Peptide Graded

All peptides / Skin

Copper tripeptide-1

Carrier/copper peptide

Also GHK-Cu, Copper peptide, Copper peptides, GHK copper, Cu-GHK, Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper

Evidence
CAnimal and cell studies
FDA status
Cosmetic ingredientas of 2026-10-26
Route
Topical
Studies cited
1 human3 animal or cell

A skin-care ingredient sold to firm skin, soften wrinkles and regrow hair. The one controlled human trial, of 13 patients, found no skin benefit.

Sold for

Copper tripeptide-1 is marketed in serums as a collagen-building, wound-healing peptide that firms skin, softens wrinkles and regrows hair.

Studies say

Cell and animal studies show it switches on repair genes and speeds wound closure, but the one blinded human trial found no measurable skin benefit over the control regimen, so the evidence is C.

Why grade C. For the skin anti-ageing use, the controlled human evidence is a single randomized trial of 13 patients after CO2 laser resurfacing, which found no objective difference in redness or wrinkles. The rest is gene-expression work in cultured cells, animal wound and lung-injury models, and cosmetic-company studies summarized in reviews written by the peptide's discoverer. 4125

FDA. Copper tripeptide-1 is a cosmetic ingredient and sits outside FDA drug approval; no copper tripeptide-1 or GHK-Cu product is approved by the FDA as a drug for any use. Injectable GHK-Cu sold online is not approved and is sold as a research chemical. 1

Written from 5 cited sources. Fact-checked 2026-10-27: 14 claims checked, 1 corrected. Last refreshed 2026-10-27. Not physician reviewed.

What this means for you

What people take it for
Firmer skin, fewer wrinkles and hair regrowth
Can a US doctor prescribe it?
No prescription; it is a cosmetic ingredient.
Properly tested in people?
Not properly: mostly lab and animal work, and one small trial of 13 patients.

Evidence checklist

  • Randomised controlled trial One trial after laser, no objective gainyes
  • Human study over 100 people 13 patients completed the trialno
  • More than one research group Reviews mostly by its discovererno
  • Clinical outcomes, not surrogate markers Redness and wrinkles, not outcomesno
  • Human safety data beyond case reports No data for injectable GHK-Cuno

Drawn from the cited studies below. A dash means the sources give no information.

What it is

Copper tripeptide-1 is the cosmetic name for GHK-Cu. It is a peptide of three amino acids, glycyl-histidyl-lysine, bound to a copper ion. GHK occurs naturally in human blood plasma. Its level falls from about 200 ng/mL at age 20 to about 80 ng/mL at 60. That drop fuels much of the anti-ageing marketing. 1

In skincare, it goes into creams and serums at low concentrations. Loren Pickart wrote most reviews of its biology. He isolated the peptide in the 1970s. He also has commercial interests in it. 12

How it works

GHK holds copper tightly and delivers it to cells. Copper helps the enzyme that cross-links collagen. It also helps antioxidant enzymes. In cultured fibroblasts, GHK raises collagen and glycosaminoglycan production. It also adjusts matrix metalloproteinases, which are enzymes that remodel skin. One analysis of gene activity found that GHK shifts several thousand human genes. Many of them help repair tissue or control inflammation. GHK-Cu also lowered TNF-alpha and IL-6 in cultured macrophages. It did the same in mice with lung injury caused by bacterial lipopolysaccharide. In both, it dampened the NF-kB and p38 MAPK inflammatory pathways. 1325

What human research shows

The one randomized controlled trial in the citations followed patients after CO2 laser resurfacing around the mouth. Researchers gave them aftercare with or without a copper tripeptide complex. Blinded evaluators and computer image analysis found no significant difference in how fast redness cleared. They found no added benefit on wrinkles or skin quality. Patients using the copper peptide did rate their satisfaction higher. Only 13 patients completed the study. 4

Reviews cite studies by cosmetic companies. These report firmer skin and fewer wrinkles with GHK-Cu creams. The makers ran them, without blinded controls. They are not independent peer-reviewed trials. 1

StudyModelFinding
Copper tripeptide after CO2 laser resurfacingHumans, n=13 completed, randomized controlledNo objective difference in erythema resolution or wrinkles; higher patient-rated satisfaction. 4
GHK-Cu in mouse acute lung injuryMice, lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injuryLower TNF-alpha and IL-6 via NF-kB p65 and p38 MAPK suppression. 5
GHK gene-expression analysisCultured human cells, Broad Institute connectivity mapGHK altered expression of a large number of genes linked to tissue repair and inflammation. 2

Safety

Copper tripeptide-1 applied to the skin has a long history in cosmetics. Reports of harm are few, beyond occasional irritation. In the laser trial, no safety problems were blamed on it. The open questions are about injectable GHK-Cu, which has no human safety data at all. It is reported to change the activity of genes tied to growth. That is a reason for caution until trials exist. 42

Questions for your clinician

  • Is there a controlled trial for the skin or hair use I want?
  • Is an injectable GHK-Cu product different in risk from a cream?
  • What did the laser-resurfacing trial find on wrinkles and redness?

Questions people ask

Is copper tripeptide-1 FDA-approved?

Not as a drug. In cosmetics it is an ingredient that does not need approval. Injectable GHK-Cu has no approval and is sold as a research chemical. 1

Is copper tripeptide-1 the same as GHK-Cu?

Yes. Copper tripeptide-1 is the ingredient-label name for the copper complex of glycyl-histidyl-lysine. The same molecule is sold as GHK-Cu in research-chemical and injectable form. 1

Does it reduce wrinkles?

The only blinded human trial found no measurable gain in wrinkles or redness beyond the control regimen. It had 13 patients after laser treatment. Claims of wrinkle reduction come from manufacturer studies and cell work. 41

Why do people talk about collagen?

In cultured skin cells, GHK-Cu raises collagen and glycosaminoglycan production. It also tunes the enzymes that break collagen down. No controlled trial has shown that cream on intact skin reaches the dermis in large enough amounts to repeat that effect. 31

Citations

  1. Pickart 2015, BioMed Res Int: GHK peptide as a modulator of cellular pathways in skin regeneration, review doi.org
  2. Pickart 2017, Brain Sci: GHK gene-expression analyses, review doi.org
  3. Pickart 2008, J Biomater Sci Polym Ed: the human tripeptide GHK and tissue remodeling doi.org
  4. 2006, Arch Facial Plast Surg: topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin, randomized trial doi.org
  5. Park 2016, Oncotarget: GHK-Cu in lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury in mice doi.org

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