Do peptides help hair? What a peptide scalp serum does

Short answer: Yes. The peptides in a good scalp serum are lab-made versions of signaling proteins hair follicles use, including growth factors studied in follicle research. Lab and animal studies tie several of them to the hair growth cycle. In a daily leave-on serum like Crowned by Her Part, they give you a healthier-looking scalp and fuller, thicker-looking hair, building month over month.

"Peptides" is on every hair label now, usually with no explanation. This guide covers what the word means, which peptides are in Crowned, and what each one has behind it.

What are peptides in hair care?

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. In hair and skin care, "sh-" peptides are recombinant versions of proteins your body makes. The names look odd (sh-Polypeptide-11, sh-Oligopeptide-2), but each one maps to a known protein you can look up.

The five peptides in Crowned by Her Part

Crowned by Her Part gives you fuller, thicker-looking hair with five peptides:

• sh-Polypeptide-11, an analog of acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF, also called FGF-1)
• sh-Polypeptide-1, an analog of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF, FGF-2)
• sh-Oligopeptide-2, an analog of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)
• sh-Polypeptide-9, an analog of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
• sh-Oligopeptide-10, a CCL2-family signaling peptide that conditions the scalp

What the research shows for each

FGF-1 and FGF-2

In mice, topical FGF-1 and FGF-2 brought on the growing phase of hair earlier and kept it going longer than in untreated mice (Lin et al., BioMed Research International, 2015). That's why the acidic and basic FGF pair sits at the center of so many advanced scalp formulas, including ours.

IGF-1

Researchers grew human hair follicles in the lab and found IGF-1 at normal body levels was an important regulator of follicle growth (Philpott et al., Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 1994).

VEGF

VEGF controls the small blood vessels around each follicle. More VEGF around follicles was linked to bigger follicles and thicker hair in mice (Yano et al., Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2001).

The CCL2-family peptide

This one conditions the scalp surface and rounds out the five-peptide complex for a calmer, better-conditioned scalp.

What else is in Crowned

The peptides work alongside arginine, saw palmetto, Scutellaria (skullcap) root, rosemary, eucalyptus, soybean germ, wheat germ and vitamin E. Rosemary oil performed on par with 2% minoxidil for hair counts at six months in a randomized trial of 100 men (Panahi et al., Skinmed, 2015). Saw palmetto raised hair counts at 12 and 24 weeks in 50 men using topical products (Wessagowit et al., 2016). Read more in rosemary oil vs minoxidil and saw palmetto for women's hair.

Why peptides beat another vitamin

Most women over 50 have tried the supplement route: biotin, collagen, a hair gummy. Those go through your whole body. Peptides in a leave-on serum go straight onto your scalp and stay there all day. Direct, named, and easy to check.

Why leave-on matters

Shampoo touches your scalp for a minute and goes down the drain. A leave-on serum gives the ingredients hours of contact between washes. That's the whole reason Crowned is a leave-on.

How to compare peptide serums

"Peptide" on a box covers a lot. Look for:

• How many peptides are named on the ingredient list
• Growth-factor analogs (FGF, IGF, VEGF), not only simple conditioning peptides
• Leave-on, not rinse-off
• Supporting botanicals with their own research

Crowned names five peptides on its label and pairs them with researched botanicals, so you can check every one. More in how to choose a scalp serum.

What you'll notice with Crowned, and when

Hair works on a slow cycle: each strand grows for years, rests for two to three months, then makes way for the next (Paus and Cotsarelis, New England Journal of Medicine, 1999). Crowned is built for that cycle, so the changes stack up in a clear order.

• From the first days: a light serum that sinks into your scalp, no residue, and a Fingertip Trick you'll actually look forward to.
• In the first weeks: hair that feels softer, with more gloss and bounce. Eucalyptus extract in a scalp lotion improved measured gloss and bounce of hair with ongoing use (Mamada et al., Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2008).
• Over the first two months: more lift at the root and hair that looks thicker where it grows from.
• Months three to six: fuller-looking coverage where you used to see scalp, a ponytail with weight in it, and photos that look like you again. That's the window the ingredient studies measured: topical saw palmetto at 12 and 24 weeks, rosemary oil at six months.

Take a photo of the top of your head on day one and every two weeks after. Daily use is what builds the result, and the photos show it.

How to use a peptide scalp serum

1. Part your hair where it usually falls.
2. Put a few drops of Crowned along the line and over any thin spots.
3. Massage with your fingertips in slow circles until the serum disappears.
4. Style as usual.
5. Repeat every morning.

Hunting for Her Part reviews on Trustpilot? Come read them here. On our serum page, real women tell you how Crowned gave them fuller, thicker-looking hair.

Frequently asked questions

Do peptides help hair growth?

Lab and animal studies tie growth-factor peptides like FGF-1, FGF-2, IGF-1 and VEGF to the hair growth cycle. In Crowned, they give you a healthier-looking scalp and fuller, thicker-looking hair.

Are peptides better than biotin for hair?

For most women, yes. Biotin helps only if you're low, which is rare. Peptides go straight onto your scalp in a leave-on serum.

Which peptides are best for thinning hair?

Named growth-factor analogs. Crowned lists aFGF, bFGF, IGF-1 and VEGF analogs plus a CCL2-family peptide.

How often should I use a peptide hair serum?

Every morning, left on. Daily use is what builds fuller-looking hair over the months.

Your next step

If you want an ingredient list that stands up to a look, start with peptides. Crowned by Her Part is the leave-on peptide scalp serum for fuller, thicker-looking hair, applied with the Fingertip Trick.

Related: Does scalp serum work? | Minoxidil alternatives for women

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Cosmetic product. Supports the appearance of hair and scalp. Ingredient studies are not a clinical trial of Crowned by Her Part. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

Sources

• Lin WH et al. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:730139. PMID 25685806
• Philpott MP et al. J Invest Dermatol. 1994;102(6):857-861. PMID 8006448
• Yano K et al. J Clin Invest. 2001;107(4):409-417. PMID 11181640
• Panahi Y et al. Skinmed. 2015. PMID 25842469
• Wessagowit V et al. Australas J Dermatol. 2016. PMID 26010505
• Paus R, Cotsarelis G. N Engl J Med. 1999. PMID 10441606
• Mamada A et al. J Cosmet Sci. 2008. PMID 19156331