Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as Biopeptide EL, Pal-VGVAPG, palmitoyl hexapeptide 12, Pal-Val-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly
Pal-VGVAPG, one of the two original palmitoyl peptides Sederma launched in 1992. Judged safe as used in cosmetics; the firming evidence is thin.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
It goes into anti-ageing creams and serums aimed at firmness and elasticity. The only clinical claim is a supplier study of 10 women over one month, reported to improve firmness and tone, whose original document is no longer available. A 2025 skin-sample study showed it gets into the outer skin layers but did not measure wrinkles.
Palmitoyl hexapeptide-12 is Val-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly, a sequence that repeats six times in human elastin, with a palmitic acid (C16) tail on its first residue and a free acid end. Free VGVAPG binds the elastin receptor complex on fibroblasts and draws them towards it in lab tests. Sederma, now part of Croda, launched it as Biopeptide EL in 1992 alongside its collagen-fragment sibling Biopeptide CL (palmitoyl tripeptide-1).
What it's used for
A cosmetic ingredient in anti-ageing creams, serums and eye products, at a few parts per million.
How does Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 work?
What it does in the body, and where.Palmitoyl hexapeptide-12 copies a signal skin releases when its elastin breaks down.
- 01A damage signalWhen age, sunlight or inflammation break down elastin, fragments containing VGVAPG are released. Fibroblasts sense them through the elastin receptor complex, a 67 kDa elastin-binding protein working with two partner enzymes.
- 02What the cells doIn lab tests the free fragment drew fibroblasts and monocytes towards it, most strongly at about 10 nanomolar. The same signal also raises the collagen-degrading enzymes MMP-1 and MMP-3, so its net effect on skin is not obvious.
- 03The fat tailThe palmitic acid makes it fat-soluble. In donated human skin it reached the outer layers and upper epidermis within 8 hours and formed gels with the skin's own calcium; extra elastin staining was put down to binding existing fibres, not new elastin.
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.
Supplier data
Supplement or cosmetic- Human trialA one-month double-blind study in 10 women aged 32 to 56 using 4% Biopeptide EL reported better elasticity, tone and firmness.
- No dataThe original brochure link now leads to an unrelated site, and the circulating +33% firmness figure has no confidence interval or p-value.
Independent lab work
Early research- Lab studyFree VGVAPG drew fibroblasts towards it in cell tests.
- Lab studyThe same fragment raised collagen-degrading enzymes in skin fibroblasts.
- Lab studyIn donated skin the palmitoylated peptide penetrated the upper layers and formed gels; wrinkles were not measured.
'Palmitoyl oligopeptide' on an older label may mean this peptide or palmitoyl tripeptide-1; the name was retired because it covered both. '+33% firmness' comes from a 10-woman, one-month supplier study that survives only second-hand. No data show it makes skin produce more elastin: a 2025 study put extra elastin staining down to binding existing fibres. The elastin receptor also switches on enzymes that break collagen down. It is not Matrixyl (palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, from collagen); Matrixyl 3000 pairs palmitoyl tripeptide-1 with palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7. Trade names such as SpecPed POP and Vinpep POP could not be traced to a supplier.
The published record
Papers and trials about Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12
1 papers tagged human · 1 not reviews or lab · 0 clinical trial publications
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 Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12
Evidence
Cosmetic
Category
Skin and cosmetic
Common vial
Varies
Half-life
Not applicable (topical)
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.A few ppm in the finished product (up to 0.002%), daily. Daily use Community practice
Applied daily like other cosmetic actives. The supplier's test used it twice a day for a month.
Not applicable (topical)No figure
Applied to the skin. No blood-level data exist; penetration has been shown only in donated skin.
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
What does it cost?
Typical dose and cost, in plain numbers.Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 is not injected
It is taken on the skin (cream or serum). The 2018 Cosmetic Ingredient Review survey reported use at up to 0.002% (20 ppm), and 0.001 to 0.002% around the eyes. The supplier's clinical test used 4% of the Biopeptide EL trade solution, whose peptide content is not published; the review's trade-name test mixtures held 100 to 200 ppm, and at that strength 4% would give about 4 to 8 ppm (0.0004 to 0.0008%) in the cream. Applied as a cosmetic; there is no injected dose.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Room temperature, out of light. Cap it tight after each use.
