Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine)_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as Serilesine, SIKVAV
A well-researched sequence, researched for something else entirely.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine)?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
This is a cosmetic peptide taken from a real and well-studied piece of laminin, a protein that anchors skin cells to the layer beneath. The supplier sells it for firmness and reports a 19 percent gain in skin density. The problem is not that the sequence is obscure: it is that the sequence is famous, and famous for something else. Decades of published work on SIKVAV describes it driving new blood vessel formation, switching on tissue-degrading enzymes, and promoting tumor growth and spread in laboratory models. None of that means a cosmetic containing it is dangerous at the amounts used, and none of it supports firming either. It simply means the published science about this sequence is not the science being cited to sell it.
Hexapeptide-10 is the six-residue peptide SIKVAV, formula C28H53N7O8 and molecular weight 615.76, with free termini. Lubrizol markets it as Serilesine, declared on the supplier page as Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Hexapeptide-10, Caprylyl Glycol, at a recommended 1 to 10 percent use level, and describes it as a biomimetic hexapeptide synthesized from an adhesion sequence of laminin with a firming and restructuring function, claiming 19 percent greater skin density after two months. The sequence is a genuine laminin alpha-1 chain motif with a substantial primary literature, and that literature concerns angiogenesis, matrix metalloproteinase induction, prostaglandin E2 release and the promotion of tumor growth and metastasis in experimental models.
What it's used for
Cosmetic formulations marketed for firming and skin density. It has no medical use and no drug approval.
How does Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine) work?
What it does in the body, and where.This is a case where the ingredient has a serious scientific literature and the literature is about something other than what it is sold for. Both halves are worth knowing.
- 01What the sequence is, checkedSix residues: serine, isoleucine, lysine, valine, alanine, valine, with both ends unmodified. We verified that rather than accepting it: the calculated formula for the plain hexapeptide is C28H53N7O8 at 615.77 daltons, matching the published C28H53N7O8 and 615.76. The same arithmetic rules out acetylation or amidation, either of which would change the formula.
- 02Where it comes fromSIKVAV is a cell-adhesion motif from the alpha-1 chain of laminin, the protein network that anchors the epidermis to the dermis. The supplier describes the ingredient as a biomimetic hexapeptide synthesized from an adhesion sequence of laminin, and that is accurate as far as it goes. A short peptide copied from an adhesion site can engage the same receptors the full protein does, chiefly integrins.
- 03What the published literature on it actually studiesThe motif has been investigated for decades, and the body of work is about angiogenesis, induction of matrix metalloproteinases, prostaglandin E2 release, and promotion of tumor growth and metastasis in experimental systems. That is a coherent story: a peptide that tells cells to migrate and remodel their surroundings is interesting to cancer biologists for exactly that reason. It is not a story about firmer skin.
- 04How to hold those two facts togetherThe honest position is that the cosmetic claim and the scientific literature are about the same molecule and do not speak to each other. Degrading the matrix is not obviously what a firming product should do, so the mechanism as marketed and the mechanism as published point in different directions. None of the tumor work was done on intact human skin at cosmetic concentrations, so it is not a safety finding about a cream. It is a reason to treat the firming claim as unsupported rather than as backed by a large literature.
- 05The evidence for the actual claimOne supplier figure: 19 percent greater skin density after two months. No peer-reviewed human study of hexapeptide-10 as a cosmetic was found, and no Crossref record exists for it in that use. So the firming claim rests on the company selling it, as with most of the cosmetic peptides on this site.
A schematic of the compound's mechanism, not a diagnostic image.
What else is it used for?
Each group carries its own evidence level.Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
The sequence is well studied, for other things
none- lab-analysisSIKVAV is a cell-adhesion motif from the laminin alpha-1 chain with a decades-long primary literature.
- Lab studyThat literature documents angiogenesis, matrix metalloproteinase induction, prostaglandin E2 release, and promotion of tumor growth and metastasis in experimental models.
- No dataNo peer-reviewed study of hexapeptide-10 as a cosmetic ingredient was found, and no Crossref record exists for that use.
Identity, checked rather than taken on trust
none- lab-analysisCalculating the formula for the plain hexapeptide SIKVAV gives C28H53N7O8 at 615.77 daltons, matching the published C28H53N7O8 and 615.76. The same arithmetic rules out acetylation or amidation.
- No dataThe supplier's declared composition is Water, Glycerin, Hexapeptide-10, Caprylyl Glycol. A major marketplace lists the same grade without the water and glycerin.
Three live name confusions
none- No dataA reagent supplier's hexapeptide-10 page cites a paper about hexapeptide-11, a different peptide with its own page here.
- No dataA widely sold product named for a hexapeptide at 10 percent contains acetyl hexapeptide-8 and no hexapeptide-10, yet appears in searches for this ingredient.
- No dataOne finished serum contains both hexapeptide-9 and hexapeptide-10, two ingredients that are now both covered on this site.
The biggest misreading is the most flattering one: that this ingredient is backed by a large body of research. The sequence is, and the research is about angiogenesis, tissue-degrading enzymes and tumor promotion in experimental models, not about firming skin. Citing the volume of SIKVAV literature as support for a cosmetic claim gets the direction of the science wrong, since matrix degradation is not what a firming product should be doing. Second, the carrier is commonly given as butylene glycol; the supplier's own page declares water, glycerin, hexapeptide-10 and caprylyl glycol, and a major marketplace lists the same grade without the water and glycerin. Third, the numeric siblings catch people out: a reagent page for this ingredient cites a hexapeptide-11 study, and a prominent product named for a hexapeptide at 10 percent actually contains acetyl hexapeptide-8. Last, the 19 percent density figure is a supplier number with no published study behind it.
