GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring copper-binding tripeptide with a development status of "cosmetic use / preclinical". The Institute rates the strength of its published evidence as moderate. A copper-binding tripeptide found in human plasma, extensively studied in skin-repair and cosmetic contexts.
Commercial availability of GHK-Cu continues to run ahead of its regulatory status. That is the recurring structural feature of this market: demand arrives when trial data is published, and supply arrives from channels that answer to nobody in particular.
The practical consequence for buyers is that a headline about promising results tends to be followed within weeks by a wave of new sellers, and the quality of that wave is not correlated with the quality of the science that prompted it.
The Institute has independently tested 4 GHK-Cu samples from 4 companies. 75% met their label claims on purity and content. Measured purity ranged from 69.1% to 98.8%, averaging 90.7%. 1 sample failed verification outright. Every specimen is published in full, including the laboratory that ran it.
The Peptide Institute is an independent research institute. We do not sell products, we do not accept vendor sponsorship, and we publish results that reflect badly on companies as readily as results that do not.
