Tissue Repair & Regeneration

Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl)

Matrixyl is not an invented molecule. Its sequence, KTTKS, is a fragment the body releases while assembling type I collagen, and fibroblasts read it as an instruction to make more; attaching a fatty tail is what lets it cross into skin. The trial behind it is better than most cosmetic peptides get — 93 women aged 35 to 55, twelve weeks, split-face, randomised and double-blind, comparing a moisturiser with and without the peptide at 3 parts per million, with wrinkles measured by image analysis and expert grading, and the treated side did better. That trial is from 2005 and has never been independently replicated; the other five references on file are reviews, a computer safety model and a delivery study.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forFine line reduction research · Collagen synthesis research · Photoageing trial data

Evidence on file1 randomised human trial · 1 in-vitro study · 1 computational study

Strongest sourceTopical palmitoyl pentapeptide provides improvement in photoaged human facial skin (2005, cited 184x) (randomised human trial)

Mechanism

Its KTTKS sequence is a matrikine released during procollagen I processing that signals fibroblasts to raise collagen synthesis.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Fine line reduction research
Collagen synthesis research
Photoageing trial data

Manufacturer’s claim vendor marketing

For a proprietary cosmetic ingredient the manufacturer is the originator — there is no upstream to defer to, and this is often the only description that exists. It is reproduced as an attributed claim, with the label its source gave it. It is not graded and it is not evidence — the graded studies are under Literature.

Vendor claim (INCIDecoder, manufacturer-sponsored research): can "reduce fine lines, wrinkles and improve skin texture significantly"; showed "similar wrinkle improving ability" to 0.07% retinol (700 ppm) with "better skin tolerability". n= and duration not stated on fetched page.

Manufacturer: Sederma (in joint effort with Procter & Gamble, per INCIDecoder)
Sold as: Matrixyl (Pal-KTTKS)
Manufacturer’s recommended use: 3 ppm (0.0003%) per INCIDecoder

Source page — nofollow, because a vendor link is a reference here, not an endorsement.

Dosing on file unverified

3 ppm (0.0003%) to 7% serum, 1-2x/day; 0.005% cream; 3 ppm; up to 7% serum

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

What is circulated about this dose. One claim is recorded on this page with the page it was read from. Read what is circulated.

Literature on file 6

human RCT
Topical palmitoyl pentapeptide provides improvement in photoaged human facial skin (2005, cited 184x) graded on: a randomised study — read from the indexed abstract — “randomized clinical study”
review or editorial
Mechanistic Review of Topical Therapies Targeting Dermal Fibroblasts in Skin Aging and Rejuvenation graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
review or editorial
Therapeutic Peptides in Aesthetic, Metabolic and Endocrine Conditions: Effects, Safety, Clinical Applications, and Future Perspectives. graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
review or editorial
Peptides: Emerging Candidates for the Prevention and Treatment of Skin Senescence: A Review. graded on: indexed as "review-article" - secondary literature, not a study — “review-article”
computational
A framework for the safety evaluation of peptides in cosmetics. graded on: in-silico safety framework applied through six bioinformatic tools — read from the abstract — “abstract review”
in vitro
Dually functionalized dendrimer for stimuli-responsive release of active ingredients into the skin. graded on: dendrimer nanocarrier release and skin-penetration assays outside a living organism — read from the abstract — “abstract review”

What is circulated not evidence 3

Claims passed around in community guides and vendor copy, recorded because they circulate — not because they are true. Each is shown with the page it was read from and what this record actually holds. Checked 2026-08-24.

unverified community data benefit common nothing on file either way

In-vitro fibroblast percentages — collagen I up 117%, hyaluronic acid up 200% — circulate on retail and aggregator pages restated as if they were results in skin.

Stimulated collagen I synthesis by 117% and hyaluronic acid by 200% in fibroblast assays

On the record The corpus holds the mechanism (KTTKS as a matrikine signalling fibroblasts to raise collagen synthesis) and a landmark 2005 human RCT on photoaged facial skin, but no cell-culture percentage of any kind. Percentages measured in a dish, restated beside human wrinkle claims, is the standard supplier-to-retail chain for this ingredient.

Source 1
unverified community data benefit occasional nothing on file either way

A clinical figure of 36% wrinkle-depth reduction over 16 weeks circulates on aggregator pages.

