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Research use only · common protocol

GHK-Cu 50 mg vial dosage

A 50 mg GHK-Cu vial mixed with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water gives 25 mg/mL, so 1.5 mg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. At 1.5 mg a dose, one vial holds 33 doses.

Email me this plan, with a reminder before the vial's 28-day mark →

The common GHK-Cu protocol is 1-2 mg, once daily, before bed - common practice, not a dose established in trials. Evidence, side effects and legal status are on the full GHK-Cu dosing page.

GHK-Cu 50 mg vial at a glance

Vial
50 mg of GHK-Cu per vial
Common dose
1-2 mg
How often
once daily, before bed
Mixing example
2 mL bacteriostatic water = 25 mg/mL; 1 unit = 250 mcg
Doses per vial
50 at 1 mg · 33 at 1.5 mg · 25 at 2 mg
Cycle
4 weeks, then 4 weeks off

What GHK-Cu is

Class:
Copper tripeptide (carrier peptide)
Also called:
Copper Tripeptide-1, Copper peptide, Cu-GHK, Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper(II)
Used for:
Topical cosmetic anti-aging - fine lines, skin density and firmness, elasticity, photodamage, hyperpigmentation - and wound healing. Also marketed in hair-loss cosmetics.
Human evidence:
Limited human data. Small topical human studies (41-71 women) plus broad animal and mechanistic data. Critically, the three human studies anchoring most consumer claims are not peer-reviewed journal articles: a 2002 conference presentation, a 2002 university report, and a 2005 book chapter. The randomized human trials indexed in PubMed are few, old, mixed and all in wounded skin - ulcers or freshly laser-resurfaced skin - rather than ordinary skin: a 1994 trial in diabetic foot ulcers found a GHK-Cu gel closed plantar ulcers better than an inactive gel (median closure 98.5% against 60.8%); a 1992 trial in venous leg ulcers found a copper tripeptide cream no better than placebo; and a 2006 trial on laser-resurfaced skin was negative on its objective endpoints. I could not locate a human randomized trial more recent than 2006. Systemic effects are not established. This is not "multiple RCTs and meta-analyses".
US status:
Cosmetic. Used lawfully in the US as a cosmetic ingredient under the INCI name Copper Tripeptide-1. US cosmetics are not subject to FDA pre-market approval, so "not FDA-approved" is not a meaningful criticism here - it is true of every cosmetic on the shelf. Absent entirely from the WADA 2026 Prohibited List.

The full picture, with every study: GHK-Cu guide.

Units per dose: GHK-Cu 50 mg vial

Water addedConcentration1 unit =1 mg1.5 mg2 mg
2 mL25 mg/mL250 mcg4 units6 units8 units
3 mL16.67 mg/mL166.67 mcg6 units9 units12 units
5 mL10 mg/mL100 mcg10 units15 units20 units

U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL), to the nearest half unit. Water volumes are examples. Other numbers: dosage calculator.

Every dose from 1 mg to 2 mg, in units

With 2 mL of water in a 50 mg vial (25 mg/mL). Every dose across the common range, so you can read off any dose. The sources give a range, not a week-by-week schedule.

DoseDraw on a U-100 syringeVolumeDoses per vial
1 mg4 units0.04 mL50
1.2 mg5 units0.05 mL41
1.4 mg5.5 units0.055 mL35
1.6 mg6.5 units0.065 mL31
1.8 mg7 units0.07 mL27
2 mg8 units0.08 mL25

How many doses a 50 mg vial holds

DoseDoses per vialWeeks per vial
1 mg507.1
1.5 mg334.7
2 mg253.6

Weeks per vial at the common frequency (once daily, before bed). Doses per vial do not depend on how much water you add.

Email me my GHK-Cu 50 mg vial plan

Pick your water volume and dose and I will email you the numbers for this vial - units, volume, doses per vial and how long it lasts - plus the mixing and storage steps, and a reminder before the mixed vial reaches 28 days.

Your email stays with me at Peptide Decode: I never share or sell it (privacy policy). The plan repeats this page's arithmetic for the dose you pick; it is not medical advice. Unsubscribe from any email.

