Tripeptide-132_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as KCV, Lys-Cys-Val, Peptide-132, Tripeptide-132 HCl, pal-KCV, palmitoyl KCV
Lysine, cysteine and valine, picked by computer from about 8,000 candidates for how tightly they grip hair keratin.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Tripeptide-132?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
It is a hair-strengthening ingredient, not a hair-growth one. It is meant to slot into the gaps in damaged keratin and hold the fiber together, and the peer-reviewed study measured breakage and tensile strength on hair fibers in a laboratory rather than hair on anyone's head. It is sold in COSRX shampoo, treatment and hair oil.
Tripeptide-132 is the tripeptide lysine-cysteine-valine, written KCV, designed at Amorepacific by screening roughly 8,000 compounds with molecular docking and molecular dynamics for binding to hair keratin. The published study also tested a palmitoylated version, pal-KCV, and its abstract attributes the largest tensile strength gain, 44%, to that derivative rather than to Tripeptide-132 itself.
What it's used for
A cosmetic ingredient in hair products, aimed at strengthening damaged hair and reducing breakage. It is not a treatment for hair loss and has not been tested for hair growth.
How does Tripeptide-132 work?
What it does in the body, and where.Hair is keratin held together by bonds that bleach, heat and brushing break. Most repair ingredients either coat the fiber or try to rebuild those bonds. This one was designed to bind the keratin itself.
- 01Picked by computer, then testedAbout 8,000 candidate compounds were screened by molecular docking and molecular dynamics for how tightly they would hold onto hair keratin. KCV scored best, and the laboratory work followed the prediction rather than the other way around.
- 02Three residues, each doing a jobLysine carries a positive charge that is drawn to damaged hair, since hair turns more negative as it is bleached. Cysteine is the residue hair's own disulfide bonds are made from. Valine is small and water-repelling, helping the peptide sit inside the fiber. Free KCV weighs 348.5 daltons; the hydrochloride salt the brand lists at 384.9 daltons is the same peptide.
- 03The fatty version binds harderAdding a palmitic acid tail gives pal-KCV. The paper's abstract reports stronger predicted binding for it, -65 kcal/mol against -45, and attributes the 44% tensile strength gain to that form. The ingredient declared on the products is Tripeptide-132 HCl, so the version sold is not the one that produced the headline number.
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.
What was measured
Early research- Lab studyBreakage fell 48 to 52% in the peer-reviewed study, close to the company's claim of about 50%.
- Lab studyConfocal imaging showed the peptide reaching the cortex, the inner part of the fiber, not just the surface.
- No dataEvery measurement was made on hair fibers in a laboratory, including artificially damaged hair. No one's hair was tested on their head.
- No dataNothing was measured about hair growth, hair loss or scalp health.
Two numbers, two different molecules
Early research- No dataAmorepacific's research announcement says tensile strength rose by up to 44%. The paper's abstract attaches that 44% to pal-KCV, the palmitoylated derivative.
- Lab studyCOSRX, the Amorepacific-owned brand selling the products, says around 11.1% on artificially damaged hair. That is the figure for the ingredient actually declared on the labels.
- Lab studyThe derivative also bound more tightly in the modeling: about -65 kcal/mol against -45 for KCV. The paper's conclusion covers KCV and its palmitoylated derivatives together.
- No dataThe two figures are four-fold apart because they belong to two molecules, not because two labs measured the same thing differently.
The 44% tensile strength figure in Amorepacific's announcement is not Tripeptide-132's. The paper's own abstract attaches that number to pal-KCV, the palmitoylated derivative, and the ingredient declared on the COSRX labels is Tripeptide-132 HCl. COSRX's own page gives 11.1% for the ingredient it sells. So the press release reports the derivative's result in an announcement about the peptide the company put in its products, and the gap between 44% and 11.1% is the gap between two different molecules rather than two measurements of one. The breakage figures do line up: 48 to 52% in the paper against about 50% in the release, and that one belongs to KCV. All of it is laboratory work on hair fibers, so none of it shows anything about hair growth or hair loss. Tripeptide-132 HCl is not a separate peptide: 384.9 daltons is KCV plus hydrochloric acid, and the free peptide is 348.5.