Reduced wrinkle depth by 36% and improved skin thickness by 12% over 16 weeks

On the record The corpus cites the 2005 placebo-controlled trial ("Topical palmitoyl pentapeptide provides improvement in photoaged human facial skin") but holds no percentage effect size. The circulated figure is attributed to a 2017 study the corpus does not carry.

Source 1
unverified community data dose common nothing on file either way

A use pattern of 2-8% formulations applied twice daily for 8-16 weeks circulates as the standard topical protocol.

Apply morning and night; pat a few drops over the face/neck and follow with moisturizer

On the record No concentration and no schedule is on file for this peptide. The trial the record cites used it at parts-per-million levels, far below the percent-range concentrations circulated for finished retail products.

Source 1

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl), carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl) — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 802.1
Molecular formula: C39H75N7O10
CAS number: 214047-00-4
PubChem CID: 9897237
InChI key: WSGCRSMLXFHGRM-DEVHWETNSA-N
SMILES: CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H]([C@@H](C)O)C(=O)N[C@@H]([C@@H](C)O)C(=O)N[C@@H](CCCCN)C(=O)N[C@@H](CO)C(=O)O
InChI: InChI=1S/C39H75N7O10/c1-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16-23-32(50)42-29(21-17-19-24-40)36(52)45-34(28(3)49)38(54)46-33(27(2)48)37(53)43-30(22-18-20-25-41)35(51)44-31(26-47)39(55)56/h27-31,33-34,47-49H,4-26,40-41H2,1-3H3,(H,42,50)(H,43,53)(H,44,51)(H,45,52)(H,46,54)(H,55,56)/t27-,28-,29+,30+,31+,33+,34+/m1/s1

Also called

Matrixyl
Matrixyl (Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4)
Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4

Notes unverified prose

RCT: Robinson et al. 2005 (93 women, 12 weeks, 3 ppm); 0.005% cream (28 days, 18% fold depth reduction); 7% serum (8 weeks, split-face); RCT: 0.005% cream (28 days, crow's feet): fold depth -18%; 12-week split-face RCT (93 women, 3 ppm): significant wrinkle reduction; 8-week (43 women, 50-70); Robinson et al. 2005 RCT (93 women, 12 weeks)

Not on file 2

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. 1 further absence is named below. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

amino-acid sequencenothing we hold supplies it
half-lifenothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.

Listed prices 17

What 16 shops we track listed for Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl), read from their own public catalogues on 2026-09-14. We take no commission on these and they are not ranked by any payment — how vendors are scored.

Compare prices17 listings from 16 shops

Listed in USD
Vendor	Size	Price	Per mg
Ion Peptide	1000 mg	$139.00 USD	$0.14/mg
Verified Peptides	200 mg	$104.00 USD	$0.52/mg
Umbrella Labs	200 mg	$104.99 USD	$0.52/mg
Core Peptides	200 mg	$171.00 USD	$0.85/mg
Raw Amino	200 mg	$184.00 USD	$0.92/mg
Biotech Peptides	200 mg	$190.00 USD	$0.95/mg
USA Peptide Sciences	200 mg	$200.00 USD	$1.00/mg
PureRawz ships worldwide	10 mg	$18.57 USD	$1.86/mg
Behemoth Labz	10 mg	$19.10 USD	$1.91/mg
Guru Peptides	10 mg	$21.99 USD	$2.20/mg
Peptides Warehouse	10 mg	$27.59 USD	$2.76/mg
PeptiFy Labs	10 mg	$65.97 USD	$6.60/mg
Ion Peptide	10 mg	$129.00 USD	$12.90/mg
My GLP 1 Store	size not listed	$79.99 USD	—
atomiklabz	size not listed	$175.00 USD	—

Listed in CAD
Vendor	Size	Price	Per mg
Peptide Shop Canada	200 mg	$134.00 CAD	$0.67/mg

Listed in GBP
Vendor	Size	Price	Per mg
Be Better Peptides	10 mg	£24.99 GBP	£2.50/mg

Prices are the vendor's own listing, reproduced with the date we read it — never converted between currencies, and compared per milligram only where the vendor states the vial size.

At a glance

Strongest rung: human RCT
Citations: 6
Regulatory: Cosmetic ingredient
Route: Topical
Declared gaps: 2

Citations by rung

Strongest wins, never an average.