Skin, hair and appearance
Does anything work for skin and hair?
Cosmetic compounds, collagen, pigmentation and hair. Topical and injectable evidence differ enormously here and the pages keep them apart.
19 compounds studied for this · 1 with three or more human studies cited · 7 with none
Three or more human studies cited 1
The deepest human evidence on this site for this goal. That is a statement about how much has been measured, not about whether it will work for you.
One or two human studies cited 11
Something has been run in people, and it is a thin base. The count is on each card so you can see exactly how thin.
PT-141
2 citedAn FDA-approved melanocortin agonist for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women.
MelanocortinSetmelanotide
2 citedAn FDA-approved MC4R agonist for rare genetic forms of obesity driven by defects in the melanocortin pathway.
MelanocortinGlutathione
2 citedThe body's master intracellular antioxidant tripeptide, used to support redox balance, detoxification, and skin, with mi...
AntioxidantMelanotan I
2 citedAn FDA-approved melanocortin agonist that increases skin pigmentation to protect people with a rare light-sensitivity di...
MelanocortinArgireline
2 citedA topical cosmetic peptide marketed as a 'Botox-like' wrinkle reducer that relaxes expression lines at the skin surface.
CosmeticSNAP-8
2 citedA topical cosmetic peptide extension of Argireline marketed for reducing the appearance of expression wrinkles.
CosmeticRLS-1496
2 citedRubedo's topical senolytic that met its Phase 1 safety endpoint in psoriasis, eczema and photo-aged skin, with collagen...
Anti-agingDersimelagon
2 citedAn oral selective MC1R agonist, a small-molecule cousin of afamelanotide, that met its Phase 3 endpoint in the light-sen...
MelanocortinPL8177
2 citedPalatin's oral melanocortin-1 receptor agonist peptide for ulcerative colitis, with a small Phase 2 showing 33% remissio...
MelanocortinMatrixyl
1 citedA widely used topical skincare peptide that signals the skin to produce more collagen, studied for fine lines and firmne...
CosmeticVerteporfin
1 citedAn approved eye drug that, injected into wounds in mice, produced regeneration without scars in a landmark 2021 Science...
Healing & RecoveryNo human study cited here 7
Studied in other species or in cell culture, or studied in people for something else entirely. Listed rather than hidden, because knowing a thing has not been tested in a person is the useful part.
GHK-Cu
none citedA naturally occurring copper-binding tripeptide widely used in skincare and studied for wound healing and skin remodelin...
Healing & RecoveryKPV
none citedA small anti-inflammatory tripeptide derived from alpha-MSH studied for gut inflammation and skin, mostly in preclinical...
Healing & RecoveryAlpha-MSH
none citedThe natural melanocortin hormone behind skin pigmentation, appetite, and inflammation, and the template for melanotan an...
MelanocortinKLOW blend
none citedA four-peptide vendor blend, typically 50 mg GHK-Cu with 10 mg each of KPV, BPC-157 and TB-500, sold for repair and infl...
Healing & RecoveryGLOW blend
none citedA three-peptide vendor blend (GHK-Cu, BPC-157, TB-500, typically 70 mg) marketed for skin and recovery; unstudied as a c...
CosmeticPTD-DBM
none citedA topical peptide that unblocks Wnt signaling in the scalp and stimulated hair regrowth and new follicle formation in mi...
CosmeticAHK-Cu
none citedA copper tripeptide marketed as the hair-growth cousin of GHK-Cu; in-vitro stimulation of hair follicle cells only, with...
CosmeticWhat the number counts, exactly
The figure on each card is the number of citations on that compound’s page whose study type is Human. It is counted the same mechanical way for all 192 compounds and you can check any of it by opening the profile and reading the citation list, which is the whole point of publishing a number at all.
It is a count of what we cite, not a claim about how much research exists. A compound with three human studies here may have thirty in the literature, and the honest thing to say is that we have read and listed three. It is also not a quality score: three small open-label studies count the same as three randomised trials, so the tiers tell you how much was measured in people and the page itself tells you how well.