🔴 IMPORTANT: Read This Before Proceeding With Dosing
Go to the Prep & Injection Guide for proper reconstitution, syringe sizing, and injection protocols. Mistakes here can compromise your research.
👉 Click here to read the Prep & Injection Guide
GHK-Cu (glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine-copper) or “copper tri-peptide” is a copper-binding human peptide found in plasma, saliva, and urine. It has qualities which allow for the regeneration of aged and injured liver cells, although its regenerative properties are not confined to the liver alone — it promotes tissue healing, injury recovery, and cell regeneration in everything from skin grafts to ligaments, lung connective tissue to boney tissue, the lining of the stomach, and much more. Can replace corticosteroids for the treatment of inflammatory skin conditions.
In addition to this, GHK-Cu is generally regarded as the best overall anti-aging peptide.
Benefits
- Stimulates elastin and collagen production; improves overall hydration of the skin
- Restores skin elasticity and helps reverse the thinning of aged skin; is more effective than most prescription retinols
- Reduces fine lines and wrinkles, photodamage, and hyperpigmentation
- Reduces free radical damage
- Protects skin from UV radiation
- Is a potent anti-inflammatory
- Accelerates hair growth — equal to or better than Minoxidil 5%
- Enlarges hair follicle size, resulting in thicker hair; strengthens follicles
- Is a powerful antioxidant
- Has DNA repairing properties
- Prevents metastasis in colon cancer
- Improves digestive health
- Has been shown to promote nerve fiber regeneration
- Can reverse fibroblasts associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and help relieve other symptoms of the disease
- Stimulates angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels)
- Stimulates wound healing; can reverse cortisone-induced inhibition of wound-healing
- Possesses multiple anti-cancer mechanisms
- Increases the production of neurotrophic factors
- Reduces anxiety and aggression
- Possesses pain-relieving qualities
- Decreases the expression of pain genes
- When certain systems aren’t functioning properly, damaged proteins start accumulating; GHK-Cu clears these damaged proteins
Possible Side Effects
Topical: No side effects noted.
Subcutaneous Administration: Injection site reaction (redness, swelling, itching, bruising, histamine flare-up (resembles hives, with a knot or bump under the skin for up to several days following each injection); no others reported
Signs of Copper Toxicity
Headache, fever, passing out, nausea, vomiting, bloody vomit, diarrhea, black stool, abdominal cramps, brown ring-shaped markings in the eyes, and jaundice. May be accompanied by anxiety, irritability, inability to focus, depression, and moodiness. In the most serious cases, copper toxicity can result in kidney conditions, liver damage or failure, heart failure, and brain damage.
GHK-Cu: 100MG — Reconstitution and Dosing (Injectable)
4-12 week cycle followed by a 4-12 week washout period
Daily dosing is recommended, but you can dose less often if you prefer
Start at the lowest dose and increase gradually as needed to continue sustaining benefits
Dosing at night is preferred, but you can take it at any time of day
You do not have to be in a fasted state to take this peptide
Subcutaneous Administration
RECONSTITUTION
Mix with 5mL (500 units) of BAC water
DOSING
5-10 units, 1x/day, 7 days/week. Start at 5 units, increase after a couple of weeks or as necessary to continue sustaining benefits from the peptide.
COPPER REACTIVITY
Note: For some users, the GHK-Cu (a copper peptide) component may cause this formulation to be painful to inject and/or may cause a reaction at the injection site. The pain might range from small pinch to the sting of a bullet ant, and injection site reactions (ISRs) may include redness, swelling, bruising, pain, and/or the development of a knot beneath the skin which may last for as long as several days. This reaction is not universal for all people- where some will have a painful injection experience and a high incidence of injection site reactions (ISRs), most will experience neither and get to reap the benefits without so much as minor discomfort. If you experience pain or an aggressive ISR, you can safely assume that you will not react well to copper peptides in any form. All is not lost, however… read on to learn more about why some people are cursed with this copper sensitivity, and what can be done to mitigate those negative side effects should they happen.
The reason for this copper reactivity comes down to one of three primary reasons:
- Low baseline ceruloplasmin (the copper-binding protein that regulates free copper)
- Skin barrier or microcirculation that is already inflamed when the copper is introduced
- They have trace metal imbalances (e.g., low zinc or high iron)
There are a couple things you can do to prevent these reactions altogether, or at least minimize their severity. The most effective of these is dilution. Constant rotation of injection sites is extremely helpful, as is monitoring the severity of ISRs in different injections zones (e.g. some people show reduced ISRs when injection in the thighs, and more severe reactions in the stomach); review the Subcutaneous Injection Locations guide located in the Prep and Injection Guide. Finally, and perhaps surprisingly, using GHK-Cu in a blend or stacked with potent anti-inflammatory peptides like BPC-157 and KPV tends to reduce the pain associated with copper injections while minimizing ISRs.
For those who find that they cannot tolerate GHK-Cu even after trying the aforementioned recommendations, all is not lost! Your vial is not a worthless waste of money- just use the rest topically. Just use a syringe to draw the remaining solution from the vial and add it to a moisturizing cream or serum. Apply this solution to the face, twice a day. See Topical Administration for a list of compatible/synergistic ingredients in skincare products.
TOPICAL ADMINISTRATION
Preparation: The easiest way to prepare lyophilized GHK-Cu for use as a topical formulation is to first cut the aluminum band that secures the rubber stopper to the neck of the vial, then carefully remove it and the rubber stopper from the vial. You will want something on hand that you can use to stir the powder at the bottom of the vial as you add water- the plunger from a dosing syringe is ideal for this. Gradually add water (typically approximately .5mL/50 units) to the powder and use the rubber end of the plunger to stir the contents. Once no chunks of dry, light-colored powder remain, your mixture is ready to add to the skincare base. While you may mix the dry, lyophilized GHK-Cu powder directly into the base/emollient product, we do not recommend doing so, as the wet form mixes into the base and then absorbs into the skin much better. Transferring the peptide to the base product involves any number of creative solutions: hold the vial upside down over the base while using the plunger to help transfer contents, then add a bit more water to get the remaining product out of the vial. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate.
Compatible/Synergistic Ingredients Include:
Hyaluronic acid, Vitamin E, Niacinamide, Argireline, Vitamin B, Ceramides, Collagen, Elastin, Matrixyl 3000, Leuphasyl, Aloe Vera, Ferulic Acid, Squalane, Glycerin, Coenzyme Q10, Bakuchiol
Avoid:
Retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), Glycolic acid, Salicylic acid, Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid)
Stacking Suggestions
To increase results and cover wider regenerative or anti-aging goals:
- Thymosin Beta-4 / TB-500 – For powerful wound repair and tissue regeneration
- Epithalon – Anti-aging, telomere repair, and DNA protection
- Snap-8 or Argireline – For enhanced wrinkle reduction and topical synergy
- Glutathione – For antioxidant replenishment and skin brightening
- CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin – For collagen boost, GH elevation, and systemic anti-aging synergy
- BPC-157 – For gut healing and inflammatory suppression