SoftMaxx AI sells no peptides and takes no vendor money.
1. One grade per claim, from the strongest study
Each claim is tagged with the strongest kind of study we found for that specific use. Evidence for one use does not upgrade another: an approved drug’s trials for one condition do not grade an off-label cosmetic claim. When the only support is in cells or animals we say so on the claim itself, because the FTC treats animal and in-vitro data as not enough to support a health claim in people.
- Drug label Quoted from an official drug label, for the use the label states.
- Human RCT At least one randomized, controlled trial in people. Size and funding still matter; we give the n.
- Human, small or uncontrolled People were studied, but in a small, short, open-label or uncontrolled study.
- Human observational People were observed, not randomized; association, not proof of effect.
- Case report One or a few individual cases. Useful as a signal, not as proof.
- Animal Studied in animals only. FTC: animal data are not enough to support a health claim in people.
- In vitro (cells) Studied in cells or tissue in a dish only. Says what is possible, not what happens in a person.
- Expert review A review article summarizing other work; we cite it for its conclusion, not as new evidence.
- Regulator document A statement of legal or regulatory status, cited to the regulator’s own document (FDA, Health Canada, WADA).
- No supporting study We found no study that supports the claim.
A marketed claim is shown in quotation marks and labelled “claim as marketed”; the text after it is what the evidence shows. We describe what a peptide has been studied for, never what it does for you.
2. How every citation is checked
Every empirical claim names its source. Each PubMed ID is looked up in NCBI’s records and the title we cite must match PubMed’s title; DOIs are resolved through the DOI registry. A citation that does not match, does not resolve, or points at a retracted paper is not used, and a claim left without a verified citation is removed from the page. The pages are generated from that verified set, and the build refuses to publish a page that cites anything else.
“Verified” means the paper exists and is the one named. It does not mean the paper proves the claim; the grade next to each claim says how much it can carry.
3. Doses: only what studies used
We publish no dosing protocols. Where studies exist, a table titled “Doses used in studies (not a recommendation)” copies the species, route, amount, schedule, duration and number of participants exactly as reported, with the citation. For FDA-approved drugs we quote the label and add that your prescriber sets your dose.
4. Regulatory status is dated
Each page opens with its FDA, Health Canada and WADA status and the date it was checked. Every status line is a fixed sentence built from a saved copy of its source, and links that source: Drugs@FDA, FDA’s compounding category lists and safety page, Health Canada’s Drug Product Database and notices, and the WADA Prohibited List. Status is re-checked monthly; the FDA can change a peptide’s status between checks.
5. Who writes and who reviews
Pages are written by SoftMaxx AI editorial. Drafting uses AI tools; the citation checks above and a human read of every claim are how the output is held to a higher standard than the drafting. No medical reviewer is named yet. Until one is, we publish entries for topical and cosmetic ingredients, evidence guides and the calculators. Entry pages for injectable or prescription compounds wait for a named, credentialed reviewer; where a guide has to discuss an injectable blend, it covers the evidence and the risks only, never dosing.
6. No vendor money
SoftMaxx AI earns only from its own face-analysis subscription. We do not sell, source or recommend any peptide, we link to no seller, we take no affiliate fees, discount-code payments, free product or payment for coverage, and we never use the wink labels sellers put on unapproved peptides. Links go only to primary sources: PubMed, DOI records, FDA, Health Canada, WADA, ClinicalTrials.gov, DailyMed drug labels, EMA and the EU CosIng ingredient database.
7. What our scan can and cannot tell you
We found no study of any peptide we cover that measured how a whole face looks, or the jaw. Where a page offers the SoftMaxx AI scan, it is as a way to measure your own skin over time under the same conditions, never as evidence that a peptide changed anything. We never place the scan next to injectable content.
8. Update log
- 2026-10-01 — Acetyl tetrapeptide-3 and Capixyl claims: what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Peptides for acne: what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — AHK-Cu (alanyl-histidyl-lysine copper): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Argireline (acetyl hexapeptide-8): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Biotinoyl tripeptide-1 and Procapil claims: what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Oral Collagen Peptides (Hydrolyzed Collagen): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Copper peptides vs retinol: what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Peptides for dark circles: what the studies measured (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — GHK-Cu (copper tripeptide-1): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — GHK-Cu before and after: what the trials actually measured (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — GHK-Cu topical vs injectable: what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — GLOW peptide stack: components, evidence and risks (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Peptides for hair growth vs minoxidil and finasteride (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — How to read a certificate of analysis (and what it cannot tell you) (published)
- 2026-10-01 — Peptides for jawline: a myth-check (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — KLOW peptide: components, evidence and risks (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Peptides for looksmaxxing: what the evidence actually shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Matrixyl 3000 (palmitoyl tripeptide-1 + palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Matrixyl (palmitoyl pentapeptide-4, pal-KTTKS): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Does Ozempic change your face? What is measured, and how to measure your own (published)
- 2026-10-01 — Symptoms after a peptide that need a clinician (published)
- 2026-10-01 — Best peptides for skin, ranked by evidence (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — Peptides for skin tightening and wrinkles: evidence and limits (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — SNAP-8 (acetyl octapeptide-3, as sellers describe it): what the evidence shows (first published 2026-09-30)
- 2026-10-01 — How long do reconstituted peptides last? What the labels say (published)
- 2026-09-30 — Regulatory status checked for every page against FDA, Health Canada and WADA sources.
Corrections go to press@softmaxx.io; a verified error is fixed on the page and noted here.