Matrixyl 3000 Anti-Aging Serum.

Key Ingredients:  Matrixyl 3000 7%,

Matrixyl 3000 is a relatively new skin care ingredient sometimes promoted as a new and improved version of Matrixyl. Both Matrixyl 3000 and "classic" Matrixyl were delevoped by the and are incorporated, usually separately, in a variety of skin care products on the market. The naming suggesting that Matrixyl 3000 is related to Matrixyl might be an attempt to leverage the popularity of the original Matrixyl. In fact, the only relationship between the two is that both are based on peptides and aim at stimulating the synthesis and replenishment of the skin matrix .Their trademark name similarity notwithstanding, Matrixyl 3000 and "classic" Matrixyl are chemically dissimilar except that both are based on peptides (small protein fragments representing short chains of amino acids). Specifically, Matrixyl 3000 is a combination of the two peptides, palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, whereas "classic" Matrixyl is a trademark name for the peptide palmitoyl pentapeptide-4. In this article, we review Matrixyl 3000 and its components.

Palmitoyl oligopeptide (Pal-GHK) is one of the two active ingredients in Matrixyl 3000. It consists of a short chain of three amino acids (a.k.a. GHK peptide or glycine-histidine-lysine) connected to palmitic acid. Palmitic acid is a fatty acid added to improve the peptide's oil solubility and thus skin penetration. The peptide GHK is a fragment of type I collagen molecule and is believed to serve as a biological indicator of increased degradation of the skin matrix. Indeed, when collagen is degraded, more of its small fragments get created in the body, including GHK. Furthermore, GHK is believed to stimulate the feedback loop triggering the synthesis of new collagen as well as other components of the skin matrix. When the key skin matrix-producing cells (fibroblasts) detect increased levels of GHK, they "assume" that the skin matrix is being lost at a higher rate and begin synthesizing it more vigorously. Thus, Pal-GHK (a version of GHK designed for better skin penetration) is intended to stimulate skin matrix replenishment via topical application, leading, presumably, to wrinkle reduction, skin firming and other benefits.

Another interesting point about the GHK is that it is a part of another well known skin care ingredient, the copper peptide Cu-GHK. Copper peptides are known to improve wound healing, activate skin remodeling, improve the structure of skin matrix, reduce scarring and exert other beneficial effects on the skin. The skin benefits of copper peptides are relatively well researched and established (see our article on ) In fact, most of the research showing the benefits of copper peptides has been done using Cu-GHK, which consists of the copper atom (in the ionized form) bound to the GHK peptide.

In that light, we can hypothesize that Pal-GHK may act at least partly via the same mechanism as Cu-GHK. At the first glance, this appears unlikely because the benefits of copper peptides are believed to be contingent on their copper component. However, it is possible that the addition of the palmitic acid to the GHK increases its skin concentration so much that even the normally low levels of copper in the skin suffice to activate it. It is also conceivable that many of the effects of Cu-GHK are due to the GHK peptide rather than copper and can be reproduced using a highly penetrating version Pal-GHK alone. Thus, it would be very useful to find out whether Pal-GHK and Cu-GHK indeed work at least partly via the same mechanism and, if so, what are comparative advantages and disadvantages of each. Unfortunately, such research is yet to be conducted.

Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 (Pal-GQPR) is another active ingredient in Matrixyl 3000. (It was also formerly known and marketed as palmitoyl tetrapeptide-3.) Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 consists of a short chain of four amino acids (a.k.a. GQPR peptide or glycine-glutamine-proline-arginine) connected to palmitic acid. Palmitic acid is a fatty acid added to improve the peptide's oil solubility and thus skin penetration.

Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 is believed to work by reducing the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) by the the key skin cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts. IL-6 is a molecule that promotes inflammation, which, in turn, leads to faster degradation of the skin matrix and thus contributes to the development of wrinkles and loss of skin firmness and elasticity. By reducing the levels of IL-6 and possibly other inflammation mediators, palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 is thought to slow down the degradation of the skin matrix and may also stimulate its replenishment.

Matrixyl 3000 combines palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 not just because two active ingredients are better then one. According to the Sederma corporation, these two peptides produce a synergy when used together, i.e. the skin benefits of such combination are greater than what one would expect if each agent's effects were independent of each other. Here's a fictitious example of synergy to illustrate my point: Ingredient A causes a 10% improvement and ingredient B causes a 15% percent improvement whereas A+B combo causes a 60% improvement (as opposed to the expected 25% improvement).

According to Sederma, the synergy between palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 is dramatic. They reported a tissue culture study where Matrixyl 3000 increased the synthesis of skin matrix roughly 2.5-3.5 times. In particular, the synthesis of collagen type I increased by 258%, fibronectin - by 164% and hyaluronic acid - by 179%.

Sederma also reported a small human study involving two groups of 24 volunteers where Matrixyl 3000 performed considerably better than placebo and somewhat better than "classic" Matrixyl, including the following beneficial effects after two month of daily application ^*:

• Reduction in main wrinkle depth (-15%) and volume (-18%)
• Reduction in roughness (-14%)
• Reduction in complexity (-16%), "lifting" parameter
• Decrease in the area occupied by deep wrinkles (>200 microns) (-44%), -37% decrease in density
• Increase in skin tone (+15%)