Matrixyl Peptides Explained: Matrixyl, Matrixyl 3000 and Synthe'6

Matrixyl is a family of palmitoylated peptides made by Sederma, part of the Croda group, used in skincare for the look of fine lines and wrinkles. The most widely used member, Matrixyl 3000, pairs Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 with Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, and Sederma's technical sheet lists a 3% use level. The family also includes the original Matrixyl (Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4) and Matrixyl synthe'6 (Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38).

What is Matrixyl?

Matrixyl is a trade name, not a single ingredient. Sederma uses it for a group of peptides that each carry a palmitic acid tail. That fatty tail is what the "palmitoyl" in each INCI name refers to.

Three members matter for most shoppers and DIY formulators:

• Matrixyl (the original): Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, sold as a solution with Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol and Aqua (Croda listing on SpecialChem). In research papers it is often written as pal-KTTKS.
• Matrixyl 3000: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 plus Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7 (Sederma technical sheet).
• Matrixyl synthe'6: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 in Glycerin, Aqua and Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin (Croda listing on SpecialChem). Sederma added it to the range in January 2011 (Cosmetics Business).

One label detail trips people up. Sederma's sheets for Matrixyl 3000 are not all worded the same: one version lists the first peptide as "Palmitoyl Oligopeptide," while another lists "Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1." If you see either name next to Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, you are looking at the Matrixyl 3000 pair.

The Matrixyl family at a glance

Sources: Croda Matrixyl, Sederma Matrixyl 3000 sheet, Lotioncrafter, MakingCosmetics.

What does Matrixyl do for skin?

Matrixyl peptides are used to improve the look of fine lines and wrinkles and to help skin look firmer and smoother. That is the cosmetic answer, and it is the only one a skincare label can give.

The supplier's explanation of how this happens is about signaling. Sederma calls the two peptides in Matrixyl 3000 "matrikines," messenger peptides aimed at the skin's supporting matrix (Sederma technical sheet). For Matrixyl synthe'6, the distributor sheet names the six matrix components Sederma targeted in laboratory work: collagen I, collagen II, collagen IV, fibronectin, hyaluronic acid and laminin 5 (MakingCosmetics fact sheet). Those are laboratory findings. They explain the design idea. They are not a promise about what happens in your skin.

An independent review in the journal Cosmetics makes the same point plainly. It notes that many peptide studies used formulas with other actives, some studies were small or published only once, and the mode of action of many peptides is "not thoroughly explained" (Schagen, 2017). Keep that in mind as you read the studies below: much of the Matrixyl human data is supplier-run.

What does the research actually show?

Here is each study described plainly: who ran it, how many people, how long, what was measured.

Original Matrixyl (Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4)

Robinson and colleagues ran a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, split-face study in 93 women aged 35 to 55. The moisturizer contained 3 ppm of pal-KTTKS. Both instrument measurements and expert image grading showed significant improvement in wrinkles and fine lines compared with the control side (Robinson et al., Int J Cosmet Sci, 2005). Note the amount: 3 parts per million. Peptide actives are used at very small amounts.

The Schagen review also reports a placebo-controlled study that applied 0.005% pal-KTTKS around the eyes twice daily for 28 days, with profilometry showing decreases of 18% in fold depth, 37% in fold thickness and 21% in skin rigidity. It describes a separate four-month double-blind study in 49 women with improvements in roughness, wrinkle volume and wrinkle depth compared with the vehicle (Schagen, 2017).

Matrixyl 3000

Sederma ran these studies on its own ingredient. In one, 23 women aged 42 to 67 applied a cream with 3% Matrixyl 3000 to half the face and a placebo to the other half, twice daily for 2 months. Sederma measured the results by profilometry, cutometry and photographs. After 2 months, the Matrixyl side showed a 39.4% decrease in the surface occupied by deep wrinkles, 19.9% in main-wrinkle depth, 23.3% in main-wrinkle volume and 16.0% in roughness, plus a 5.5% gain in elasticity, against the starting point (Sederma technical sheet). On the placebo side, deep-wrinkle surface changed 4.3%, which Sederma marks as not significant, while main-wrinkle volume fell 8.7%, which Sederma marks as significant.

A second Sederma study followed 28 women aged 51 to 72 using the same 3% cream or placebo on half the face and on the forearm for 2 months, measuring the skin's fiber network by imaging (Sederma technical sheet). The Schagen review lists this 28-person study as confirming anti-wrinkle results but does not reproduce the numbers (Schagen, 2017).

Matrixyl synthe'6

Published human data is thinner here. Sederma's 2011 launch materials described 2-month in vivo studies on forehead and crow's feet lines measuring wrinkle volume, depth and surface, without percentages (Personal Care Magazine). A distributor page reports wrinkle surface reduced by up to 28.5% and volume by up to 21.1% after two months, but gives no number of volunteers or study design (Brenntag). Read those as supplier figures you cannot check.

What are the benefits of Matrixyl 3000?

Based on the supplier's own human data, Matrixyl 3000 is used for:

• The look of fewer and shallower wrinkles, measured as wrinkle surface, depth and volume.
• Skin texture that looks and feels smoother, measured as roughness.
• Skin that looks firmer, measured as elasticity.
• Skin tone, which Sederma reports as a 15.5% change from baseline in the same half-face study. The sheet does not say how tone was measured (Sederma technical sheet).

Two practical benefits matter just as much to a formulator. It dissolves in water, so it drops into almost any serum, gel or lotion. And it has a well-documented supplier use level, which makes it easy to check whether a product is using a meaningful amount.

How much Matrixyl 3000 should a product contain?

