Skin, hair and appearance
Does anything work for skin and hair?
Beauty compounds, collagen, skin color and hair. What was found for creams and what was found for shots are very different, and the pages keep them apart.
44 compounds studied for this · 13 with a completed trial of a hundred people or more · 5 with no study in people at all
What has actually been measured here
This page lists the compounds studied for skin, hair and appearance. These pages work the other way round. They take one goal at a time and list every compound by how many people it was measured in, most first. Each shows what the study found, and the trials that found nothing are counted.
Skin, wrinkles and elasticity
Does it actually do anything for skin?
Hair
Does it grow hair?
Tanning and pigmentation
Does it actually tan you?
Wound and skin healing
Does it close a wound faster?
Strong and Moderate 13
At least one finished trial that gave the compound to a hundred people or more. That tells you how much has been measured. It does not tell you whether it will work for you. The math sits under every band.
Argireline
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 155 people given it.7 reported7 citedA skin cream peptide sold as a 'Botox-like' wrinkle softener for lines from facial expressions.
PeptideCosmeticMatrixyl
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 114 people given it.7 reported2 citedA popular skin cream peptide that tells skin to make more collagen. It is studied for fine lines and firmness.
PeptideCosmeticMelanotan II
Strong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 1,310 people given it.9 reported8 citedAn unapproved tanning and sex drive shot. It has real safety concerns.
PeptideMelanocortinMelanotan I
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 170 people given it.8 reported6 citedAn FDA-approved drug that darkens the skin to protect people with a rare condition that makes sunlight painful.
PeptideMelanocortinIdebenone
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 5 completed trials, 732 people given it.5 citedApproved in the European Union for one rare inherited eye disease that causes sudden vision loss. The approval came unde...
SupplementAntioxidantNicotinamide
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 591 people given it.2 reported4 citedA plain form of vitamin B3. In a large final-stage study of 386 people at high risk, 500 mg twice a day cut new skin can...
SupplementLongevityDersimelagon
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 165 people given it.1 reported2 citedA daily pill that switches on MC1R, the skin's tanning receptor. It is a small-molecule cousin of afamelanotide. In Janu...
Small moleculeMelanocortinBotulinum toxin type A
Strong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 1,681 people given it.5 reported3 citedA large bacterial protein that works as an enzyme, not a peptide. It was first approved in 1991 and carries the FDA's st...
BiologicCosmeticPegcetacoplan
Strong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 1,258 people given it.3 reported4 citedOne drug with two unrelated approvals. As Empaveli, a drip under the skin, it treats a rare blood disease called PNH. Th...
PeptideImmunePQQ
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 3 completed trials, 116 people given it.5 reported4 citedSold to grow new mitochondria, the cell's power plants. In a six-week training study, PQQ raised one mitochondria-buildi...
SupplementAntioxidantPT-141
Strong. At least two finished studies in people, and at least 1,000 people who took it. 4 completed trials, 2,355 people given it.9 reported4 citedAn FDA-approved shot for low sexual desire in women who have not gone through menopause.
PeptideMelanocortinSermorelin with ipamorelin
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 1 completed trial, 117 people given it.8 reported3 citedThis is the blend most likely to come from a compounding pharmacy with a prescriber's name on it. It is usually a nightl...
BlendGrowth HormoneZiconotide
Moderate. At least one finished study in people, and at least 100 people who took it. 2 completed trials, 111 people given it.2 reported2 citedA pain drug made from cone snail venom, approved in 2004 for severe long-term pain. It only works when a pump implanted...
PeptideNootropic & CNSLimited and Preliminary 26
Someone has been given it and a result was published, but in fewer than a hundred people. Or the studies in people only watched and never gave anybody anything. The math on each card says exactly how thin.
GHK-Cu
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 99 people given it.7 reported7 citedA tiny copper-carrying peptide your body makes. It is common in skin creams and has been studied for healing wounds and...
PeptideHealing & RecoverySNAP-8
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 24 people given it.7 reported2 citedA skin cream peptide, a longer version of Argireline, sold to soften expression wrinkles.
PeptideCosmeticGLOW blend
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 22 people given it.9 reported3 citedGLOW is a seller's mix of three peptides in one vial, usually 50 mg GHK-Cu plus 10 mg each of BPC-157 and TB-500. It is...
