SNAP-8
SNAP-8 is a synthetic, acetylated and C-terminally amidated octapeptide (Ac-Glu-Glu-Met-Gln-Arg-Arg-Ala-Asp-NH2, average mass about 1075 Da) supplied to the cosmetic industry as an anti-wrinkle raw material and classed with the neurotransmitter-inhibiting cosmetic peptides. Its sequence is that of the hexapeptide Argireline (acetyl hexapeptide-3/-8, Ac-EEMQRR-NH2) extended by alanine and aspartic acid, and it corresponds to residues 12-19 of human SNAP-25 (UniProt P60880), within that protein's N-terminal domain. The reviews that carry this peptide give the sequence but none of them states which region of SNAP-25 it reproduces.
Information on this page is provided for laboratory research reference. The compound is not a drug, supplement, or medical product, and is not for human or veterinary use, ingestion, or consumption.
No reviewed report has been published for this product family yet. The molecular values opposite are public reference data, not results measured on a CRX sample.
Browse published reports →SNAP-8 is described as a SNAP-25 mimic that competes with the native protein during SNARE complex assembly, so vesicle fusion and transmitter release are blunted and the repeated muscle contraction that etches expression lines is reduced. Three things qualify this. The account is asserted rather than demonstrated for this peptide: the only exocytosis figures quoted for it come from the ingredient supplier's product literature, relayed by reviews, and no independent published experiment tests it. The reviews do not agree on what is released, one reporting reduced glutamate and another reduced acetylcholine, which is the signature of a mechanism being restated rather than measured. And no published human study has measured any neuromuscular endpoint after applying it: every human evaluation scored skin appearance, hydration, elasticity or dermal thickness, so the mechanism has never been tested in human skin.1,2
Skin & hair
In a 28-day split-face study in 24 healthy volunteers, a dissolving microneedle patch containing 0.03% acetyl octapeptide-3 alongside 5% ascorbic acid 2-glucoside and 4% sodium cyclic lysophosphatidic acid improved eye wrinkles, transepidermal water loss, elasticity and lifting versus a hyaluronic-acid-only placebo patch on the opposite eye; the peptide was the smallest of three actives and no result isolates it.5
In an uncontrolled 12-week study, hyaluronic acid microneedle patches loaded with acetyl octapeptide-3 alongside arginine/lysine polypeptide, palmitoyl tripeptide-5, adenosine and seaweed extracts showed fine lines and wrinkles down 25.8%, hydration up 15.4% and dermal density and thickness up 14.2% and 12.9%, each against the subject's own baseline with no placebo arm. Five actives were present and none was tested alone.6
In a 12-week monadic study, 31 of 33 enrolled women aged 35 to 55 using a commercial serum containing acetyl octapeptide-3 among other neuropeptides, proteins, amino acids and marine extracts had dermatologist-rated crow's-feet wrinkle severity fall 32% and fine-line visibility fall 66% against their own pre-treatment skin. There was no placebo arm and no arm isolating the peptide.7
The only exocytosis data reported for this peptide originate in the ingredient manufacturer's own product literature and reach the peer-reviewed record only because a review relays them: SNAP-8 at 1.5 mM is said to have cut glutamate release by 43%, and in a separate assay SNAP-8 gave 38% and the pentapeptide Leuphasyl 7%, with 47% combined at 0.75 mM each. No protocol or comparator is published.1
Reviews class acetyl octapeptide-3 with the neurotransmitter-inhibiting cosmetic peptides and note that peptides as a class, being hydrophilic and generally above about 500 Da, cross the stratum corneum poorly. That barrier statement is made of peptides in general, not of this peptide, and no penetration study of it exists. Every published human evaluation delivered it in a patch or finished serum.2,3
What investigators recorded alongside the results above, at the rates their papers state.
No adverse effects were recorded over 28 days in 24 volunteers wearing a dissolving microneedle patch containing 0.03% acetyl octapeptide-3 with ascorbic acid 2-glucoside and sodium cyclic lysophosphatidic acid; investigators scored erythema, edema and scaling and subjects scored itching, stinging, burning, tightness and prickling.5
as reported: none
No primary or cumulative skin reactions were reported over 12 weeks with a multi-peptide hyaluronic acid microneedle patch containing acetyl octapeptide-3 among five actives; the authors described the product as excellently tolerated. Tolerability here is of the finished patch, not of the peptide.6
as reported: none
In a 12-week study of a commercial serum containing acetyl octapeptide-3 among other actives, 2 of the 31 subjects who completed reported cutaneous discomfort or irritation, which the investigators judged not product-related. Of 33 enrolled, one discontinued for a serious adverse event judged unrelated to the product and one was lost to follow-up.7
as reported: 2 of 31 completers reported cutaneous discomfort or irritation; 1 of 33 enrolled had a serious adverse event judged unrelated
The longest published exposure is 24 weeks: in 50 women aged 37 to 64 using a commercial multi-ingredient serum listing acetyl octapeptide-3 among roughly thirty ingredients, the dermatologist investigator identified no erythema, irritation or edema and subjects reported no stinging, itching or burning. Forty-seven completed; three discontinued for personal reasons unrelated to the product.8
as reported: no tolerability findings; 47 of 50 completed
No human safety, tolerability or pharmacokinetic data exist for acetyl octapeptide-3 as a single ingredient, and none exist for any non-topical route. A PubMed search returns exactly two indexed reports naming the peptide, both cosmetic evaluations of multi-ingredient microneedle patches applied to skin; no clinical trial of the peptide alone, no whole-animal study, no toxicology report and no pharmacokinetic or skin-penetration study is indexed. Systemic safety is unknown rather than reassuring.5,6
not established — no single-ingredient or non-topical human or whole-animal exposure has been reported
No expert panel has assessed this peptide. A 2026 framework paper on cosmetic peptide safety lists acetyl octapeptide-3 among neurotransmitter-inhibiting peptides but evaluates seven other peptides and makes no safety statement about it; the nearest reviewed entry is the different, shorter peptide acetyl hexapeptide-8, judged safe only at concentrations not exceeding 0.005%. That conclusion does not transfer to this molecule.4
not established — no expert-panel safety conclusion covers this peptide
- 1.Cosmeceutical Peptides in the Framework of Sustainable Wellness Economy. · Frontiers in Chemistry · 2020 · PMID 33195061
- 2.Current Approaches in Cosmeceuticals: Peptides, Biotics and Marine Biopolymers. · Polymers · 2025 · PMID 40292641
- 3.Peptides: Emerging Candidates for the Prevention and Treatment of Skin Senescence: A Review. · Biomolecules · 2025 · PMID 39858482
- 4.A framework for the safety evaluation of peptides in cosmetics. · Current Research in Toxicology · 2026 · PMID 41953401
- 5.Clinical Safety and Efficacy Evaluation of a Dissolving Microneedle Patch Having Dual Anti-Wrinkle Effects With Safe and Long-Term Activities. · Annals of Dermatology · 2024 · PMID 39082657
- 6.Efficacy of bioactive peptides loaded on hyaluronic acid microneedle patches: A monocentric clinical study. · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology · 2020 · PMID 31134751
- 7.Peptide-pro complex serum: Investigating effects on aged skin. · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology · 2023 · PMID 35426243
- 8.The Benefits of a Multimechanistic Antiaging Skin Technology. · Dermatology and Therapy · 2023 · PMID 37861918