FAQ · Cosmetic peptides
What is GHK-Cu?
The molecule
GHK is a three-amino-acid peptide: glycine, histidine, lysine. It chelates copper with very high affinity, forming the GHK-Cu complex. The copper-bound form has biological signal-peptide activity that the free GHK does not replicate. The complex is the active form in cosmetic and wound-care research.
What the literature shows
- · In-vitro: upregulates collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis in cultured skin cells.
- · Animal models: accelerates wound healing in rats and mice.
- · Small human trials (mostly industry-funded): skin firmness, barrier repair, and elasticity improvements.
- · Large independent RCTs on cosmetic outcomes are limited.
Where to find it in UK products
Stocked across Cult Beauty, LookFantastic, Boots, Space NK, Beauty Pie, and Amazon UK. The most-cited UK products are The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1 percent, Niod CAIS 2, Medik8 Liquid Peptides, and Skin Biology Super Cop. INCI position matters more than brand: top-8 INCI position is meaningful concentration; bottom-third is trace.
Related: Copper peptide hub · Best UK GHK-Cu serums · The Pickart hypothesis.