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 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: 33% 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
- Injecting it: it is sold and tested only as a skin-care ingredient
- Known sensitivity to a product that contains it
Stop and get help
- Redness, burning, itching or a rash where it is applied
Common effects
- The Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel judged it safe as used in cosmetics in 2018
- No irritation and no sensitisation in a 53-person repeated patch test at 200 ppm diluted by half
- Moderate redness on rabbit skin that cleared within 1 to 2 days, and slight to moderate eye irritation in all three rabbits for up to 4 days, both classed as nonirritant
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Not as a medicine. Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12 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)
- Checked14 October 2026
- DoseFrom the concentration range manufacturers formulate at. This is a product strength, not a dose set by a regulator or a trial.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- SourcesJohnson W et al., International Journal of Toxicology 2018;37(3 suppl):90S-102S (Cosmetic Ingredient Review)FDA GSRS substance record, palmitoyl hexapeptide-12 (UNII HO4ZT5S86C)Croda Beauty, peptide timelineSenior RM et al., Journal of Cell Biology 1984;99:870-874Hinek A et al., Science 1988;239:1539-1541Brassart B et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry 2001;276:5222-5227Scandolera A et al., Frontiers in Pharmacology 2016;7:32Ligorio C et al., ACS Applied Bio Materials 2025;8:2340-2355Schagen SK, Cosmetics 2017;4:16Cayman Chemical, Pal-VGVAPGCOSMILE Europe, palmitoyl hexapeptide-12
What has happened recently
A cosmetic ingredient, not a drug, with no drug filings or registered trials. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel concluded in 2018 that it is safe in the present practices of use and concentration, reported at up to 0.002%. Listed in the EU cosmetic ingredient database (CosIng) as skin conditioning, with no restrictions. Its old INCI name, palmitoyl oligopeptide, was retired because it also covered palmitoyl tripeptide-1, so older ingredient lists are ambiguous. Sederma (Croda) launched it in 1992 as Biopeptide EL. Research-grade material is sold as a lab reagent not for human use.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12?
Others in Skin and cosmetic, side by side.If you're weighing Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, it's worth reading Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-8, and Progeline (Trifluoroacetyl Tripeptide-2) in the same class.
Pal-VGVAPG, one of the two original palmitoyl peptides Sederma launched in 1992. Judged safe as used in cosmetics; the firming evidence is thin.
- Dose
- A few ppm in the finished product (up to 0.002%)
- How often
- Daily
The peptide behind Matrixyl synthe'6, a topical anti-wrinkle ingredient from Sederma.
- Dose
- Serum or cream, per product
- How often
- Twice daily (supplier study)
A skin-calming ingredient built from three residues of a natural anti-inflammatory hormone, backed mainly by supplier tests.
- Dose
- Serum or cream, per product
- How often
- Daily
A topical peptide aimed at sagging rather than lines, borrowed from progeria research.
- Dose
- Serum, per product
- How often
- Daily
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
- Johnson W et al., International Journal of Toxicology 2018;37(3 suppl):90S-102S (Cosmetic Ingredient Review)(2018)Safe as used; reported use up to 0.002%; no sensitisation in 53 people; the old name palmitoyl oligopeptide retired as ambiguous.
- FDA GSRS substance record, palmitoyl hexapeptide-12 (UNII HO4ZT5S86C)(2026)N-palmitoyl-Val-Gly-Val-Ala-Pro-Gly; CAS 171263-26-6.
- Croda Beauty, peptide timeline(2026)Biopeptide CL and Biopeptide EL introduced in 1992 as the first palmitoylated peptides.
- Senior RM et al., Journal of Cell Biology 1984;99:870-874(1984)Free VGVAPG is chemotactic for fibroblasts and monocytes, most strongly near 10 nM.
- Hinek A et al., Science 1988;239:1539-1541(1988)The 67 kDa elastin receptor is a galactoside-binding protein.
- Brassart B et al., Journal of Biological Chemistry 2001;276:5222-5227(2001)VGVAPG raises pro-MMP-1 and pro-MMP-3 in skin fibroblasts through the elastin-binding protein.
- Scandolera A et al., Frontiers in Pharmacology 2016;7:32(2016)Review of the elastin receptor complex and elastin-derived peptides, including harmful effects in lab and animal studies.
- Ligorio C et al., ACS Applied Bio Materials 2025;8:2340-2355(2025)Reached the stratum corneum and epidermis of donated skin in 8 hours; self-assembled with calcium; no clinical endpoints. Estee Lauder co-authors.
- Schagen SK, Cosmetics 2017;4:16(2017)Reports the supplier's 1-month study of 4% Biopeptide EL in 10 women: better elasticity, tone and firmness.
- Cayman Chemical, Pal-VGVAPG(2026)C38H68N6O8, 737.0; all L-amino acids; sold as a research reagent.
- COSMILE Europe, palmitoyl hexapeptide-12(2026)EU INCI listing with a skin-conditioning function.
Beyond these, 2 records are indexed. Browse the records