Skin, Hair & Cosmetic

The skin / hair / cosmetic shelf collects peptides studied in dermal and follicular research. Two distinct mechanism families overlap here. Copper-binding tripeptides — most notably GHK-Cu (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine complexed with Cu(II)) — are the most-cited compounds in cosmetic and wound-research literature, characterised by Pickart and colleagues across fibroblast collagen-synthesis assays, broad gene-expression modulation, and the antioxidant chemistry of the Cu(II) coordination centre. The Maquart 1988 FEBS Letters paper and the Pickart 2015 BMRI review are the canonical entry points.

The melanocortin agonists — Melanotan-I (afamelanotide, the EMA-approved compound for erythropoietic protoporphyria, marketed as Scenesse) and Melanotan-II — bind the MC1R / MC4R / MC5R family with different selectivity profiles. Melanotan-I is well-characterised in clinical pigmentation literature; Melanotan-II is research-only with no regulatory approval and a thinner published safety profile.

Multi-component blends sit alongside the monomers: the GLOW blend combines BPC-157, GHK-Cu, and TB-500 in a single vial; KLOW adds KPV. These pre-combined preparations cover the canonical copper-peptide / soft-tissue overlap seen in cosmetic and wound-research protocols. Researchers selecting between monomers and blends usually do so on the basis of route (parenteral vs topical), the specific cosmetic-research endpoint under study, and whether a documented single-vial dose ratio from the literature is needed. For research use only.