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Ac

Acetyl Hexapeptide-1

Acetyl Hexapeptide-1Active

A lab-made peptide that mimics the hormone telling skin to make pigment. Sold to boost color; no study Drop found tested it alone on a face.

What it does

Acetyl Hexapeptide-1 is a lab-made peptide that mimics alpha-MSH, the hormone that tells skin's pigment cells to make more pigment. In the one test of it alone on people, run by the people who patented it, 12 people used it on their forearms for 3 weeks with small doses of UV light, and that skin browned more than skin given a placebo gel. The company that sells it to skincare brands says the same: it boosts pigment. The only face study mixed it with retinol, had no group without the peptide, and was run by the brand that made the product, so it cannot show what the peptide did. No study Drop found tested whether it changes wrinkles or dark spots.

The evidence, graded

moderateAcetyl Hexapeptide-1 is a lab-made peptide that mimics alpha-MSH, the hormone that tells skin to make pigment. In its patent holder's 3-week test on 12 people's forearms, with small doses of UV light, it browned skin more than a placebo gel. The company that sells it to brands says it boosts pigment. The one face study mixed it with retinol and was run by the brand behind the product. A paper calling it a dark-spot fader cites the peel maker's product sheet.Pinel 2007 · US Patent and Trademark Office (patent; not peer-reviewed) ↗

Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.

Also known as

melitane

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