The published record
Papers and trials about Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine)
Searched: hexapeptide-10, Serilesine.
Left out: SIKVAV (the sequence itself has a decades-long literature about angiogenesis, matrix metalloproteinase induction and tumour promotion. That work is real and is discussed on the card, but importing it here would fill a cosmetic research section with cancer biology); hexapeptide-11 (OBSERVED contamination: a reagent supplier page for hexapeptide-10 cites a hexapeptide-11 paper. Hexapeptide-11 has its own slug); acetyl hexapeptide-8 (a widely sold product named for a hexapeptide at 10 percent actually contains acetyl hexapeptide-8 and no hexapeptide-10, and it surfaces in searches for this ingredient); hexapeptide-9 (has its own slug, and one finished serum contains both); laminin (a large matrix-biology literature).
Furthest stage reached: No clinical trial on record
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person; a human tag can land on reviews, commentary or lab papers; clinical trial publications is the narrower count.
At a glance
Four things to know about Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine)
Evidence
Cosmetic
Category
Skin and cosmetic
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
Not applicable
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.Set by the finished product, as directed by the product. Not applicable No range
An ingredient in a finished cosmetic, used as the product directs. No cycling scheme applies.
Not applicableNo figure
No half-life has been published, and a circulating half-life would not be the useful measure for a topical cosmetic ingredient.
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
How is it given?
Dosing context and source notes.Supplied as a ready-made solution, so there is nothing to mix.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Room temperature, out of light. Cap it tight after each use.
Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine) ships as a cream, gel, or serum. Keep it at room temperature away from sun and heat unless the label says otherwise. Refrigerating an emulsion can split the texture. Watch for color, smell, or separation changes and stop using it if any appear.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Solubility, computed: 50% charged residues, 67% hydrophobic. Water usually sufficient.
A first-pass rule from peptide manufacturers' guidance. It does not account for disulfide bridges, salt form or how the powder was dried, and it predicts what should be easy rather than what will happen in your vial.
Who should avoid it
- Any expectation of a firming effect: the only data is supplier-generated and no peer-reviewed cosmetic study exists
- Reading the large SIKVAV literature as evidence for the cosmetic claim, since that work is about angiogenesis and tumor biology rather than skin firmness
Stop and get help
- Signs of an allergic skin reaction, such as spreading redness, swelling or blistering
Common effects
- Nothing established in a published human study of this ingredient as a cosmetic
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine) approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Not as a medicine. Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine) is sold without a prescription as a cosmetic ingredient, which is a different thing from being approved as a drug.
- Approval statusCosmeticSold without a prescription as an ingredient in cosmetics, such as skincare and hair products. The FDA does not approve cosmetics before they are sold, and being easy to buy says nothing about whether it works.
- RouteOn the skin (cream or serum)
- Checked30 October 2026
- DoseNo dose has been established in people.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- Sources
What has happened recently
A cosmetic ingredient, not a drug. The INCI name is HEXAPEPTIDE-10 and the supplier's current grade is Serilesine peptide solution GC, declared as Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Hexapeptide-10, Caprylyl Glycol. One composition discrepancy is worth noting: a major ingredient marketplace lists the INCI for the same grade as Hexapeptide-10 and Caprylyl Glycol only, omitting the water and glycerin that the supplier's own page declares. This site records the supplier's version. Three separate numeric or name confusions are live for this ingredient and are the practical reason the page exists. A reagent supplier's hexapeptide-10 page cites a paper about hexapeptide-11, a different peptide with its own page here. A widely sold product named for a hexapeptide at 10 percent contains acetyl hexapeptide-8 and no hexapeptide-10 at all, yet surfaces in searches for this ingredient. One finished serum also contains both hexapeptide-9 and hexapeptide-10, both of which now have pages here.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine)?
Others in Skin and cosmetic, side by side.If you're weighing Hexapeptide-10 (Serilesine), it's worth reading Hexapeptide-11, Hexapeptide-9, and Melanotan III in the same class.
A well-researched sequence, researched for something else entirely.
- Dose
- Set by the finished product
- How often
- As directed by the product
A yeast-derived cosmetic peptide for elasticity, with a thin evidence trail.
- Dose
- Serum, per product
- How often
- Daily
The clearest case on this site of a trial being used to sell the ingredient it was designed to replace.
- Dose
- Supplier recommends 0.5 to 1.5 percent of the finished product
- How often
- As directed by the product
A name sold on the research market with no molecule publicly attached to it.
- Dose
- Research only
- How often
- Not established
Guides for this compound
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
- How to Read a Peptide COA
What the purity number does and does not tell you, and how to spot an edited report.
- How to Vet a Peptide Vendor
Independent COAs, HPLC purity, and the red flags that mean walk away.
Sources
- Lubrizol Serilesine peptide solution GC product page(2026)The supplier's own page for the current grade. Declares the composition verbatim as Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Hexapeptide-10, Caprylyl Glycol, with a recommended use level of 1 to 10 percent. Describes the product as a biomimetic hexapeptide synthesized from an adhesion sequence of laminin, with the function given as firming and restructuring, and claims that it helps to redensify and to firm mature skin on the face and the body, with skin restructured and replenished at 19 percent of skin density after 2 months, firmer and more elastic, recovering its fullness. The page gives no amino acid sequence. Note that a major ingredient marketplace lists the INCI for this grade as Hexapeptide-10 and Caprylyl Glycol only, omitting water and glycerin, contradicting the supplier's own declaration.
Beyond these, 2 records are indexed. Browse the records