{"id":"argireline","name":"Argireline","aliases":["acetyl hexapeptide-8","acetyl hexapeptide-3","Ac-EEMQRR-NH2","\"topical Botox\""],"url":"https://lyoresearch.com/compounds/argireline","class":{"id":"cosmetic-peptides","name":"Cosmetic peptides","url":"https://lyoresearch.com/classes/cosmetic-peptides"},"summary":"Argireline is a synthetic hexapeptide (acetyl hexapeptide-8) modelled on the end of SNAP-25, the protein botulinum toxin cuts, and sold in serums as a topical wrinkle treatment. Its human evidence is one 60-person randomised trial over four weeks, which reported reduced periorbital roughness and a 48.9% subjective anti-wrinkle rate against 0% on placebo. The same study appears three times in the 2013 literature under different titles. It is a legal cosmetic ingredient everywhere LYO covers and is not a medicine.","overall_grade":"C","overall_grade_meaning":"weak human evidence","human_trials":"1 small RCT (n=60, 4 weeks)","regulatory_status":"Cosmetic ingredient","molecule":{"formula":"C34H60N14O12S","molecular_weight":"889.0","cas":"616204-22-9","pubchem_cid":11228338,"sequence":"Ac-EEMQRR-NH2","sequence_note":"Derived from the acetate-salt record; the peptide is the same.","note":"PubChem files the acetate salt record under the former INCI name acetyl hexapeptide-3; the free peptide is CID 71587772"},"pharmacokinetics":{"basis":"none","route":"Topical (cosmetic serum or cream)","half_life":"No human pharmacokinetic study; skin penetration of the intact hexapeptide has not been quantified in people","licensed_regimen":null,"product":null,"source":null},"outcomes":[{"outcome":"Periorbital wrinkles and skin roughness (topical)","grade":"C","grade_meaning":"weak human evidence","effect_size":"small","adverse":false,"human_studies":"1 RCT (n=60, 4 wk)","evidence":"A Chinese randomised, placebo-controlled trial applied a 10% argireline solution twice daily around the eyes in 60 people for four weeks, randomised 3:1. Objective roughness parameters fell in the treated group and not on placebo, and the investigators' subjective rating gave 48.9% total anti-wrinkle efficacy against 0%. Four weeks, 60 people, one centre, and the same dataset was published three times.","references":[{"citation":"Wang Y, Wang M, Xiao S, Pan P, Li P, Huo J. The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.","where":"Am J Clin Dermatol, 2013;14:147–153","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417317/"},{"citation":"Duplicate publications of the same 60-subject study.","where":"2013","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23464592/"}],"verbatim":{"text":"In the objective evaluation, the parameters of roughness were all decreased in the argireline group (p < 0.01), while no decrease was obvious in the placebo group (p > 0.05).","citation":"Wang Y, Wang M, Xiao S, Pan P, Li P, Huo J. The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417317/"}},{"outcome":"Subjective wrinkle improvement (topical)","grade":"C","grade_meaning":"weak human evidence","effect_size":"small","adverse":false,"human_studies":"1 RCT (n=60, 4 wk)","evidence":"The subjective arm of the same trial. A 48.9%-versus-0% split is a large number from a small unreplicated study, and subjective grading in a topical trial is the endpoint most sensitive to expectation.","references":[{"citation":"Wang Y, Wang M, Xiao S, Pan P, Li P, Huo J. The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.","where":"Am J Clin Dermatol, 2013;14:147–153","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417317/"}],"verbatim":{"text":"In the subjective evaluation, the total anti-wrinkle efficacy in the argireline group was 48.9 %, compared with 0 % in the placebo group.","citation":"Wang Y, Wang M, Xiao S, Pan P, Li P, Huo J. The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417317/"}},{"outcome":"Comparison with botulinum toxin","grade":"D","grade_meaning":"no human evidence","effect_size":"not measurable","adverse":false,"human_studies":"None","evidence":"No trial has compared argireline with botulinum toxin injections. The marketing comparison rests on a shared molecular target in vitro, not on any head-to-head result.","references":[]},{"outcome":"Safety (topical)","grade":"C","grade_meaning":"weak human evidence","effect_size":"not measurable","adverse":true,"human_studies":"1 RCT (n=60)","evidence":"No adverse effects were reported in the four-week trial, consistent with its long use as a cosmetic ingredient. Four weeks in 60 people is a weak basis for a safety claim, though a topically applied hexapeptide is a low-risk proposition.","references":[{"citation":"Wang Y, Wang M, Xiao S, Pan P, Li P, Huo J. The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.","where":"Am J Clin Dermatol, 2013;14:147–153","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417317/"}]}],"regions":[{"region":"European Union","status":"Cosmetic ingredient","note":"Lawful in cosmetics. No authorised health claim; a product claiming to treat wrinkles as a medical effect would be making a medicinal claim."},{"region":"United States","status":"Cosmetic ingredient","note":"Sold in cosmetics without pre-market approval. Not an approved drug and not a recognised compounding substance."},{"region":"United Kingdom","status":"Cosmetic ingredient","note":"Lawful in cosmetics under the UK Cosmetics Regulation."},{"region":"Australia","status":"Cosmetic ingredient","note":"Topical cosmetic use is not regulated as a medicine."},{"region":"Canada","status":"Cosmetic ingredient","note":"Permitted in cosmetics; subject to cosmetic notification."},{"region":"Sport (WADA)","status":"Not named","note":"Not on the Prohibited List; a topical cosmetic raises no doping question."}],"faq":[{"q":"Does argireline actually work on wrinkles?","a":"One 60-person randomised trial over four weeks found measurable reductions in skin roughness around the eyes and no change on placebo. That is genuine randomised evidence and it is also the whole of it — one short trial from one centre, published three times. \"Possibly a small effect\" is as far as the data goes."},{"q":"Is argireline like Botox?","a":"It targets the same protein complex in laboratory systems, which is where the comparison comes from. No trial has compared the two, and a serum applied to the skin surface is not doing what an injection into a muscle does."},{"q":"Are acetyl hexapeptide-3 and acetyl hexapeptide-8 different?","a":"No. Same peptide, two INCI names — the ingredient was renamed, and both names are still in circulation on labels and in databases."}],"references":[{"cite":"Wang Y, Wang M, Xiao S, Pan P, Li P, Huo J. The anti-wrinkle efficacy of argireline, a synthetic hexapeptide, in Chinese subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study.","where":"Am J Clin Dermatol, 2013;14:147–153","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23417317/","note":"60 subjects, randomised 3:1, 4 weeks, twice-daily periorbital application."},{"cite":"Duplicate publications of the same 60-subject study.","where":"2013","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23464592/","note":"The same dataset also appears as PMID 23464592 and PMID 23607739. One study, three papers — counting them separately overstates the evidence threefold."},{"cite":"PubChem compound record: acetyl hexapeptide-3 (argireline).","where":"PubChem, read 29 Oct 2026","url":"https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/71587772","note":"Formula, molecular weight, CAS and the sequence used on this page."}],"last_reviewed":"2026-10-29","literature_searched_to":"2026-10-29","changelog":[{"date":"2026-10-29","note":"Initial publication. Grade C on one small randomised trial; the triple publication of that trial is recorded in the references."}],"license":"CC BY 4.0 — cite as “LYO Research” with a link.","methodology":"https://lyoresearch.com/methodology"}