On ‘Wellness Her Way’: How Peptides Are Taking on ‘Zombie Cells’ to Redefine Anti-Aging

Anti-aging skincare promises are everywhere—creams that claim to erase years, serums that smooth on hope, and treatments that cost a fortune—all in the name of turning back the clock. But most of those products only scratch the surface, literally.

On Wellness Her Way, host Gracie Norton sat down with Carolina Reis Oliveira, cofounder and CEO of OneSkin, who makes it clear that so many so-called “anti-aging” products aren’t just ineffective—they might even be making things worse.

“Some of the products that were the best-selling anti-aging products, they were actually not only not reversing aging, but they were actually causing some toxicity, inflammation, and potentially doing the exact opposite of what they were marketing,” Oliveira explains.

That’s where peptides come in. Instead of chasing surface-level fixes, Oliveira and her team of PhD scientists are focused on what they believe is the real culprit behind aging skin: zombie cells.

On ‘Wellness Her Way’: How Peptides Are Taking on ‘Zombie Cells’ to Redefine Anti-Aging

What zombie cells do to your skin

The problem with aging skin isn’t just the wrinkles you can see. Oliveira explains that the real problem lies deeper. “These are basically cells that are already damaged, they are old, they stop dividing,” she says. “So, in the skin, they stop producing collagen. They stop protecting, forming the skin barrier. And what they do, they basically sit around and start secreting inflammatory signals that induce the cells around to age faster.”

In other words, zombie cells don’t just give up their job; they drag their neighbors down with them. That’s why skin starts to look fragile, sagging, and uneven. The more of these zombie cells you have, the more signs of aging show up.

Why popular treatments may miss the point

Laser treatments, chemical peels, and retinoids all have their place in skincare, but Oliveira argues they’re addressing symptoms rather than causes. “What those laser treatments do, and a lot of the main anti-aging products that are focused on acids or like retinoids, is basically inducing cell renewal,” she says. “The upper layer of your skin is basically being renewed. And then you are growing a newer, fresher layer, but it’s not necessarily driving what’s causing aging underneath.”

Treatments that make your skin look fresher in the short term don’t actually deal with the zombie cells lurking underneath. They just smooth over the surface.

Why peptides are different

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that act as tiny messengers, able to get inside cells and change how they behave. Oliveira and her cofounders saw an opportunity. After testing over 900 different peptides across five years and seven rounds of validation, Oliveira’s team developed OS-1, which they say works by “activating DNA repair pathways.”

“When you are in the sun, your skin is more resilient to sun damage because this peptide is making your cells more resilient to damage,” Oliveira explains. In laboratory testing, she claims they could “reverse the age of skin by 2.5 years” when measuring skin treated with their peptide.

Building the science behind beauty

Oliveira didn’t come into the industry chasing beauty trends. She tells Norton, “I was really obsessed with health, and that’s why I want to become a scientist. I want to study science, I want to do research, I want to help people to live better.”

That mindset drove her and her team—four women with backgrounds in stem cell biology, wound healing, and genomics—to design something that actually targets aging at the cellular level.

Why peptides might be the future of skincare

The appeal of this approach is obvious: Instead of chasing every new fad or burning through your skin barrier with harsh treatments, peptides represent a way to strengthen skin from the inside out.

Oliveira puts it simply: “We focus primarily on improving and optimizing skin health. And therefore, your skin will be looking better, will be more resilient, will be able to handle more environmental stressors like UV damage.”

While no cream or serum can turn back time completely, understanding the science gives us a more innovative, healthier way to approach skincare. Sometimes, the key to looking younger isn’t found in a flashy new bottle of cream—it’s in the quiet power of a tiny peptide doing its work beneath the surface.

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