BEAUTY
BY DR JUDEY PRETORIUS
Whether you’ re scrolling through social media, paging through a magazine, or listening to a podcast, it’ s almost impossible to avoid the global conversation around peptides.
“ Just beware of fake or‘ too good to be true’ products available online or sold by anyone who is not a medical professional.”
But peptides aren’ t a new phenomenon, so where did this sudden interest come from? The skyrocketing popularity of GLP-1 medications, along with rising interest in biohacking, appears to have helped push peptides into mainstream conversation. While social media has driven awareness and curiosity, it has also helped spread misinformation and confusion around this popular topic.
WHAT ARE PEPTIDES? Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the organic compounds that combine to form proteins. They occur naturally in the body and help the body perform many vital functions by acting as biological messengers.
This means they instruct cells to perform functions such as regulating hormones, reducing inflammation, and repairing tissue. The body produces, and relies on, hundreds of different peptides to function. Some of the most well-known include insulin, oxytocin, and collagen.
WHERE ARE PEPTIDES FOUND? Peptides are produced naturally by our bodies. They are also found in protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, soy, and beans.
62 INBOUND SA / AUGUST 2026