Peptides for skin

What’s been tested for wrinkles, wounds and tanning, from cosmetic peptides to melanotan, and what’s approved.

The short answer

Cosmetic peptides in creams and serums, such as argireline, Matrixyl, SNAP-8 and GHK-Cu, have small studies, often run by their makers, showing modest effects on wrinkles. Cosmetics don’t need FDA approval before sale, and none of these is an approved wrinkle treatment.

Among peptides, afamelanotide (Scenesse) is approved for erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare light sensitivity. Injected tanning peptides such as melanotan II are unapproved, and new or darker moles and melanoma case reports have been linked to them.

For wounds and ulcers, small trials tested LL-37, thymosin beta-4 and GHK-Cu gels; none is approved.

44 uses on this site’s compound pages: 2 on labels, 22 tested in people, 10 in animals only, 10 claims only.

What’s approved for wrinkles

Tretinoin 0.02% cream (Renova) is approved to help soften fine facial wrinkles in people who also protect their skin from the sun; its label says it doesn’t erase wrinkles or reverse sun damage.

On a label 2

Approved uses, from a product label somewhere in the world.

Melanotan 1Approved drug: LabelErythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). Scenesse implant is approved for adults with EPP, a rare disorder that makes light painful. Over 180 days, median pain-free hours in direct sun: 64.1 vs 40.5 on placebo implants.
PT-141Approved drug: LabelTanning or darker skin. Not a tanning agent: it can cause uneven dark patches on the face, gums or breasts (1% at up to 8 doses a month, 38% after 8 daily doses) that may not fade.

Tested in people 22

Studied in people, whatever the result: some worked, many didn’t or are unproven.

