Protein transduction domain–Dishevelled-binding motif peptide, PTD-DBMP, CXXC5–Dishevelled competitor peptide (no INCI name)
A lab-made peptide of 25 amino acids: a short piece of CXXC5, a protein that brakes Wnt/β-catenin signaling (the growth signal that starts a new hair-growth phase), joined to an eight-arginine tag that carries it into cells. It acts as a decoy that stops CXXC5 from applying the brake.
None of these uses is approved, and none has been tested in people. Here is what each claim rests on.
Animal: cell or animal studies only. No study: nothing published supports it.
Every compound’s uses, by body system: evidence map, and by condition: conditions A to Z.
Category 2 is FDA’s list of bulk substances that may present significant safety risks in compounding. The 503A bulks list adds substances that pharmacies may compound with. Advisory committee votes are advice; FDA makes the final decision. Sport status follows the WADA Prohibited List in force since January 1, 2026; athletes should confirm with their anti-doping organization. Checked October 5, 2026. Status outside the US checked October 7, 2026 against EMA, MHRA, Health Canada and TGA records. By country: EU, UK, Canada, Australia. Status of every compound.
PTD-DBM copies the stretch of CXXC5 that grips Dishevelled, a relay protein in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the signal that starts a new hair-growth phase. CXXC5 normally binds Dishevelled and damps the signal; the peptide takes its place, so β-catenin builds up and follicle cells multiply. Its eight-arginine tag helps it cross cell membranes. In mice this sped hair regrowth and the forming of new follicles in healing wounds.
AnimalMainly from cell and animal studies; not shown in people.
Whether enough crosses intact human scalp skin to reach follicles is unknown, as is whether it does anything in people. Whether CXXC5 drives common balding hasn’t been shown, and effects on other Wnt-dependent tissues haven’t been studied.
No strength has been tested in people. Ready-made scalp serums don’t state how much they contain, and figures quoted online run from 0.001% to about 0.15%, a 100-fold spread.
Scalp injection: forum reports only, with no basis for a dose. No study has injected it, and serums and home mixes aren’t sterile.
Continuous, shown over 26 weeks
The ways PTD-DBM is most often run, each tagged with where it comes from.
Sold as a water-based serum that also contains DMSO, a solvent that carries substances through skin. No study has tested any serum in people.
A 5 mg vial in 5 mL gives 0.1%. None of these strengths comes from a study, and the mouse experiments don’t translate into a scalp strength for people.
Users needle first so more peptide gets into the skin. Needling breaks the skin barrier, so an unsterile solution can cause infection. Never tested with PTD-DBM.
Applied to clean, dry scalp where hair is thinning, sometimes right after microneedling. Scalp injection appears only in forum posts; no study has tested it.
Nothing special. Skip it and use the next application as usual.
Applied to the skin, it sped hair regrowth, with more β-catenin and dividing cells in the follicles; adding valproic acid boosted the effect (Lee 2017).
AnimalIt raised the number of brand-new follicles forming in the healed skin (Lee 2017) and, with valproic acid, sped wound closure (Lee 2015).
AnimalIt reversed hair loss caused by prostaglandin D2, a signal found at high levels in balding human scalps (Ryu 2023).
AnimalNothing is known. It is sold for thinning hair, but no study has tested it in anyone.
CommunityUnknown in people
No one has used it in a published study, so its side effects and their rates are unknown.
Scalp irritation, redness or itch (guide reports)
Mentioned by a public guide, especially with microneedling; no study has looked. Stop if it doesn’t settle.
Infection after microneedling or injection
Serums and home mixes aren’t sterile. Spreading redness, heat, pus or fever needs medical care.
New scalp lumps or growths (a concern from how it works)
Its pathway drives hair-follicle tumors and many cancers when locked on. Have any new lump or changing spot checked.
Stop and get medical help for a hot, spreading red or pus-filled area on the scalp, fever, hives, or swelling of the face or throat. Have any new scalp lump checked by a doctor.
There are almost no human safety data for PTD-DBM, so most of these can’t be answered either way.
Community: reported by users, not studied. Precaution: a concern that follows from how it works or from a related drug, not measured. No data: no human safety data. A side effect that hasn’t been reported can still happen, especially with long or high-dose use. Any of these across every compound: the side-effect finder.
No product label covers PTD-DBM, so these come from human studies and from precautions based on how it works. Most important first.
Precaution: follows from how it works or from a related drug, and hasn’t been tested. This isn’t a complete list: a pharmacist or doctor can check a specific medicine or condition. Every documented interaction, by medicine: drug interactions.
What’s known about pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney and liver problems, age and surgery. Where nothing has been studied, the row says so.
Precaution: not studied, so the caution follows from how it works or from a related drug. Ages are given as approved or studied; this site never gives doses for children. Across every compound: pregnancy, breastfeeding, kidney disease, liver disease, older adults and surgery.
Usually run on its own.
No published human studies of PTD-DBM turned up in our October 2026 review. The evidence note at the top of this page sums up what is known.
