Collagen & skin

GHK-Cu Dosage Chart and Calculator: Cosmetic and Study Doses

GHK-Cu dosage chart: units per dose by vial size, a calculator, the under-10-ppm cosmetic concentration, and what published topical studies used.

Written bySebastian Hunter, Founder and EditorI'm a 42-year-old senior advisor and distance runner who came to peptides as a sceptic. I'm not a doctor: I read the research, run my own experiment and keep honest notes. Read full bio

Published September 27, 2026

The short version

GHK-Cu has no FDA-approved dose, because it is sold as a cosmetic ingredient, not a drug. The industry safety review that assessed it found typical cosmetic use concentrations under 10 parts per million. Published studies used it in a post-laser skin cream, a rabbit wound test and an in vitro skin-penetration test at 0.68%. Most did not report the exact strength or how often it was applied. Injectable protocols sold by some vendors are not backed by any published human study.

Not a drug dose: the cosmetic safety review found typical use under 10 ppm.
The human and animal wound studies mostly do not state the exact concentration used.
One in vitro study measured skin penetration using 0.68% aqueous copper tripeptide.
Injectable GHK-Cu protocols sold online are not supported by any published human study.
The dosage chart and calculator on this page do the vial arithmetic (units per dose by vial size). They do not make an injectable dose evidence-based.

GHK-Cu dosage chart

Units on a U-100 insulin syringe across the common GHK-Cu range, by vial size - common practice, not a dose established in trials.

50 mg vialwith 2 mL water

Dose	Units	Volume	Doses per vial
1 mg	4 units	0.04 mL	50
1.2 mg	5 units	0.05 mL	41
1.4 mg	5.5 units	0.055 mL	35
1.6 mg	6.5 units	0.065 mL	31
1.8 mg	7 units	0.07 mL	27
2 mg	8 units	0.08 mL	25

Full 50 mg vial page: other water volumes, mixing, storage →

100 mg vialwith 5 mL water

Dose	Units	Volume	Doses per vial
1 mg	5 units	0.05 mL	100
1.2 mg	6 units	0.06 mL	83
1.4 mg	7 units	0.07 mL	71
1.6 mg	8 units	0.08 mL	62
1.8 mg	9 units	0.09 mL	55
2 mg	10 units	0.1 mL	50

Full 100 mg vial page: other water volumes, mixing, storage →

U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL), to the nearest half unit. Arithmetic only. Other numbers: peptide calculator.

GHK-Cu has no approved dose, because it has no approved drug product. It is sold as a cosmetic ingredient. This page reports the concentration range the cosmetic industry’s own safety reviewers found in real products, plus what the published topical and animal studies used. For the wider evidence picture and legal status, see the main GHK-Cu guide.

US legal status - Cosmetic

Sold lawfully as a cosmetic ingredient (Copper Tripeptide-1). Cosmetics are not FDA-approved before sale and have no FDA-set dose.

AU legal status - Cosmetic

Regulated as an industrial chemical for cosmetic use, not a therapeutic good, at cosmetic-strength concentrations.

Regulators reach their own conclusions on their own timelines. Where these two disagree, the difference is the point - not an error.

GHK-Cu dosage: cosmetic concentration used

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel’s 2014 safety assessment of copper tripeptide-1 and related peptides reviewed industry concentration data directly. It states that typical use concentrations of these ingredients in cosmetics are under 10 parts per million (ppm).

It also records one industry submission describing peptide use in cosmetics at concentrations between 1 and 30 ppm. That submission calls under-10-ppm use “customary.” A related industry survey found product concentrations for these peptides from about 0.0000001% up to 0.002%, depending on the ingredient and product type.

GHK-Cu doses used in published studies

The published record is thinner on exact numbers than the marketing around GHK-Cu suggests.

