Compare prices and buy peptides in the Skin & Cosmetic category from every research peptide vendor, supplier and source we index. Updated daily.
Peptides and other compounds for dermal and cosmetic research, from topical ingredients such as GHK-Cu, Argireline and Matrixyl to the melanocortin agonists Melanotan I and II.
The oldest group in this category works by mimicking fragments the skin already produces during repair, and using them to upregulate extracellular-matrix synthesis.
GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the tripeptide glycyl-histidyl-lysine. In cell culture the chelate donates copper to tissue, modulates matrix metalloproteinase activity, and upregulates collagen and decorin synthesis. The uncomplexed tripeptide, GHK, is a chemically different molecule with its own CAS number and is catalogued under Healing and Repair.
Matrixyl is palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, a synthetic matrikine built from a fragment of the type-I procollagen propeptide with palmitic acid attached to help it cross the stratum corneum. Vendors also sell GHK-Cu combined with KPV, sometimes labelled "Beauty Blend", pairing the copper peptide with KPV, the anti-inflammatory tripeptide catalogued under Immune and Anti-inflammatory.
A second group targets neuromuscular transmission in treated skin rather than the dermal matrix, aiming at the same endpoint as injected neurotoxins through a topically applied molecule.
Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, sold under the Lipotec brand name Argireline, mimics the N-terminal fragment of SNAP-25 and competes for assembly of the SNARE complex that presynaptic neurons use to release acetylcholine. Snap-8 is acetyl octapeptide-3, a two-residue extension of the same molecule designed to act on the same pathway, with mechanism data that come from its manufacturer. Syn-Ake reaches the junction from the other side: its manufacturer designed it to mimic waglerin-1, a polypeptide toxin from the temple viper, and describes it as antagonizing the muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor directly.
For Argireline, a 2025 review concluded that the peptide penetrates skin poorly, and the cell studies that defined its mechanism found it much less efficacious than botulinum toxin A.
Melanotan I is a linear analog of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone with two substitutions that resist enzymatic degradation. It binds primarily the MC1 receptor on melanocytes to stimulate eumelanin synthesis.
Melanotan II is a shorter cyclic analog that agonizes MC1, MC3, MC4 and MC5 non-selectively. The MC4 activity is thought to underlie pro-erectile and libido effects, which is why it also appears under Sexual Health alongside PT-141. FDA's compounding safety list cites published case reports of serious adverse events with it, including melanoma and priapism.
The last group sits mostly outside cosmetic chemistry, and only one of its three members is a peptide.
AHK-Cu is the closest to the rest of the category: a copper tripeptide complex one residue away from GHK-Cu, whose only published study used human hair follicles and dermal papilla cells in culture.
RU-58841 is a topical nonsteroidal antiandrogen first reported by Roussel-Uclaf researchers. It binds the androgen receptor, and in their hamster studies it acted on skin with little systemic antiandrogenic activity. It has no FDA approval.
PP405 is at the opposite end of the pipeline. It is a topical inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier, designed to shift hair-follicle stem cell metabolism toward re-entry into the growth phase. Its developer, Pelage Pharmaceuticals, is testing it in a Phase 2/3 trial in men with androgenetic alopecia.
Approval status separates three groups in this category.
One member is an approved drug. Melanotan I, under the generic name afamelanotide and the brand Scenesse, is FDA-approved as a dissolving subcutaneous implant to increase pain-free light exposure in adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria. That is the whole of the approval, which does not extend to cosmetic tanning.
Four are cosmetic ingredients. Argireline, Snap-8, Syn-Ake and Matrixyl carry INCI names and need no FDA approval as cosmetics, but FDA classifies a product by its intended use, and one marketed to affect the structure or function of the body is regulated as a drug.