TirzepatideApproved drug: TrialPsoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, with ixekizumab. Positive, not an approved use: in open-label trials in adults with overweight or obesity, adding tirzepatide to ixekizumab (Taltz) cleared psoriasis completely in 40.6% vs 29.0% at 36 weeks (274 people). In psoriatic arthritis, 33.5% vs 20.4% improved by at least half (271 people).
LiraglutideApproved drug: TrialPsoriasis. Mixed: in 20 people with overweight and normal blood sugar, 8 weeks didn’t improve psoriasis more than placebo. In 25 people with type 2 diabetes, psoriasis scores improved more over 12 weeks than in a control group.
GlutathioneApproved drug: TrialSkin lightening. Unproven by injection: the only placebo-controlled IV trial found 37.5% vs 18.7% improved, which could be chance. Oral and topical forms lightened skin modestly in small trials; a 2025 review advises against IV use.
Thymosin Beta-4Human studies: TrialLeg and pressure ulcers. Not shown: in Phase 2 gel trials, ulcers closed within 84 days in 12 of 55 (leg) and 8 of 54 (pressure) on the gel, vs 4 of 17 and 3 of 18 on placebo.
Thymosin Beta-4Human studies: TrialSkin blistering disease (epidermolysis bullosa). Not shown: in a 30-person gel trial stopped early, wounds had healed by day 56 in 8 of 22 people on the gel vs 5 of 8 on placebo.
GHK-CuHuman studies: TrialWrinkles and aging skin (creams, serums). Unproven: studies are small and short, and some were never fully published. A face cream improved wrinkles in 71 women over 12 weeks (poster only); an 8-week serum cut wrinkle volume 55.8% vs plain serum.
GHK-CuHuman studies: TrialChronic wounds and ulcers (gels, creams). Mixed: in a 1994 diabetic foot-ulcer trial, median closure was 98.5% vs 60.8% on plain gel; in a 1992 trial of 86 people with leg vein ulcers, a 0.4% cream matched placebo.
GHK-CuHuman studies: TrialHealing after laser resurfacing. Negative on objective measures: in 13 people after CO2 laser treatment, GHK-Cu skin care didn’t clear redness faster or improve wrinkles more than skin care without it, though patients rated their skin better.
SNAP-8Human studies: TrialExpression lines and wrinkles. Unproven alone: two microneedle-patch studies run with patch makers mixed it with other actives; one (24 people, 28 days) beat a plain patch. The maker reports up to 62% (average 35%) wrinkle reduction, unpublished.
Melanotan 1Approved drug: TrialSunless tanning. Darkens skin, but no tanning product is approved: in a 28-man placebo-controlled trial (1991), 10 injections over 12 days darkened skin, peaking 1–3 weeks later. Long-term safety for tanning is unstudied.
Melanotan 1Approved drug: TrialSunburn and skin cancer protection. Unproven against cancer: in 65 fair-skinned volunteers, 3 months of injections raised melanin and cut sunburn cells after UV by more than half in the fairest. No study has measured skin cancer rates.
Melanotan 1Approved drug: TrialVitiligo. Unproven: added to UV light therapy in a 55-person trial, implants gave 48.6% vs 33.3% repigmentation at day 168, mainly in darker skin types. A Phase 3 trial is under way.
Melanotan 1Approved drug: TrialAcne. Unproven: in a 3-person pilot, acne lesions fell within 56 days of one implant. No controlled trial has been published.
Melanotan 2Human studies: TrialSunless tanning. Tiny pilot, never approved: in the only tanning study (1996), 2 of 3 men had darker skin on the face, upper body and buttocks after 2 weeks of injections. No tanning product is approved.
ArgirelineHuman studies: TrialWrinkles around the eyes (creams). Mixed: in 60 Chinese adults, 4 weeks of cream improved eye wrinkles in 48.9% vs 0% on placebo, but a 19-woman split-face study found no difference. Other cream trials had 10–24 people.
ArgirelineHuman studies: TrialA “Botox in a jar” alternative. Not shown: in lab tests it acted far more weakly than botulinum toxin, and almost none passed the skin’s outer layer. With toxin shots for eyelid spasm (24 people), it didn’t significantly prolong their effect.
ArgirelineHuman studies: TrialOily skin and shine. Unproven: in a 4-week split-face trial in 14 people, a 10% lotion trended toward 10% less sebum than plain lotion, a difference that could have been chance (p = 0.16).
MatrixylHuman studies: TrialFine lines and wrinkles (creams). Limited: in a 12-week industry trial, 93 women saw more fine-line improvement on the side with 3 ppm than on the plain side; effect sizes weren’t given. A small 21-woman trial also favored it.
MatrixylHuman studies: TrialPreventing skin damage from radiotherapy. Negative: in 20 patients having breast radiotherapy, a cream with Matrixyl and two other actives did no better than a dexpanthenol lotion, with more itch and one suspected allergic reaction.
LL-37Human studies: TrialHealing venous leg ulcers. Not shown: in a 34-person trial, the weakest strength sped healing about sixfold vs placebo over 4 weeks, but a 148-person follow-up found no benefit overall after 13 weeks.
LL-37Human studies: TrialDiabetic foot ulcers. Unproven: in a 25-person trial, a cream applied twice weekly for 4 weeks built up more healthy new wound tissue than placebo, but didn’t cut bacteria or inflammation markers more.
LL-37Human studies: TrialMelanoma, injected into skin tumors. Unproven: a US phase 1/2 study gave weekly tumor injections to only 3 patients; one stopped for lack of effect, and the posted response results are unclear.

Seen only in animals 10

Results in animals or cells only. Most treatments tested in animals never reach approval for people.

