How does GHK-Cu work?
GHK-Cu is a three-amino-acid peptide that holds copper. This site's profile lists the chemical name Copper Tripeptide-1, with molecular weights of 340.38 daltons for the peptide alone and 402.92 daltons with the copper. Reviews describe firmer skin in cosmetic studies in people. A 1988 paper cited on that page found it made skin cells in a dish build more collagen, starting at tiny amounts and peaking at 1 nM. GHK-Cu is allowed as a cosmetic ingredient and is not an approved drug. Shots of it are far less studied. In rats, repeated shots into wound chambers increased wound tissue, collagen, and other repair material. A result in a dish or on the skin is not a counted result for an injected vial. This FAQ does not invent an injectable mechanism. Full record at /compounds/ghk-cu.
Copper peptides for skin and hair: what real people saw
Copper peptides for skin and hair: what real people saw
Studies in people from the compound pages this answer belongs to
- GHK-Cu
- Enhanced healing of ulcers in patients with diabetes by topical treatment with glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine copper 1994 PMID 17147644
- A prospective randomized evaluator-blinded trial of two potential wound healing agents for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers 1992 PMID 1495150
- Effects of topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin 2006 PMID 16847171
Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.
Part of healing and recovery peptides. BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, and the tissue repair family, including what actually has human data.