Condition
Melasma
2 compounds were checked against melasma, and every one of them earned a row.
Last updated
Recorded under Hyperpigmentation, alongside 0 other indications.
Compounds with a graded row
Ordered by rung, strongest first. The rung rates the study design; the chip beside it says what the study measured. Both are needed.
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Decapeptide-12
human RCT Direct outcome Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- women with Fitzpatrick phototype IV and moderate recalcitrant melasma, n=5, 16 weeks
A split-face, randomised, double-blind, vehicle-controlled pilot applied 0.01% decapeptide-12 twice daily to diagnosed melasma and graded its appearance on a 10-point investigator scale, reporting improvement on the treated side in all five participants. n=5 with an investigator scale rather than MASI or colorimetry is the entire controlled human melasma record for this peptide. The larger decapeptide-12 studies on file are open-label and combine the peptide with 20% glycolic acid and sunscreen, so they cannot attribute any pigment change to the peptide.
Source PubMed 4 primary sources read for this row
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Nonapeptide-1
in vitro Mechanistic only Not approved for this condition
- Who was studied
- cultured human epidermal melanocytes and HaCaT keratinocytes under UVA exposure; no living subjects
Recorded, and not evidence for this condition
Nonapeptide-1 acetate reduced melanin content and tyrosinase activity in cultured human melanocytes. No study measured melasma in a living person: the only human trial that includes nonapeptide-1 is a proprietary multi-ingredient melasma maintenance formulation with phenylethyl resorcinol, aminoethyl phosphinic acid, antioxidants and sunscreen, which attributes nothing to the peptide. The link from a cell assay to a visible change in melasma is an argument, not a result.
Source DOI 3 primary sources read for this row
Every compound checked earned a row
Nothing was checked against melasma and set aside. That is unusual — most conditions here have a list at the bottom of this page.
What this page does not say
It reports what was measured, in whom, and how directly. It does not say what to take or at what dose, and a row here is a record of a study rather than a reason to use anything. Every rung links to the rubric that assigned it.