Peptide Principles and Characteristics — Understanding Through Facts Confirmed in the Full Ingredient List

When looking into skincare ingredients, the word 'peptide' comes up remarkably often. Yet when you actually check the full ingredient list, it is rare to find the word 'peptide' written exactly as is. Instead, it appears as unfamiliar combinations of letters and numbers such as SH-Oligopeptide-1 or rH-Polypeptide-1, making it easy to get confused about whether these are all the same ingredient or different ones.

To put it simply, peptide is not the name of a single specific ingredient but a category term referring collectively to substances made of amino acids linked in short chains. Within that category, there are countless names depending on the type and arrangement of amino acids making up the chain and how it is produced, and each is designed to serve a slightly different role in cosmetics.

Why do peptides have so many different names?

A protein is a structure in which amino acids are connected in a very long chain, and when this chain is broken into a relatively short form, it is called a peptide. Because names are subdivided based on the length of the chain, the sequence of amino acids, and how it was produced, cosmetic ingredient lists list many different types under distinct names, such as 'oligopeptide' or 'polypeptide' followed by a number.

So a single sentence like 'this cream contains peptides' isn't enough information on its own. You need to check the full ingredient list directly to see which peptides, how many types, and with what other ingredients they are combined, in order to gauge which direction the product's peptide design is aiming for.

How to find peptides in the full ingredient list

The most reliable method is to look directly for names ending in 'peptide.' Prefixes such as sh- or rh- attached in front are notations used to distinguish how the peptide was made or its structural characteristics, and together with the following oligopeptide or polypeptide notation, they form a single ingredient name.

In principle, the full ingredient list is arranged in descending order of the amount used, but ingredients used in small amounts are sometimes treated as exceptions to this ordering rule, so it is difficult to determine an ingredient's weight simply from its position on the list. Rather, it is more helpful to look at how many types of peptides are used together, and whether they are placed alongside different categories of ingredients such as centella asiatica-derived ingredients or barrier lipid ingredients, in order to understand the actual design direction.

The expected role differs depending on the type of peptide

Peptides used in cosmetics are broadly divided into several categories. There are types designed to resemble structural proteins that already exist in the skin, with elasticity care in mind; there are types created based on pathways that respond to specific movements or stimuli; and there are types focused on refining the texture of the skin's surface.

What matters is that regardless of the type, when peptides are used in cosmetics, they act by being applied to the skin, which is a different concept from replacing or newly creating substances made within the body. It should also be kept in mind that, within the scope of expression allowed under cosmetics law, peptides are treated only as ingredients that help with elasticity care, and should not be interpreted beyond that meaning.

Why multiple peptides are combined together

Looking at the full ingredient list, it is common to see products listing two or three types of peptides together rather than just one alone. This is because each peptide is designed with a slightly different role, so they are combined to complement one another in areas that a single type alone would find difficult to cover.

However, having multiple types combined does not necessarily mean the design is more sophisticated. Rather than how many types are included, what matters more in judging a product's actual design completeness is the balance in which those peptides are combined with wrinkle-improvement functional ingredients listed as such, such as adenosine, or with barrier lipid and moisturizing ingredients.

The formulation determines how long the peptides remain on the skin

Peptides often have a relatively large and heavy molecular structure, so compared to lighter formulations, there is more room for them to stay on the skin's surface longer in formulations with an oily texture. This is why it's commonly found that skincare routines place products containing peptides at the final step, in a cream-type formulation.

This principle applies equally not only to peptides but also to other functional ingredients often combined with them, such as adenosine. Ultimately, what matters as much as which ingredient is included is whether the formulation is designed to allow that ingredient to stay on the skin — this is what makes a real difference in the actual user experience.

The final step — which cream should you finish with?

Going through the types and labeling methods of peptides one by one like this, the question that remains is: 'how many types of peptides does this product contain, combined with which functional notified ingredients, and in what formulation?' 에르쯔틴 리제너레이티브 실트 크림 is a rich-type formulation that combines three types of peptides (sh-Oligopeptide-1, rh-Oligopeptide-2, rh-Polypeptide-1) together with adenosine, and also contains barrier lipid ingredients such as ceramide NP and cholesterol along with oil ingredients such as squalane and shea butter, designed with the final-step, long-staying feel in mind. Making it a habit to directly check the peptide labeling on the full ingredient list ultimately leads to an eye for spotting these differences in design.

Reviewed by 아비쥬의원 의료진. (September 10, 2026)