While copper peptides are used in wrinkle creams, some may experience side effects from overuse. These side effects include skin looseness, sagging or wrinkly skin. So if you're using copper peptides, avoid using it too much or too often.

This guide follows my earlier post on copper peptides. This post is about the best ways to use copper peptides and the things that you can do to optimise results.

I won’t go into definitions here – I’m assuming you know what copper peptides are and what they’re commonly used for (wrinkles, scar reduction, hyperpigmentation, cellutite). If you don’t, scroll to the bottom of this post for a couple of links that can help you.

Important warning on copper peptide overuse

Some people experience side effects from overuse of copper peptides (either through too much applied, too frequently, or both). These side effects include looseness of the skin and sagging or wrinkly skin.

If you’re using copper peptides for the delicate under-eye area, be especially careful. Excessive use can also lead to irritation and skin redness.

However, the good news is that these side effects are usually temporary and your skin will heal itself over a few weeks. Take Vitamin C and MSM to speed up the healing.

(There have been rare reports of users experiencing wrinkly skin from overuse of CPs and not recovering i.e. having permanent damage from copper peptides. The best advice I can give you is to pay attention to the state of your skin while on CPs. If its suffering from overuse, stop copper peptide use until the skin tightens. Then lower your frequency to every other day or every few days. In other words, be kind to your skin.)

With copper peptides, the old adage is true – less is more.

Before starting on a copper peptide regimen…

1. Be prepared to stick to a long-term commitment. Scar reduction through copper peptides is a long process of 8 months to a year. Unfortunately, most people get disheartened when they don’t see results within a few weeks and they stop.

2. Progress is slow, so take a ‘before’ picture. Because skin renews itself every 28 days or so, progress can come very slowly so that its not noticeable. So help yourself by taking a good ‘before’ picture and save it. If you’re feeling that there has been no progress after 2 months or more, compare your skin’s current state to the ‘before ‘picture. You might be amazed, and this will help motivate you to stay the course.

3. Keep your regimen as simple as possible. If you keep your regimen as simple and fuss-free as possible, there’s a higher chance that you won’t get tired of it.


How to optimise your results with copper peptides

While progress with copper peptides is slow, you can help speed up the results a little by doing the following:

1. Exfoliate. Skin renews itself faster if the top layer of dead skin cells are sloughed off regularly. Exfoliation also helps the copper peptides to penetrate more easily and deeply into the skin layers to target the scar or wrinkle.

You can exfoliate cheaply with a microdermabrasion cloth, or use gentle peeling agents like salicylic acid or lactic acid. Go slow if you have skin that darkens easily with trauma.

2. Take regular breaks from CPs. Copper peptides are excellent for breaking down scar tissue but constant daily use will not give your skin time to rebuild healthy tissue in its place. Find a cycle that works for you. Such as 1st month use CPs, 2nd month take a break, 3rd month use CPs, and so on. If that doesn’t work for you, try a weekly cycle instead. Find what works best for your skin.

The added advantage of incorporating regular breaks is that your skin will remain sensitive enough to copper peptides and you won’t build up a tolerance for it. You’ll notice that when restarting copper peptides after a break, your skin will feel much more tingly and you won’t need to use as much.

3. Take supplements to aid skin healing. I’ve already raved about the wonders of taking MSM before, and this time is no different. MSM coupled with Vitamin C will be especially helpful while you are on a copper peptide regimen.

These two supplements will not only speed up skin renewal and healing, but the MSM will make your skin cells much more permeable to the copper peptides, making the whole delivery process much more efficient.


Further reading

How copper peptides works is quite complicated, and I do recommend that you learn as much as possible. Copper peptides require some understanding unlike other commercial topicals.

Go to this page for an illustration of how the skin is remodeled with copper peptides.

Here is an excellent history and summary abt copper peptides as well (Copper and Your Skin By William H. Dresher, Ph.D., P.E).