The common GHK-Cu protocol

Dose1-2 mg per injection
How oftenonce daily, before bed
TimingBefore bed.
RouteSubcutaneous injection
Cycle4 weeks
Break4 weeks
Sources agree?Yes, the sources give the same protocol

Common practice from the vendors and clinics that publish it, not a dose tested in trials. Where it comes from: [1], [2]. I do not give week-by-week titration: none of these sources states one.

Supplies for one cycle with 50 mg vials

Counted for the low and high ends of the common protocol, mixing each vial with 2 mL of water. One new syringe per injection.

PlanInjections50 mg vialsInsulin syringesBacteriostatic waterAlcohol swabs
1 mg, 7×/week, 4 weeks281282 mL (1 × 10 mL bottle)58 (1 × 100-pack)
2 mg, 7×/week, 4 weeks282284 mL (1 × 10 mL bottle)60 (1 × 100-pack)

Arithmetic on the protocol and this vial size. Swabs: two per vial mixed (both stoppers) and two per injection (vial stopper and skin). An opened multi-dose vial has a use-by date (see storage), which on a slow schedule can matter more than the dose count. Plan your own numbers with the protocol builder.

How to mix a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial

For this vial: 2 mL of bacteriostatic water makes 25 mg/mL, so 1.5 mg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. Pick a different volume from the units table if you want bigger or smaller draws; the number of doses stays the same.

  1. Wipe the rubber stoppers of both the peptide vial and the bacteriostatic water vial with an alcohol swab and let the alcohol dry. [3][4]
  2. With a new sterile needle and syringe, draw up the amount of bacteriostatic water you have chosen for the dilution. [3][4][5]
  3. Inject the water into the peptide vial by aiming the stream against the inside glass wall, which helps prevent foaming. [6]
  4. Swirl or roll the vial gently until the powder has fully dissolved; do not shake it. Do not inject the solution if it is cloudy or has particles in it. [3][4][6]
  5. Label the vial with the date and time it was mixed, the amount of water added and how long it can be used after mixing. [3]
  6. Store the mixed vial in the refrigerator at 2-8°C (36-46°F) and do not freeze it. [6]

Step by step with pictures: how to reconstitute peptides. About the water itself: bacteriostatic water.

Storing GHK-Cu vials

  • Freeze-dried (lyophilized) peptide keeps far longer than peptide in solution; peptide suppliers advise storing the powder at -20°C away from bright light. [7]
  • Protect peptide vials from heat and light. [7][8]
  • Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles; a prescription peptide label also says not to freeze a vial once it has been mixed. [6][7]
  • Once a multi-dose vial, such as bacteriostatic water, has been opened (needle-punctured), date it and discard it within 28 days unless its manufacturer states another date. [9][10]

More detail: peptide storage and shelf life.

Injecting safely

  • Clean the injection site with an alcohol swab and let the skin dry completely before injecting. [11][12]
  • Pinch up a fold of skin and fat (not muscle) and insert the needle at a 45- to 90-degree angle: 90 degrees where there is enough fatty tissue, 45 degrees where there is little. [11][12][13]
  • Pulling back on the plunger (aspiration) is not necessary for a subcutaneous injection, because the chance of the needle being in a blood vessel is small. [11]
  • Inject slowly, at roughly 10 seconds per mL. [11]
  • Common sites are the belly, the thigh and the upper arm; rotate sites, keeping each injection at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the last. [6][11][12]

Hygiene and warning signs

  • Use a new sterile needle and syringe for every injection and every time you enter a vial; never reuse them. [5][9][12]
  • Never share needles, syringes or pens with anyone, even if the needle is changed; unsafe injection practices spread hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. [5][8][9]
  • Put used needles and syringes in a sharps disposal container straight away (FDA-cleared if possible), never loose in the trash, recycling or toilet, and dispose of the container following your community's guidelines. [14][15]
  • Contact a health care provider if the injection site shows signs of infection, such as redness, swelling, red streaks or a fever. [12]

Where to inject: subcutaneous injection sites.