The published record
Papers and trials about Tripeptide-132
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 Tripeptide-132
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 product; no concentration is published, as the product directs. Continuous use No range
A hair cosmetic used as often as the product directs. No study has tested how long the effect lasts after stopping.
Not applicableNo figure
A hair cosmetic is not absorbed into the bloodstream in any meaningful quantity, so a half-life is not a measure that applies. What was measured instead is how far it penetrates the fiber.
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
What does it cost?
Typical dose and cost, in plain numbers.Tripeptide-132 is not injected
It is taken on the hair (shampoo, treatment or oil). No concentration has been published for any product containing it, and cosmetic ingredient levels are rarely disclosed. The dose is whatever the finished shampoo, treatment or oil contains.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Room temperature, out of light. Cap it tight after each use.
Tripeptide-132 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.Who should avoid it
- Injecting it: this is a hair cosmetic and nothing supports any injected use
- Expecting hair regrowth: nothing published tests growth or hair loss
Stop and get help
- Scalp irritation, itching or a rash that persists after rinsing
Common effects
- None reported. It is used in rinse-off and leave-on hair products
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Tripeptide-132 approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Not as a medicine. Tripeptide-132 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 hair (shampoo, treatment or oil)
- Checked23 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, so it needs no approval to be sold in a hair product. It has no FDA substance record and no INN. The declared cosmetic ingredient name is Tripeptide-132 HCl, the form that appears on published ingredient lists for the COSRX products; the salt rather than the free peptide is what is declared, and it is the salt that weighs the 384.9 daltons the brand publishes. Amorepacific and COSRX use the trade style PEPTIDE-132 in their own marketing, and neither publishes a full ingredient list on its product pages. Amorepacific holds Korean patent 10-2745546, filed July 31, 2024 and published that December, covering tripeptides built from cysteine, lysine, tryptophan, valine and phenylalanine along with fatty-acid versions of them.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
What else is like Tripeptide-132?
Others in Skin and cosmetic, side by side.If you're weighing Tripeptide-132, it's worth reading GHK-Cu, Melanotan II, and Melanotan I (Afamelanotide) in the same class.
Lysine, cysteine and valine, picked by computer from about 8,000 candidates for how tightly they grip hair keratin.
- Dose
- Set by the product; no concentration is published
- How often
- As the product directs
A copper peptide used in skincare and also sold in vials for injection, where far less has been studied.
- Dose
- 0.5 up to 2 mg per day injected (community practice). On the skin: per product
- How often
- Daily
A shot for a fast, deep tan, plus libido and appetite effects.
- Dose
- 0.25 up to 1 mg per dose (start low, increase slowly)
- How often
- Daily loading, then maintenance
A tanning peptide. The FDA-approved version is an implant for a rare sun-pain condition.
- Dose
- 0.5 up to 1 mg per day (loading phase)
- How often
- Daily then weekly
Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- 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
- Rha et al., Bio-active designed peptide for hair keratin strengthening, International Journal of Cosmetic Science, March 23, 2026(2026)International Journal of Cosmetic Science, volume 48, pages 990 to 1005, open access. The abstract attributes the 44% tensile strength gain to pal-KCV, the palmitoylated derivative, and the 48 to 52% reduction in mechanical breakage to KCV itself. Binding energy was about -45 kcal/mol for KCV and -65 for pal-KCV, and about 75% of the KCV interactions with keratin were hydrogen bonds. Confocal imaging showed KCV penetrating the cuticle and cortex.
- Amorepacific research announcement, March 27, 2026(2026)Says tensile strength rose by up to 44% and breakage fell by about 50% after repeated stress, from a screen of roughly 8,000 compounds. Names COSRX shampoo, treatment and hair bonding oil as the products.
- COSRX product science page for PEPTIDE-132(2026)The brand's own page gives a tensile strength increase of around 11.1% on artificially damaged hair, a molecular weight of 384.9 daltons, a brushing test of 8 to 16 hours against a purified-water control, and cites Korean patent 10-2745546.
- Korean patent KR102745546B1, Amorepacific(2024)Composition for hair protection or hair strengthening, filed July 31, 2024. Names KCV among the claimed tripeptides and palmitoyl KCV as an embodiment, with fatty acids from C8 to C30 at the N-terminus.
Beyond these, 1 records are indexed. Browse the records