BlendCosmeticMelanotan II with PT-141
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 10 people given it.7 reported3 citedTwo drugs from the melanocortin family used together, and one is what the other turns into. That is the whole problem. B...
BlendMelanocortinAHK-Cu with GHK-Cu
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 13 people given it.5 reported2 citedTwo copper peptides in one serum, sold for hair and skin. There is not one published paper on AHK-Cu under that name. So...
BlendCosmeticGLOW capsules
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 13 people given it.6 reported2 citedThe skin blend usually sold as a shot, sold here as a pill you swallow. A capsule usually has 2 mg GHK-Cu, 500 microgram...
BlendCosmeticArgireline with Matrixyl and SNAP-8
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 60 people given it.6 reported1 citedThe standard three-peptide face serum. One of the three has a proper study in 60 people against a dummy cream. The other...
BlendCosmeticCollagen peptides
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 69 people given it.4 reported3 citedA huge supplement market built on studies that almost never test collagen against the one thing that would settle it: th...
SupplementCosmeticRLS-1496
Preliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 1 human study where nobody was given it, 1 registered with no result.1 reported2 citedRubedo's skin cream meant to clear worn-out skin cells. In an early study in psoriasis, eczema and sun-damaged skin, it...
Small moleculeAnti-agingVerteporfin
Preliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 1 human study where nobody was given it.2 reported1 citedVerteporfin is an approved eye drug. Injected into wounds in mice, it led to healing without scars in a famous 2021 pape...
Small moleculeHealing & RecoveryGHK-Cu with zinc thymulin
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 13 people given it.7 reported2 citedA pharmacy-made scalp serum in a dropper bottle. It usually has 5 mg/mL of copper peptide with 10 micrograms/mL of zinc...
BlendCosmeticGlutathione
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 54 people given it.8 reported2 citedThe body's main antioxidant inside cells, made of three amino acids. People take it for skin, for the liver and to clean...
SupplementAntioxidantKLOW blend
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 13 people given it.11 reported2 citedKLOW is a seller's mix of four peptides in one vial, usually 50 mg GHK-Cu plus 10 mg each of KPV, BPC-157 and TB-500. It...
BlendHealing & RecoveryNAD+ with glutathione
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 21 people given it.5 reported2 citedUsually two separate drips or shots given in one clinic visit, not one vial, because no premixed product is standard. NA...
BlendLongevityQuad healing blend
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 13 people given it.8 reported1 citedThe same four peptides as KLOW, mixed in very different amounts. It is usually 5 mg TB-500, 5 mg BPC-157, 10 mg KPV and...
BlendHealing & RecoveryNAD+ / B Complex
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 5 completed trials, 34 people given it.8 reported5 citedInjectable NAD+ mixed with B12, and sometimes B6, sold as a clinic drip or as a vial for shots under the skin. No study...
BlendLongevityNomlabofusp
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 2 completed trials, 28 people given it.5 citedA replacement for frataxin, the protein people with Friedreich ataxia are missing. It is joined to a short peptide that...
BiologicNootropic & CNSSermorelin / GHRP
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 4 completed trials, 56 people given it.9 reported5 citedThe standard growth hormone blend from compounding pharmacies, usually 5 mg sermorelin with 5 mg GHRP-2 in one 10 mg via...
BlendGrowth HormoneBivamelagon
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.1 reported4 citedA pill meant to turn down appetite. It works on the same brain switch, called MC4R, as setmelanotide, which is a shot. A...
Small moleculeMelanocortinHalofuginone
Preliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 3 human studies where nobody was given it, 1 registered with no result.2 reported4 citedIt has barely been tested in people. 24 cancer patients took it by mouth in an early safety study, and nausea capped the...
Small moleculeLongevityDermorphin
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 11 people given it.2 reported3 citedA seven amino acid opioid from the skin of South American frogs. In animals it is 30 to 40 times stronger than morphine....
PeptideNootropic & CNSGinsenoside Rg3
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 24 people given it.2 citedA compound from ginseng that pushes worn-out cells in opposite directions depending on the cell. In a dish it brought wo...
SupplementLongevityUrolithin B
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, none stating how many people.1 citedSold on the good name of urolithin A, which has human studies. Urolithin B has none. Its muscle result comes from muscle...
