.
AMINO ACIDS AND PEPTIDES
Amino acids work together with other beneficial, ingredients that also make up part of the skin’s ‘natural moisturising factors’ (NMF’s) such as glycerides, ceramides, hyaluronic acid and peptides. They work especially well in combination with peptides, specially aimed at hydrating the skin and reducing signs of ageing. Amino acids are versatile ingredients that are a nice addition to other active skin care ingredients such as antioxidants, plant extracts and omega fatty acids. When topically applied, amino acids help to improve all skin types and are suitable for all ages, especially if you are looking to reduce the signs of ageing.