No ongoing trial of PTD-DBM is registered, and none has finished recently without publishing its results. Checked on ClinicalTrials.gov, October 7, 2026. Every compound: trials under way.
Everything known comes from cells and mice, nearly all from the Seoul lab that designed it, whose head runs a company licensed to develop its Wnt activators. The mice had shaved or wounded skin, and many experiments added valproic acid, which blurs which agent did what. No person has used it in a published study, so the strength, any effect on human balding and safety on the scalp are unknown.
PTD-DBM is used on the skin, so the math is a dilution, not a syringe dose.
| Powder | Serum volume | Strength | Percent | ppm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mg | 5 mL | 1 mg/mL | 0.1% | 1,000 ppm |
| 5 mg | 10 mL | 0.5 mg/mL | 0.05% | 500 ppm |
| 5 mg | 25 mL | 0.2 mg/mL | 0.02% | 200 ppm |
| 5 mg | 50 mL | 0.1 mg/mL | 0.01% | 100 ppm |
Sold as 5 or 10 mg powder vials that users dissolve into a scalp solution, and as ready-made serums. 5 mg in 5 mL is 0.1% (1 mg per mL), near the top of figures quoted online; 5 mg in 50 mL is 0.01%. No strength has any basis in human data. Make small batches and keep them cold and dark.
Every compound side by side: the half-life chart and the storage chart.
Every compound’s numbers: the identifiers table.
Sold as PTD-DBM in 5 or 10 mg powder vials and ready-made scalp serums that don’t state their strength. The published molecule is 25 amino acids, 3,082.6 g/mol; powders usually carry counter-ions such as trifluoroacetate, so peptide content is below powder weight.
A lab-made peptide of 25 amino acids: a short piece of CXXC5, a protein that brakes Wnt/β-catenin signaling (the growth signal that starts a new hair-growth phase), joined to an eight-arginine tag that carries it into cells. It acts as a decoy that stops CXXC5 from applying the brake.
PTD-DBM copies the stretch of CXXC5 that grips Dishevelled, a relay protein in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the signal that starts a new hair-growth phase. CXXC5 normally binds Dishevelled and damps the signal; the peptide takes its place, so β-catenin builds up and follicle cells multiply. Its eight-arginine tag helps it cross cell membranes. In mice this sped hair regrowth and the forming of new follicles in healing wounds. Whether enough crosses intact human scalp skin to reach follicles is unknown, as is whether it does anything in people. Whether CXXC5 drives common balding hasn’t been shown, and effects on other Wnt-dependent tissues haven’t been studied.
Not approved as a drug in the US, the EU or anywhere else, and no human trial has been registered. The head of the lab that designed it is CEO of CK Regeon, a Seoul company licensed to develop a Wnt activator described in the lab’s 2023 hair-loss paper. Never nominated for pharmacy compounding, so it appears on none of FDA’s 503A or 503B bulk substance category lists (503A list updated May 14, 2026).
From community reports, not established: No strength has been tested in people. Ready-made scalp serums don’t state how much they contain, and figures quoted online run from 0.001% to about 0.15%, a 100-fold spread. Scalp injection: forum reports only, with no basis for a dose. No study has injected it, and serums and home mixes aren’t sterile. These are the amounts sources reference, not recommendations.
No product label covers PTD-DBM, so these come from human studies and from precautions based on how it works. Anyone with active or past cancer: It turns up Wnt/β-catenin signaling, a pathway that drives many cancers and a hair-follicle tumor when locked on. No study has looked at cancer risk. Pregnancy or breastfeeding: No human safety data exist. Wnt signaling steers fetal development, and valproic acid, often paired with it, can cause birth defects. Broken, infected or freshly needled scalp: Broken skin lets more of an unsterile product in, and infection follows more easily. It hasn’t been tested on damaged human skin. The “Who should avoid it” section lists 1 more group.
Before mixing: Freezer (−20 °C) for long-term storage, kept dry and dark. Fridge (2–8 °C) once mixed into a solution or serum, away from light. This is common practice; no product label covers it.
Probably. Not named on the 2026 list. It’s a drug candidate still in animal studies, with no approval anywhere, which S0 non-approved substances covers, banned at all times. It isn’t an established cosmetic ingredient. The 2027 list (in force January 1, 2027) adds peptides to S0’s examples; no change.
No published human studies turned up in our October 2026 review. The evidence note at the top of this page sums up what is known.
No data No human studies: no one has used PTD-DBM in a published study, and no trial is registered.
Animal Used on the scalp as a serum or home-mixed solution, sometimes after microneedling; a few forum users inject it. Only skin application in mice has been studied, never any route in people.
No data There’s no label, no overdose data and no human dosing study. Rinse it off skin or eyes with water. Call Poison Help (1-800-222-1222), or emergency services for severe symptoms.
For the protocol details
For how it works, who should avoid it and the limits of the evidence
For uses, the side-effect questions, special situations, trials, identifiers and status outside the US
Doses tagged Community come from public dosing guides and user reports, checked against at least two of them. Those sites aren’t named here because many of them sell peptides or earn commissions on them.