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Reconstituted color
№ 005

GHK-Cu

Supports collagen, wound healing, and hair follicles. A copper-binding tripeptide, used topical or sub-q.

Skin
Evidence: Limited

GHK-Cu: Supports collagen, wound healing, and hair follicles. A copper-binding tripeptide, used topical or sub-q. GHK-Cu is a tiny copper-binding peptide your skin already has, but levels drop with age.

FDA ⓘ
Not approved
WADA
Not banned
Typical dose
Sub-q: 1-2mg daily
Half-life ⓘ
~2 hours systemic
Route ⓘ
Sub-q (systemic) or topical (skin)
Schedule
Daily
In plain English

GHK-Cu is a tiny copper-binding peptide your skin already has, but levels drop with age. Used to support collagen, wound healing, and hair follicles. Topical for skin, sub-q injection for systemic effect on connective tissue.

Status & legalityWhat do these mean? →
Natty? ⓘ
Grey area

Naturally occurring in skin, but supplementing exogenously typically disqualifies a strict natty claim.

FDA ⓘ
Not approved

Approved as a cosmetic ingredient. Not approved as a drug.

Compounding ⓘ
Category 1

Compounding pharmacies may prepare under physician prescription (post Feb 2026 reclassification, pending formal FDA publication).

WADA ⓘ
Not listed
Prescribed ⓘ

Not prescribed; widely used as topical skincare ingredient.

Who it's for

  • →Anyone running an aggressive skin/anti-aging routine
  • →Healing stack add-on for connective tissue
  • →Users targeting hair follicle support

What to expect

  1. Week 1

    Nothing visible. Minor flush at injection.

  2. Week 4

    Skin tone evens out for most users. Healing rate noticeably faster.

  3. Week 8

    Visible skin changes. Hair density slower to show.

Looking at GHK-Cu? Your next 3 steps

  1. 1Work out your exact dose

    Vial size + BAC water turns into the exact units to draw for GHK-Cu.

    Open calculator →
  2. 2See what to stack & monitor

    The companion supplements and the bloodwork worth tracking on this kind of protocol.

    Bloodwork guide →
  3. 3Save it & ask the Coach

    A free account saves your stack; membership adds the stack-aware AI Coach.

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How it works (mechanism)

Tripeptide that binds copper(II) and ferries it into cells. Activates fibroblasts to produce collagen, decorin, and elastin while modulating expression of ~4,000 genes related to tissue repair. Direct effects on follicle stem cells and skin barrier integrity.

Dosing protocol

Members only

Stacks well with

Members only

Stack essentials

Members only

Side effects

01Injection-site flush
02Mild metallic taste shortly after dose
03Rare: headache

When NOT to use

  • ⚠Wilson's disease or copper metabolism disorders
  • ⚠Active copper supplementation

Bloodwork to monitor

  • • Serum copper if running long term sub-q

Common mistakes

  • • Dosing topically and sub-q simultaneously without tracking total copper
  • • Storing reconstituted vial in plastic (use glass)
  • • Expecting fast skin results, visible changes take 4-8 weeks

Drug & supplement interactions

  • ⚠Copper-supplementation: monitor total copper load
  • ⚠Use glass, copper binds plastic over time
  • ⚠Wilson's disease: contraindicated

The Pepdex take

Underrated for skin. Glass syringes only, copper binds plastic and reduces effective dose by 20-40% over a few weeks of storage. The skin effect is undeniable at 2 mg sub-q daily for 6-8 weeks: smoother texture, faster wound healing, brighter tone. The hair-line claim is more anecdotal than the skin claim, manage expectations there. Topical (face cream) is fine but doesn't drive the systemic effect; sub-q is the real protocol.

Community patterns

Members only
Free, no account needed

New to GHK-Cu? Grab the starter checklist.

Drop your email and we'll send the one-page first-cycle starter checklist, plus a heads-up if GHK-Cu changes legal status. No account needed.

No spam. No selling your email. Just the checklist and the occasional reclassification alert.

