Matrixyl INCI Names: Original, 3000 and Synthe'6 Explained

Matrixyl is a trade name, not an INCI name. You won't find the word "Matrixyl" on a finished product's ingredient list. What you can find is the peptide inside it. Below, each Matrixyl name is matched to its INCI names using the supplier's own product pages, checked on 15 September 2026. Then the human evidence is sorted by exactly what was tested.

Matrixyl INCI names: quick reference

Peptide, blend, carriers and label: four different things

Most confusion about Matrixyl comes from treating these as the same thing. They aren't.

1. The peptide active. The peptide molecule itself, named by its INCI name, such as Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4. Published studies usually name this, not a trade name.
2. The trademarked ingredient blend. "Matrixyl", "Matrixyl 3000" and "Matrixyl synthe'6" are Croda's trade names for ready-made blends that a brand buys and adds to its formula.
3. The blend's carriers. Everything else in that supplied blend: glycerin, water, butylene glycol and so on. These are common ingredients in lots of skincare, so seeing them on a label tells you nothing about Matrixyl.
4. The finished product's full INCI list. Every ingredient in the whole formula. A peptide's INCI name here tells you that peptide is in the product. It doesn't tell you which supplier made it, or how much is there, because an INCI name describes the ingredient, not the brand of blend.

How to spot Matrixyl peptides on a label

• Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 together are the pair Croda lists for Matrixyl 3000. Seeing both is consistent with that blend, but the label alone can't confirm the supplier.
• Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Carbomer and Polysorbate 20 match the carriers in Croda's Matrixyl 3000 blend. They also appear in plenty of formulas without it, so they confirm nothing on their own.
• Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 on a label is the original Matrixyl peptide. Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 is the Matrixyl Synthe'6 peptide.
• The peptides sit near the end. That's normal and tells you very little either way. The next section explains why.
• What no label can tell you: the peptide concentration, whether the formula keeps the peptide available, or how your skin will look after using it.

Does ingredient-list position show how much peptide is in there?

Not in a useful way. An earlier version of this page said a peptide high on the list meant a product "genuinely contains" it rather than a trace. That was wrong, and we've removed it.

Here is the rule for the one jurisdiction we checked. In the United States, the federal cosmetic labeling rule (21 CFR 701.3) requires ingredients in descending order of predominance. But ingredients at 1 percent or less may be listed in any order after those above 1 percent. So below that line, position doesn't rank amounts at all. We haven't verified other regions' rules for this page.

The amounts studied are also tiny. The best-known Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 study used 3 parts per million (0.0003%) in a moisturiser. A 2024 eye cream study listed 0.0002% Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and 0.0001% Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7. At levels like these, list position can't show whether a product holds an effective amount, and a low position can't show that it doesn't. How the product is made matters too: lab analysis of anti-wrinkle creams found the formulation itself changed how much of the pentapeptide was available.

The idea behind it

These are signal peptides: the idea they're sold on is that these short chains act like little messengers, nudging skin to act as if it's keeping up its own support, so it looks firmer and smoother. It's a fair-sounding idea. But, as always, an idea isn't the same as proof that a certain product works.

Croda's product pages go further, describing effects on the skin's support structure and wrinkle results from its own testing. Those are claims from the company selling the ingredient. We haven't seen the underlying data, so we don't repeat them as findings.

Evidence by exact ingredient

Original Matrixyl: Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (pal-KTTKS)

2005 split-face study. 93 Caucasian women aged 35 to 55 used a plain moisturiser on one side of the face and the same moisturiser with 3 ppm pal-KTTKS on the other, for 12 weeks. It was randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled. Fine lines and wrinkles looked significantly better on the peptide side, by image analysis and by expert graders, and the peptide was well tolerated. Limits: the first author's listed affiliation is The Procter & Gamble Company, the abstract doesn't report funding, and it doesn't say whether Croda's Matrixyl blend was the source.

2023 crow's feet trial. 21 Indonesian women aged 26 to 55 were randomized, double-blind, into three groups of seven: a Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 cream, an acetyl hexapeptide-3 cream, or placebo, around the eyes for 8 weeks. Crow's feet grading scores fell with the pentapeptide cream and women rated it best. But the instrument measures of hydration, water loss and elasticity were not statistically significant (p>0.05), and the two peptides didn't differ significantly. The authors call it an initial study limited by sample size and duration. It was run by a university dermatology department and funded by Paragon Technology and Innovation; the authors reported no conflicts. We couldn't find the test-cream concentration in the paper.

Mixed-product studies. Two double-blind split-face studies (42 and 35 women, 4 weeks), led by a Procter & Gamble author, tested products combining niacinamide, the peptides Pal-KT and Pal-KTTKS, and carnosine (some with other actives) against no treatment. They can't show what the pentapeptide did by itself. A lab study on hairless mouse skin found the palmitoyl form more stable than plain KTTKS and detected it in all skin layers, which is not a result in people.

Matrixyl 3000: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 and Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7

2024 eye cream study. 37 women aged 20 to 55 applied an eye cream to one side of the eye area for 12 weeks, with the other side as the comparison. The cream's active complex combined yeast/rice fermentation filtrate (0.25%) and N-acetylneuraminic acid (0.1%) with the two peptides. Researchers reported better hydration and elasticity readings and dermatologist-rated fine lines. Limits: several ingredients, so the peptides can't be isolated; the authors themselves note no control or placebo group; several authors list affiliations with Mageline Biology Tech Co., Ltd; no funding statement was found and the authors reported no conflicts. The paper doesn't mention Matrixyl 3000.

2026 study of one of the two peptides. 30 women used a night cream with Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 (without Tetrapeptide-7) plus a separate morning cream with baicalin, for 8 weeks, in a trial described as randomized, single-blind and controlled. Because the regimen combined two products and only one of the pair, it doesn't test Matrixyl 3000's peptides on their own. Funding came from Chinese government research grants; some authors list biotechnology company affiliations.

Matrixyl Synthe'6: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38

2015 open-label moisturiser study. 37 women aged 35 to 60 completed 12 weeks with a moisturiser containing astragalus root extract, a peptide blend including Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, rosemary leaf extract, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate and coenzyme Q10. Scores improved compared with the start, with no control group. PubMed tags it as non-government funded; the abstract doesn't name the funder.

2020 open-label serum study. Women used a serum with 15% L-ascorbic acid, tocopheryl acetate and 5 ppm Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 once daily for 56 days. Skin roughness and tone measures improved from baseline. Limits: no vehicle control, which the authors acknowledge; funded by ALUMIER MD Laboratories, which made the serum; all three authors are consultants for Alumier.

2015 serum study. 32 women with sensitive skin used a serum combining apple stem cell extract, urea, creatine and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 for 28 days. Most authors work for ISDIN, the brand behind the serum, and the abstract doesn't describe a control group.

Is Matrixyl safe to use every day?

Matrixyl peptides are cosmetic ingredients. In the 2005 study, pal-KTTKS was well tolerated over 12 weeks. In the 2015 Synthe'6-peptide moisturiser study, tolerability scores didn't rise significantly. Those were specific formulas in small groups, so they can't vouch for every product. Patch test anything new.

Where to go next

For how peptide types differ, start with our cosmetic peptides section. For a label checklist, see how to choose a peptide serum. For other peptides you'll meet on labels, see Argireline explained and copper peptides (GHK-Cu).

What this does not mean