How GHK-Cu works

  • GHK is a three-amino-acid peptide (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) that occurs naturally in human blood. Blood levels average about 200 ng/ml at age 20 and about 80 ng/ml by age 60. It binds copper very tightly, forming the complex GHK-Cu. [16]
  • In a 1980 lab study, GHK readily formed complexes with copper and increased copper uptake into cultured liver-tumour cells, leading the authors to propose that it acts as a copper carrier. Its copper-binding strength is similar to the copper transport site on albumin. [17][18]
  • Reviews by Loren Pickart, who first isolated GHK and whose listed affiliation is a skincare company's research department, propose that it stimulates both the building and breakdown of collagen and related skin molecules and adjusts the enzymes that remodel tissue. These are the review authors' proposals rather than effects confirmed in controlled human trials. [18][19]

What the GHK-Cu research found

Human evidence: limited human data. Each result says what was studied.

  • Human studyIn a multicentre, randomised, evaluator-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in people with diabetes and neuropathic foot ulcers, a GHK-Cu gel gave a median closure of plantar ulcers of 98.5% against 60.8% with the inactive gel. Where the gel was started straight after the wound was cleaned, fewer ulcers became infected (7% against 34%). [20]
  • Human studyIn a randomised, evaluator-blinded trial in venous leg ulcers (86 people completed), a 0.4% copper tripeptide cream did no better than an inactive cream; only the silver sulfadiazine comparison cream reduced ulcer size. [21]
  • Human studyIn a randomised study after CO2 laser resurfacing (13 people completed), adding GHK-Cu skincare did not speed the fading of redness or improve wrinkles or skin quality more than skincare without it on blinded and computer assessment, although patients using it reported higher satisfaction. [22]
  • Animal studyIn 18 rabbits with open skin wounds, a tripeptide-copper complex applied daily left a significantly smaller unhealed area than no treatment at days 7, 14 and 21. [23]
  • Lab studyOn excised human skin in the lab, a 0.68% copper tripeptide solution delivered copper through thin sliced (dermatomed) skin over 48 hours, with a further amount held in the skin as a reservoir. [24]

GHK-Cu side effects and risks

No published study has recorded systematic human safety data for injected GHK-Cu, and the abstracts of the small topical and wound trials report no adverse-event data.

  • Lab studyIn early cell-culture work, GHK at nanomolar concentrations produced effects ranging from growth stimulation to outright toxicity depending on the cell system, and its effects on liver-tumour cells were greatest when copper and iron were added. [17]

Other things to know

  • The dominant review literature is authored by Loren Pickart, who both discovered GHK in 1973 and is the commercial proponent behind GHK-Cu skincare (Skin Biology). All three authors of the most-cited review are affiliated with that company, while the paper declares no conflict of interests.
  • The human studies most often cited for it are conference proceedings, a university report and a book chapter - not peer-reviewed papers. Effect sizes circulating on vendor and skincare blogs for supposed recent GHK-Cu trials could not be traced to any primary source, so I do not repeat them.
  • The most recent randomized human trial of topical GHK-Cu indexed in PubMed, from 2006, was negative on its objective endpoints, and I could not locate a later one. It was small (13 completers) and ran on laser-resurfaced rather than ordinary skin, so it is not a verdict - but it is the opposite of what the marketing implies. Two older wound trials split: positive in diabetic foot ulcers (1994), no better than placebo in venous leg ulcers (1992).
  • Whether GHK-Cu penetrates to the viable dermis at cosmetic concentrations in living skin has apparently never been resolved. Its 340 Da mass is permissive, but its extreme hydrophilicity and polarity strongly disfavor passive penetration.
  • Systemic effects are not established, and there is no human systemic pharmacokinetic data. A cosmetic ingredient is not characterized by a systemic half-life.
  • A cosmetic may only make appearance claims. Any product claiming to change the structure or function of skin is making a drug claim.

Reported side effects and what the studies measured: GHK-Cu side effects.

Where this vial size comes from

GHK-Cu is sold as a 50 mg vial by the pages below, each checked on the date shown. I list them as evidence that this size exists, not as a recommendation to buy from them.