Sederma recommends 3% and ran its 2-month face study at 3% (Sederma technical sheet). US distributors list 3 to 8% (Lotioncrafter). I have not found published data comparing 8% with 3%, so I use 3% as the evidence-backed floor, not a ceiling.

Here is the part most brands never explain. When a label says "10% Matrixyl 3000" or "20% Matrixyl 3000," that percentage refers to the supplier's solution, not to pure peptide. Look at the INCI order on the sheet: Glycerin, Aqua, Butylene Glycol, Carbomer and Polysorbate 20 all come before the two peptides (Sederma technical sheet). The peptides are the smallest part of the solution. That is normal and expected. For scale, the original Matrixyl study used only 3 ppm of peptide (Robinson et al., 2005).

So a label percentage is useful for one thing: checking it against the supplier use level. A product stating 3% or more of Matrixyl 3000 is at or above the level Sederma studied. A product that names Matrixyl 3000 with no percentage gives you nothing to check.

How to choose a Matrixyl 3000 serum

There is no single right product for everyone, so here are the checks I would run on any Matrixyl 3000 serum before buying it.

1. Find the percentage. It should be stated, and it should be at least 3%, the level Sederma studied. No number means no way to compare.
2. Read the INCI for both peptides. Look for Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 (or Palmitoyl Oligopeptide) together with Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7. One without the other is not Matrixyl 3000.
3. Check the position. Because the peptides are a small part of the supplier solution, they will often sit low on a finished label. That alone is not a red flag. A missing percentage is.
4. Look at the base. The standard Matrixyl 3000 grade is water-soluble, so it belongs in a water-based serum, gel or cream. Sederma also makes an oil-soluble grade, Matrixyl 3000 OS, for oil-based products.
5. Look at the pairing. A Matrixyl serum that also lists other peptides at stated percentages, such as Matrixyl synthe'6 or Argireline, gives you more to evaluate. A long list with no numbers gives you less.

Our 20% Matrixyl 3000 Collagen Serum states its Matrixyl 3000 percentage on the label so you can check it against the supplier level.

What pairs well with Matrixyl, and what to keep apart?

Pairs well: other water-soluble peptides that work in the same pH zone. Argireline (Acetyl Hexapeptide-8) is water-soluble and Guinama's technical sheet gives it a pH working range of 3 to 8 (Guinama Argireline sheet). Sederma's own Matrixyl 3000 cream finishes at pH 6.40, inside that range (Sederma formula). Matrixyl synthe'6 is also water-soluble and goes in the water phase (MakingCosmetics). The comparison is laid out in Matrixyl vs Argireline and Matrixyl 3000 vs Matrixyl synthe'6.

Keep apart: heat. Matrixyl 3000 goes in at cool-down, below 40°C (Lotioncrafter), and Lotioncrafter recommends storing the raw material at 4°C. The Sederma and distributor sheets I opened do not list specific chemical incompatibilities for Matrixyl 3000, so I will not invent one. If a pairing worries you, apply the two products at different times of day.

How to use Matrixyl in a routine

• When: morning and night on clean, dry skin. Sederma's studies used twice-daily application (Sederma technical sheet).
• Where: face and neck, including the forehead and crow's feet areas Sederma measured.
• Order: apply a water-based Matrixyl serum after cleansing and before heavier creams or oils.
• How long: Sederma's face studies ran 2 months. Give a Matrixyl product at least that long before you decide whether you like how your skin looks.

Making your own: adding Matrixyl 3000 to a base

If you formulate at home, our Matrixyl 3000 serum booster ingredient gives drop counts on the page: 27 drops per 1 oz of base for 3%, 45 drops for 5%, and 72 drops for 8%. A few rules from the supplier sheets:

• Use a water-based base: serum, gel, lotion or cream. It is water-soluble (Lotioncrafter).
• If you are heating an emulsion, add it at cool-down below 40°C (104°F).
• Store the raw material cold. Lotioncrafter recommends 4°C (39.2°F) for long-term storage.
• Do not apply the raw solution straight to skin. It is an ingredient for blending.

For Matrixyl synthe'6, our Matrixyl synthe'6 serum booster ingredient lists 18 drops per 1 oz of base for 2%. Full formulation walkthroughs are in the DIY peptide formulation guide, and the wider peptide picture is in the peptides in skincare guide.

Sources

1. Sederma. Matrixyl 3000 technical sheet (hosted by distributor Pochteca)
2. Sederma SAS. Matrixyl 3000 ficha técnica (hosted by Pochteca)
3. Sederma / Croda Beauty Actives. Anti-Ageing Night Cream with Matrixyl 3000, formula SED0311427 A (Personal Care Magazine)
4. Croda. Matrixyl product listing (SpecialChem)
5. Croda. Matrixyl synthe'6 product listing (SpecialChem)
6. Lotioncrafter. Matrixyl 3000 MBAL
7. MakingCosmetics. Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 fact sheet
8. MakingCosmetics. Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 fact sheet (earlier version)
9. Brenntag. Matrixyl synthe'6
10. Cosmetics Business. New Matrixyl fills wrinkles from the inside (7 January 2011)
11. Personal Care Magazine. Wrinkles visibly smoother
12. Robinson LR, Fitzgerald NC, Doughty DG, Dawes NC, Berge CA, Bissett DL. Topical palmitoyl pentapeptide provides improvement in photoaged human facial skin. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2005;27(3):155-160. PMID 18492182 (Europe PMC record)
13. Schagen SK. Topical Peptide Treatments with Effective Anti-Aging Results. Cosmetics. 2017;4(2):16
14. Guinama. Argireline solution technical sheet