Two left Category 2 in 2026. On April 15, 2026 the FDA announced the removal of twelve peptides from Category 2 of its Section 503A bulk drug substances list, effective seven days later, and both GHK-Cu and Melanotan II were on it. GHK-Cu's Category 2 entry covered injectable routes only. Neither was among the seven substances the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee heard in July 2026, so neither has been reviewed for the permitted list yet. FDA has named both for the committee's next meeting, planned before the end of February 2027, and neither is an FDA-approved drug.
They are different molecules with very different regulatory positions. Melanotan I is a 13-amino-acid linear analog of alpha-MSH that binds primarily the MC1 receptor, the one that drives melanin synthesis. Under the generic name afamelanotide and the brand Scenesse it is FDA-approved, as a dissolving subcutaneous implant, to increase pain-free light exposure in adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria. Melanotan II is a shorter cyclic heptapeptide that acts non-selectively across the MC1, MC3, MC4 and MC5 receptors. It has no FDA approval, and FDA's compounding safety list cites published case reports of serious adverse events with it, including melanoma and priapism.
GHK is the free tripeptide glycyl-histidyl-lysine, CAS 49557-75-7. GHK-Cu is that same tripeptide complexed with a copper(II) ion, CAS 89030-95-5. In laboratory studies the complex delivers copper to tissue, and much of its reported matrix-remodeling activity is tied to that copper. PeptideScouter indexes them as separate rows in different categories, GHK-Cu under Skin and Cosmetic and GHK under Healing and Repair, because they are chemically distinct and priced differently.
Three. AHK-Cu is a copper tripeptide whose one published study found that it lengthened human hair follicles kept in culture and increased the proliferation of cultured dermal papilla cells. RU-58841 is a topical nonsteroidal antiandrogen first reported by Roussel-Uclaf researchers and also coded HMR-3841 and PSK-3841, which acted on skin with little systemic antiandrogenic activity in their hamster studies and has no FDA approval. PP405 is a topical mitochondrial pyruvate carrier inhibitor from Pelage Pharmaceuticals designed to shift hair-follicle stem cell metabolism toward growth-phase re-entry. It is in a Phase 2/3 trial in men with androgenetic alopecia. Only AHK-Cu is a peptide.
Both were on the list of twelve peptides the FDA removed from Category 2 of its Section 503A bulk drug substances list, announced April 15, 2026 and effective seven days later. Category 2 is the designation for substances that may present significant safety risks. GHK-Cu's Category 2 entry covered injectable routes only, and its entry for other routes remains in Category 1, under evaluation, after a brief removal in April. Removal from Category 2 is not an authorization: a substance still has to be reviewed by the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee and added to the permitted list through notice-and-comment rulemaking. Neither GHK-Cu nor Melanotan II was among the seven substances that committee heard in July 2026, so neither has been heard yet, and FDA has named both for a committee meeting it plans to hold before the end of February 2027. Neither is an FDA-approved drug.
45 vendors tracked by PeptideScouter sell Skin & Cosmetic peptides, across 318 listings covering 11 compounds. The widest Skin & Cosmetic catalogs belong to ION Peptide (10 peptides), Glacier Aminos (7 peptides), PSPeptides (7 peptides). Prices are normalized to USD per milligram and refreshed daily.
Skin & Cosmetic peptides indexed on PeptideScouter have a median price of $3.19/mg, ranging from $0.48/mg to $12.90/mg across the 11 peptides in the category. Pricing is normalized across vendors and refreshed daily.
AHK-Cu carries the lowest median price in the Skin & Cosmetic category at $0.48/mg across 36 listings. Its cheapest in-stock listing is $0.22/mg at Studz Peptides. Per-milligram price varies widely between compounds in a category, so the cheapest per mg is not necessarily the cheapest vial or the right compound for a given experiment.
The most widely sold Skin & Cosmetic peptides on PeptideScouter (by vendor count) are: GHK-Cu, Melanotan II, Melanotan I, AHK-Cu, Snap-8. Each peptide page shows current pricing across every tracked vendor, normalized to USD per milligram.