TB-500Preclinical: AnimalWound and skin healing. Unproven: the non-acetylated peptide sped wound closure in aged mice (2003), but TB-500 itself didn’t close scratch wounds in a 2024 lab test, while one of its breakdown products did.
KPVPreclinical: AnimalSkin inflammation and wound healing. Unproven in people: it eased ear swelling in mice and sped corneal healing in rabbits. FDA reviewed it for these uses in 2026 and found no human data.
ARA-290Human studies: AnimalWound healing and tissue repair. Unproven in people: it sped wound healing in mice with diabetes. No human trial has tested it for wounds, and it isn’t sold as a repair peptide by approved routes.
CartalaxPreclinical: AnimalSkin aging and collagen. Unproven in people: in aging skin cells in a dish, it raised collagen I and sirtuins, proteins linked to cell aging, and curbed cell-death signals.
GHRP-6Human studies: AnimalWound healing and scarring. Unproven in people: a GHRP-6 gel sped healing of skin wounds in rats and reduced raised scars in rabbits. It hasn’t been tested on human skin.
SNAP-8Human studies: AnimalA “Botox-like” wrinkle relaxer. Unproven: in the maker’s lab tests, summarized in a 2020 review, it cut release of a nerve signaling chemical by 43% at high concentration. No study shows it relaxes muscles or reaches nerves through skin.
ArgirelineHuman studies: AnimalCollagen and skin thickening. Unproven in people: in aged mice, a 10% cream for 6 weeks thickened skin and raised type I collagen. A safety panel said it’s unclear whether such effects come from collagen or simple hydration.
MatrixylHuman studies: AnimalBoosting collagen. Unproven in people: its peptide raised collagen and fibronectin in cell studies, and in mouse skin a little reached the deeper layer. Whether it raises collagen in human skin hasn’t been shown.
MatrixylHuman studies: AnimalWound healing and scars. Unproven in people: in a 21-day animal study, patches and creams with it sped wound healing compared with no treatment. No human wound or scar trial exists.
LL-37Human studies: AnimalSkin conditions such as rosacea or psoriasis. Evidence points the other way: people with rosacea have abnormally high levels in facial skin, injecting these peptides inflamed mouse skin, and lab studies tie LL-37 to psoriasis inflammation.

Claims without data 10

Promoted by sellers, clinics or users, with no study behind the claim.

AOD9604Human studies: No studyBone, skin, mood and anti-aging claims. Unproven: FDA found clinics promoting it for osteoporosis, skin care, depression and anti-aging. No study has tested it for these; a rat study raised a possible bone concern.
EpithalonPreclinical: No studySkin and youthful appearance. Unproven: promoted online for skin health and reversing signs of aging, FDA notes, but no published human study has tested it on skin.
FOXO4-DRIPreclinical: No studySkin rejuvenation. Unproven: no study has tested it on skin aging. The only skin work used keloid scar tissue in the lab, where it killed senescent scar cells.
KPVPreclinical: No studyPsoriasis and eczema. Unproven: FDA evaluated KPV for inflammatory conditions including psoriasis and eczema and found no human studies; approved treatments exist for both.
CJC-1295 (no DAC)Preclinical: CommunityAnti-aging, skin and joints. Unproven: FDA found websites promising stronger bones, better skin and joints, mood, memory and libido (2024). None of these has been studied for any form of CJC-1295.
GHK-CuHuman studies: CommunityInjections for skin, healing or anti-aging. Unproven: no study has tested GHK-Cu injections alone in people. FDA found limited human data on their safety, and the nomination to compound injectable GHK-Cu was withdrawn in April 2026.
AHK-CuPreclinical: CommunityInjections for hair or skin. Unproven: some users report injecting it, but no study has tested AHK-Cu by injection in people or animals, and cosmetic serums aren’t sterile.
AHK-CuPreclinical: No studySkin firming, collagen and anti-aging. Unproven: no study of AHK-Cu on skin was found. These claims borrow from GHK-Cu, a related copper peptide whose own human evidence is small and mixed.
SNAP-8Human studies: No studyInjections for wrinkles. Unproven: no study has tested SNAP-8 by injection in people or animals, and cosmetic-grade peptide isn’t made to injectable standards.
ArgirelineHuman studies: CommunityInjections or threads for wrinkles. Unproven: no trial has tested injected Argireline, and a woman given forehead and temple injections developed a hard-to-treat mycobacterial skin infection that took 5 months of antibiotics to clear.

Side effects

Every compound’s answer, from its label, studies or user reports: Can peptides cause acne, rash or skin changes?

Skin, hair and tanning guide, Peptides for hair loss.

The same uses among all skin, hair and wounds: evidence map. Every condition, A to Z: conditions A to Z.

Sources: FDA, authority over cosmetics (content current November 18, 2025); Renova prescribing information (2026); Scenesse prescribing information (2026); each compound’s answer from its own page, where its sources are listed.

By Vial Guide editorsLast reviewed October 7, 2026

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