Peptides on an ingredient list, in plain words

Peptides appear on cosmetic ingredient lists under names that look like serial numbers. sh-Polypeptide-1. sh-Oligopeptide-2. They are among the least readable entries on any label, and the naming system is the reason.

What the names are made of

A peptide is a short chain of amino acids. Amino acids are the units that make up proteins, so a peptide sits somewhere between a single amino acid and a full protein in size. Broadly, an oligopeptide is a shorter chain and a polypeptide a longer one, though the boundary is a convention rather than a hard line.

The sh- prefix stands for synthetic human. It signals that the sequence corresponds to one found in humans but was made in a laboratory rather than extracted from anything. This is a manufacturing description, not a claim about what the ingredient does.

The number is simply an index. sh-Polypeptide-1 and sh-Polypeptide-11 are different sequences, and the numbers are assigned in the order the ingredients were registered. A higher number does not mean more of anything.

Reading a peptide entry, in practice

Three things are worth checking, and none of them requires chemistry.

How many are listed. Count the entries beginning with sh-. In Max Growth there are five: sh-Polypeptide-11, sh-Polypeptide-1, sh-Oligopeptide-2, sh-Oligopeptide-10 and sh-Polypeptide-9. That count is a fact about the label, and you can verify it in a few seconds.

Where they sit. Position tells you about proportion. A peptide near the top of a list is present in a larger amount than one at the very bottom.

What is claimed around them. This is where labels vary most. A cosmetic ingredient can be described in terms of appearance and feel. Claims about growing hair belong to drugs, which go through a different regulatory process entirely. That distinction does not depend on whether an ingredient is interesting. It depends on what the sentence is about.

Why the naming will not improve

The system exists so that the same ingredient carries the same name in every country that uses INCI, which is most of them. Readability was never the goal, consistency was. The upside is real: once you know a name, you can find it on any label anywhere and know you have the same thing.

Eloura products are cosmetics. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition.