It is always easier to prevent the damage than to repair it later. To an important degree, skin aging is inflicted by the accumulation of minor day-to-day damage from wind, acne, sun, abrasions, detergents and so forth. As these minute injuries heal, they leave microscopic blemishes, which, eventually, accumulate to become visible signs of aging. While it needs to be further researched, it appears that copper peptides can help reduce the harm from daily wear and tear of the skin. For example, one study demonstrated that copper peptides helped recover skin integrity after exposure to SLS, a common detergent used in many shampoos, cleansers, and dishwashing/laundry products.

It remains unclear whether copper peptides can reverse wrinkles and other signs of aging in the intact skin. Hypothetically, it is possible since copper peptides stimulate the rupture of exceptionally large cross-linked collagen (the one found in scars and, to a lesser degree, in wrinkles). They also promote the production of "regular" collagen found in normal skin. In one small study, copper peptides stimulated collagen production in the intact skin. In fact, in that research copper peptides produced a stronger stimulation of collagen synthesis than tretinoin (Retin A, Renova) or ascorbate (vitamin C).

While moderate use of copper peptides stimulates collagen synthesis and has antioxidant effect (by promoting the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase), excessive use of copper peptides taken from soy proteins can have a negative effect by elevating the levels of free copper. Free copper promotes free radical harm and collagen rupture leading to accelerated skin aging. These problems do not appear to happen among the majority of copper peptide users. However, there are anecdotal reports showing that such side-effects might appear with overuse or, rarely, even normal use in sensitive people. Ideally, a sufficiently large research is necessary to better quantify these risk.

Finally, copper peptides are a promising skin treatment with a good safety profile. Their ability to boost the healing of various types of skin injuries is well established. It is likely that copper peptides can slow down the development of the signs of skin aging by limiting the effects of daily wear and tear. Also, copper peptides can improve the results of the skin rejuvenation treatments based on controlled skin injury, such as laser resurfacing, dermabrasion and peels. Also, it appears that certain copper peptide products can cause rare but significant skin harm in some cases of over use or high sensitivity.