Study	Design	What it reports about dose
Post-laser skin study Miller 2006 - Miller TR, Wagner JD, Baack BR et al. Effects of topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2006;8(4):252-9., in the references below	Randomized, 13 completers, post-treatment regimen with or without GHK-Cu after CO2 laser resurfacing, evaluated at 12 weeks	Concentration of the cream and application frequency are not stated in the published abstract
Rabbit wound study Cangul 2006 - Cangul IT, Gul NY, Topal A et al. Evaluation of the effects of topical tripeptide-copper complex and zinc oxide on open-wound healing in rabbits. Vet Dermatol. 2006;17(6):417-23., in the references below	18 rabbits, full-thickness wounds, topical tripeptide-copper complex vs zinc oxide vs control, daily application for 21 days	Concentration of the complex applied is not stated in the published abstract
Human skin penetration (in vitro) Hostynek 2011 - Hostynek JJ, Dreher F, Maibach HI. Human skin penetration of a copper tripeptide in vitro as a function of skin layer. Inflamm Res. 2011;60(1):79-86., in the references below	Excised human stratum corneum, epidermis and dermatomed skin in flow-through diffusion cells, receptor fluid sampled over 48 hours	0.68% aqueous copper tripeptide applied as the test permeant - a penetration measurement, not an efficacy dose

Injectable and subcutaneous protocols: not established

Some vendor and telehealth pages publish specific injectable GHK-Cu dosing figures. One example is Rx.com’s dosing guide, fetched for this page. It lists a dose of 1-2 mg injected daily or three times a week, and describes the peptides it discusses as “research peptides” not approved by the FDA.

That framing conflicts with GHK-Cu’s actual US legal status as a cosmetic ingredient. I could not locate any published human study that injected or infused GHK-Cu into a person. No regulator or trial established those figures, and nothing here is a recommendation to use them.

What is not established

No FDA-approved dose exists, because GHK-Cu is not an approved drug and cosmetics are not dose-approved before sale.
Most published studies do not state the exact concentration or frequency used, so there is no single “the study dose” to repeat.
No published human study of injected or subcutaneous GHK-Cu was located, so injectable protocols circulating online are not evidence-based figures.
No human systemic half-life is established for GHK-Cu; see the main guide for why that question is still open for a topical ingredient.

How to reconstitute GHK-Cu

Concentration or draw-volume arithmetic for any product, including a vendor-sold concentrate, depends on the specific vial and diluent, which this page cannot know. The dosage calculator handles that arithmetic. It does not supply or endorse a dose, and using it does not change the fact that no injectable dose of GHK-Cu is established.

Who should not use it

Anyone with a known allergy to copper or peptides, or a previous copper-peptide cosmetic reaction, should avoid it. Because cosmetics are not FDA-reviewed before sale, purity and concentration in a finished product depend entirely on the manufacturer. That verification does not exist at all for concentrate or vial products marketed online for self-injection, which is also outside GHK-Cu’s cosmetic legal status.

GHK-Cu side effects and risks

The CIR review that assessed cosmetic-strength use found no safety concern at the low concentrations and negative test data it reviewed. That conclusion applies to topical cosmetic use at cosmetic concentrations, not to an injected product at an unverified strength from an unverified source. Skin irritation or an allergic reaction to a topical product is possible with any cosmetic ingredient. Nothing on this page establishes the safety of injecting GHK-Cu.

GHK-Cu dosage calculator

Preset to a 50 mg vial and 1,000 mcg, the low end of the common protocol. Enter your own vial size, water and dose to get the syringe units to draw.

Your vial

Peptide in vial (mg)

Printed on the vial. There is no standard size - enter what yours says.

Bacteriostatic water added (mL)

This changes how much you draw - never how many doses the vial holds.

Desired dose (mcg)

Syringe scale

100 units per mL. 1 unit = 0.01 mL. This is what almost every insulin syringe sold is, in every barrel size.

Barrel size

Capacity only. A 1 mL U-100 syringe holds 100 units - the scale decides that, not the barrel.