SupplementMuscle & PerformancePT-141 with oxytocin
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 3 completed trials, 10 people given it.6 reported3 citedA 15 mg vial, usually 10 mg bremelanotide with 5 mg oxytocin. So two thirds of the powder is bremelanotide and one third...
BlendMelanocortinPL8177
Preliminary. Studied in people, but no published study has had people take it. 2 human studies where nobody was given it.2 reported2 citedPalatin's peptide pill that switches on MC1R, for ulcerative colitis. In a small mid-stage study, 33 percent went into r...
PeptideMelanocortinSetmelanotide
Limited. People have taken it in a published study, but fewer than 100 of them. 1 completed trial, 38 people given it.4 reported2 citedAn FDA-approved shot for rare genetic types of obesity, where a broken gene stops the brain from feeling full.
PeptideMelanocortinAnimal or lab only, and nothing measured 5
Studied in animals or in cells in a dish, or studied in people for something else entirely. Listed, not hidden, because knowing a thing has not been tested in a person is the useful part.
AHK-Cu
Animal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 1 animal study, 1 lab study, no human study.2 reportednone citedAHK-Cu is a copper peptide sold as the hair growth cousin of GHK-Cu. It has only been shown to push hair follicle cells...
PeptideCosmeticAlpha-MSH
Animal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 1 animal study, no human study.1 reportednone citedThe natural hormone behind skin colour, appetite and swelling. Melanotan and similar peptides are built from it.
PeptideMelanocortinPTD-DBM
Animal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 2 animal studies, no human study.2 reportednone citedPTD-DBM is a peptide you put on the scalp. It frees up a hair growth signal called Wnt. In mice it regrew hair and made...
PeptideCosmeticKPV
Animal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 2 animal studies, no human study.6 reportednone citedA tiny peptide of three amino acids, cut from the hormone alpha-MSH. It calms swelling and is studied for gut and skin i...
PeptideHealing & RecoveryPiperlongumine
Animal or lab only. Only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. 1 animal study, 3 lab studies, no human study.2 reportednone citedA compound from long pepper. A 2016 lab test found it kills worn-out human skin cells in a dish. Everything published on...
Small moleculeLongevityReading on this goal
Peptides for Longevity: What the Evidence Actually Shows in 2026
A full review of every peptide and related compound sold for aging: GLP-1 drugs, rapamycin, the growth hormone peptides, epitalon, thymalin, klotho, humanin, senolytics, SS-31, GHK-Cu, MOTS-c and FOXO4-DRI. What happened in people, what happened in animals and the legal status of each, in one table. Plain English.
Peptides for Joint Pain: BPC-157, TB-500, Lorecivivint, Pentosan and Collagen Peptides, Evidence Tiered
What studies in people say about joint pain treatments: hyaluronic acid shots (89 studies, tiny effect), lorecivivint (waiting on the FDA since January 2026 after two big studies failed on pain), collagen peptides (three small studies), pentosan polysulfate (a 538-person study reporting in 2027), and BPC-157 and TB-500, whose human records sit outside the joint entirely. Plain English.
Peptides for Hair Growth: GHK-Cu, AHK-Cu, PTD-DBM and PP405
What happened when people used peptides for hair loss: copper peptide scalp injections in thousands of clinic patients, a GHK hair study in 45 men, what users report, and how that compares with minoxidil and finasteride. Plain English, every study linked.
Peptide Side Effects by Class: What Is Documented, What Is Anecdotal
A group-by-group table that separates side effects counted in studies and on FDA labels (GLP-1 drugs, bremelanotide, MK-677, elamipretide) from the stories that fill forums about BPC-157, TB-500, copper peptides and brain peptides. Plain English.
What the number counts, exactly
The number on each card is how many sources on that compound’s page are studies in people. It is counted the same simple way for all 453 compounds. You can check any of it by opening the profile and reading the list of sources. That is the whole point of showing a number at all.
It counts what we cite. It does not claim how much research exists. A compound with three studies in people here may have thirty in print, and the honest thing to say is that we have read and listed three. It is also not a quality score. Three small, loose studies count the same as three careful ones. So the groups tell you how much was measured in people, and the profile page tells you how well.