AI Coach, live sample
Members only
is 250mcg of bpc enough for a knee injury?
For a knee, 250 mcg sub-q daily is the standard working dose and a solid place to start. The trick with BPC is consistency, give it weeks, not days. Inject close to the joint, run it 4-6 weeks, and don't drop below 200 mcg, it tends to stop cracking the threshold reliably down there. If it hasn't moved at all by week 3, that's when adding TB-500 earns its place.
how much bac water for a 10mg reta vial?
3 mL is the standard play for a 10 mg reta vial. That's 3,333 mcg/mL, clean unit math across the titration: 2 mg = 60 units, 4 mg = 120 units, 6 mg = 180 units on a 100-unit insulin syringe. Run 2 mL instead if you want fewer, more concentrated shots (5,000 mcg/mL, so 2 mg = 40 units). Since most people titrate up over ~12 weeks, 3 mL keeps the numbers cleanest.
what should i track on bloodwork for tirzepatide?
Lipid panel, ALT/AST (liver enzymes), and an A1C, baseline before you start then every 3 months. If you've got metabolic-syndrome history, add fasting glucose and insulin so you can actually watch insulin sensitivity improve. You don't need a big hormone panel for a GLP-1.

Ask the Coach anything about GHK-Cu or your own stack. This is it working.

Trained only on Pepdex content. Does the dose math, flags interactions, knows your stack. Won't push vendors, won't pretend to be a doctor.

Get the Coach, $7.99/mo →

Frequently asked

What is GHK-Cu?+
GHK-Cu is a tiny copper-binding peptide your skin already has, but levels drop with age. Used to support collagen, wound healing, and hair follicles. Topical for skin, sub-q injection for systemic effect on connective tissue.
Is GHK-Cu FDA approved?+
Approved as a cosmetic ingredient. Not approved as a drug.
Is GHK-Cu legal?+
GHK-Cu is not FDA-approved. It is sold by compounding pharmacies (with a prescription) and as "research only" by peptide vendors. Possession is generally not criminalized but distribution without authorization may be. Verify local laws.
Is GHK-Cu banned by WADA?+
GHK-Cu is not currently on the WADA prohibited list.
Are you still natty after taking GHK-Cu?+
Grey area. Naturally occurring in skin, but supplementing exogenously typically disqualifies a strict natty claim.
Do doctors prescribe GHK-Cu?+
Not prescribed; widely used as topical skincare ingredient.
What's the typical dose of GHK-Cu?+
Sub-q: 1-2mg daily, 4-6 week cycles. Topical: 0.05-0.2% concentration, 1-2x daily.
What are the side effects of GHK-Cu?+
Common side effects include: Injection-site flush; Mild metallic taste shortly after dose; Rare: headache. Less common effects and full safety details are on the entry page.
How long until GHK-Cu starts working?+
Nothing visible. Minor flush at injection.
What can you stack with GHK-Cu?+
Common pairings: BPC-157 + TB-500 connective-tissue stack; Standalone for skin / hair. Full stacking protocol and timing on the entry page.
Where do people get GHK-Cu?+
GHK-Cu is most commonly sold by research-only peptide vendors and by compounding pharmacies (the latter requires a prescription). Pepdex is not a vendor, see /coa for how to verify a Certificate of Analysis before buying from any source, and /guides/scam-vendor-spotting for vendor red flags.
GHK-Cu vs BPC-157, which is better?+
BPC-157 vs GHK-Cu: tendon and tissue healing vs collagen and skin support. Which to pick or whether to stack. Full head-to-head comparison: https://pepdex.co/compare/bpc-157-vs-ghk-cu
GHK-Cu vs TB-500, which is better?+
TB-500 vs GHK-Cu: cell migration and tissue repair vs collagen and copper-driven healing. Full head-to-head comparison: https://pepdex.co/compare/tb-500-vs-ghk-cu

Head-to-head with GHK-Cu

Compare
GHK-Cu vs BPC-157 →
Compare
GHK-Cu vs TB-500 →

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