Draw this much

4units

= 0.04 mL on a 1 mL U-100 syringe

Concentration: 25,000 mcg/mL
Exact volume: 0.04 mL
Dose you actually get: 1,000 mcg
Doses per vial(unaffected by water volume): 50

Where to buy GHK-Cu

GHK-Cu is sold legally as a cosmetic ingredient in copper peptide serums and creams, but no GHK-Cu drug is FDA-approved. The Ordinary's 1% copper peptide serum costs $32 for 30 mL (as of 3 October 2026).

Every route for GHK-Cu, with dated prices and its legal status →

Research vials of GHK-Cu (labelled not for human use)

A research vial is not the cosmetic, supplement or clinic product above. It is labelled not for human use, and the seller chooses how each batch is tested.

1.Next Level Pharm
50 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
- Batch COAs published
- Takes card payment
$24.99as of 3 October 2026
View product →My Next Level Pharm review
2.Spartan Peptides
50 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
$179.00as of 3 October 2026
View product →My Spartan Peptides review
3.BioEdge Research Labs
50 mg vial
- No FDA warning letter found
- Names its testing lab
- Batch COAs published
$39.00as of 3 October 2026
View product →My BioEdge Research Labs review

Research GHK-Cu capsules

Taken by mouth, and a different product from the vial: ask for a COA for the capsule batch.

BioEdge Research Labs: 2 mg capsules, 60 count$109.00 as of 3 October 2026 View →

How research-labelled GHK-Cu differs, and what FDA has said →

See all vendors and how they compare →

Common questions

What concentration of GHK-Cu do cosmetic products actually use?

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review safety assessment of copper tripeptide-1 and related peptides (2014) states that typical use concentrations in cosmetics are under 10 parts per million. It also notes one industry submission describing peptide use between 1 and 30 ppm, with under 10 ppm called customary. A separate industry survey found related peptides used at about 0.0000001% up to 0.002% in specific product types. None of this is a treatment dose. It describes what finished cosmetic formulas contain.

Is there an FDA-approved dose of GHK-Cu?

No. GHK-Cu is sold as a cosmetic ingredient (Copper Tripeptide-1), and FDA does not approve cosmetics or set a dose for them before sale. There is no FDA-approved drug dose for GHK-Cu at any concentration or route.

What dose did the human study of topical GHK-Cu use?

A randomized study gave patients a post-treatment skin regimen with or without GHK-Cu after CO2 laser resurfacing, evaluating erythema and wrinkles at 12 weeks in 13 completers. The published abstract does not state the cream's concentration or how often it was applied, so this page does not invent a number.

What dose was used in the animal wound-healing study?

A rabbit open-wound study applied topical tripeptide-copper complex daily for 21 days to full-thickness wounds, compared against zinc oxide and an untreated control. The published abstract does not state the concentration used. This is a rabbit wound model, not a human cosmetic-use result.

Is injectable or subcutaneous GHK-Cu dosing established?

No. I could not locate a published human study of injected or subcutaneous GHK-Cu. Some telehealth and vendor pages, for example Rx.com, publish specific injectable milligram figures and describe the compounds they discuss as research chemicals not approved by the FDA. That framing conflicts with GHK-Cu's actual US legal status as a cosmetic ingredient. No regulator or trial established those figures, and they are not repeated here as usable numbers.

Who should not use GHK-Cu, and what are the risks?

Anyone with a known copper or peptide allergy, or a reaction to a previous copper-peptide product, should not use it. FDA does not review cosmetics before sale, so purity and concentration depend on the manufacturer. Concentrate or vial products sold online for self-injection carry no verified purity, sterility or concentration at all. Stop use on any sign of irritation, rash or allergic reaction.

When should I stop and get medical care?

In the US, call 911 for a severe allergic reaction, facial or throat swelling, difficulty breathing, or any symptom that feels dangerous, especially after an injected product. For a skin reaction or exposure you are unsure about, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (verify this number at poisonhelp.hrsa.gov or poison.org). This is not a substitute for a clinician who knows your history.

References (5 sources)

Bibliographic detail is fetched from PubMed, not written by me - so a citation here cannot drift from the paper it names. Study design comes from PubMed's own tags rather than my judgement.