  • Spartan PeptidesvendorLists it as: GHK-Cu Copper Peptide 50mg; size : 50mg · checked 2026-09-28
  • Loti LabsvendorLists it as: GHK-Cu 50mg · checked 2026-09-28
  • Next Level PharmvendorLists it as: Size dropdown options: 50mg / 100mg · checked 2026-09-28

The doses come from the sourced common protocol on the GHK-Cu dosing page, and every number on this page is arithmetic on those doses and this vial size.

Other GHK-Cu vial sizes

Questions

How much water do I add to a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial?
There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 2 mL the vial is 25 mg/mL and 1.5 mg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 2, 3, 5 mL.
How many doses are in a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial?
50 doses at 1 mg, 33 doses at 1.5 mg, 25 doses at 2 mg.
How long does a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial last?
At 1.5 mg a dose and once daily, about 4.7 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.
How many 50 mg vials do I need for a cycle?
1 vial at 1 mg 7 times a week for 4 weeks; 2 vials at 2 mg 7 times a week for 4 weeks.
What does 1 unit equal in a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial?
250 mcg with 2 mL, 166.67 mcg with 3 mL, 100 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

References (27 sources)

  1. [1] PerfectB: Medical provider's 30-day cycle: 1 mg/day subcutaneous days 1-15, 2 mg/day days 16-30, before bed; 50 mg vial + 2 mL BAC water = 25 mg/mL (4 units = 1 mg) (clinic, checked 2026-09-28)
  2. [2] Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center: 1 mg subcutaneous once daily days 1-15, increasing to 2 mg once daily days 16-30, then a 30-day rest; practical range 0.5-3 mg/day; 50 mg or 100 mg vial (clinic, checked 2026-09-28)
  3. [3] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.3 Preparing Unit-Dose Packaged Medications - Clinical Nursing Skills
  4. [4] East Carolina University College of Nursing: Reconstitution of Medication
  5. [5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Considerations for Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration
  6. [6] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: SEROSTIM (somatropin) for injection - prescribing information and instructions for use
  7. [7] GenScript: Peptide Storage and Handling Guidelines
  8. [8] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: OZEMPIC (semaglutide) injection - prescribing information
  9. [9] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices
  10. [10] Pfizer: Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP - prescribing information
  11. [11] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.5 Administering Subcutaneous Injections - Clinical Nursing Skills
  12. [12] MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine: Subcutaneous (SQ) injections
  13. [13] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Chapter 6: Vaccine Administration - Pink Book
  14. [14] US Food and Drug Administration: Best Way to Get Rid of Used Needles and Other Sharps
  15. [15] US Food and Drug Administration: DOs and DON'Ts of Proper Sharps Disposal
  16. [16] Dou Y, Lee A, Zhu L et al. The potential of GHK as an anti-aging peptide. Aging Pathobiol Ther. 2020;2(1):58-61.
  17. [17] Pickart L, Freedman JH, Loker WJ et al. Growth-modulating plasma tripeptide may function by facilitating copper uptake into cells. Nature. 1980;288(5792):715-7.
  18. [18] Pickart L. The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2008;19(8):969-88.
  19. [19] Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:648108.
  20. [20] Mulder GD, Patt LM, Sanders L et al. Enhanced healing of ulcers in patients with diabetes by topical treatment with glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine copper. Wound Repair Regen. 1994;2(4):259-69.
  21. [21] Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA et al. A prospective randomized evaluator-blinded trial of two potential wound healing agents for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers. J Vasc Surg. 1992;16(2):251-7.
  22. [22] 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.
  23. [23] 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.
  24. [24] 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.
  25. [25] Errante F, Ledwoń P, Latajka R et al. Cosmeceutical Peptides in the Framework of Sustainable Wellness Economy. Front Chem. 2020;8:572923.
  26. [26] Nukaly HY, Halawani IR, Irtaza HM et al. Oral and topical peptides for skin aging: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Front Med (Lausanne). 2026;13:1618306.
  27. [27] Bos JD, Meinardi MM. The 500 Dalton rule for the skin penetration of chemical compounds and drugs. Exp Dermatol. 2000;9(3):165-9.