GHK-Cu
Copper tripeptide-1
Overview
On your INCI deck this active reads as Copper Tripeptide-1; on a peptide chemist's bench it is GHK-Cu, the Gly-His-Lys sequence chelating a single Cu(II) (CAS 89030-95-5, MW 340.39, originally identified in human plasma fractions in 1973). What matters at the formulation desk is what those facts mean for a serum, eye cream, or post-procedure ampoule on a launch calendar: a strikingly blue, water-soluble active that signals dermal-repair pathways at use levels measured in tenths of a percent, ships with a finished INCI dossier, and behaves predictably when you treat its copper coordination with respect. Pepoderma writes its GHK-Cu spec for the people doing the formulating. Recommended use level sits in the 0.05–0.5% window for leave-on serums and 0.1–1.0% for richer eye and recovery creams, dose-adjusted around the rest of the active stack. The water phase is the right home; carriers should be chelator-free (no EDTA, no strong AHA loading), kept in the pH 5.5–7.0 working range, and ordered so reductive antioxidants — ascorbate, glutathione, sulfite preservatives — sit on a different polarity layer or are dosed downstream. The active is a clean partner in anionic and non-ionic emulsions and tolerates most lecithin and polyglyceryl emulsifier systems; cationic bases (quat-stabilised conditioners, some scalp serums) sequester the copper and are worth a compatibility screen before commit. Sample sizes are sized for the way indie brands actually develop: 25 g for first-pass benchtop trials, 100 g to lock the carrier, 500 g to bridge into pilot batches, then bulk for production. Each shipment carries the INCI name, CAS, allergen and trace-impurity sheet for CPNP and equivalent cosmetic notifications, plus a formulation-notes card. Our cosmetic chemists' walk-through lives in the [GHK-Cu formulation guide](/journal/ghk-cu-cosmetic-formulation-guide).
Who buys this, and why
Anti-aging peptide actives — Copper Tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu), Acetyl Octapeptide-3 (SNAP-8), Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4 (Matrixyl) — ship primarily to indie beauty brand founders building retail serums, established skincare R&D chemists extending an existing anti-wrinkle line, and med-aesthetic brand OEMs developing back-bar retail products. The defining formulation considerations are use-level optimisation (lower is often better at the working pH), carrier selection (aqueous vs. lipid-encapsulated), and chelator-free preservative systems. The data packet ships with guidance on all three on the lot report.
Primary buyer fit: medical-aesthetic brand R&D + back-bar retail OEM, regional cosmetic-active distributors serving brand programmes, and skincare R&D chemists scoping a finished-product line.
Specifications
- CAS
- 89030-95-5
- Sequence
- GHK
- Appearance
- Blue lyophilized powder
- Purity (HPLC)
- ≥ 99.0%
- Common vial sizes
- 50 mg, 100 mg
- MOQ
- On request (bulk preferred for cosmetic OEM)
- Lead time
- 7–14 days
- Storage
- Refrigerated, protect from light
Documentation available on request
- Lot-specific Certificate of Analysis (CoA)
- RP-HPLC purity chromatogram
- ESI-MS identity confirmation
- INCI name + CAS reference
- Recommended use level + carrier guidance
- Stability in base formulation (aqueous serum baseline)
- Incompatibility flag list (chelators, low-pH oxidants, etc.)
- SDS / MSDS
- Photo-degradation note for the active
- Reconstitution guidance (BAC water / glycerin / lipid-encapsulated)
Regulatory note
GHK-Cu is supplied as a cosmetic-grade INCI ingredient (Copper Tripeptide-1), not for compounded human-use preparations, it is not on the FDA July 2026 PCAC 503A-bulks agenda. Cosmetic-grade material available for med-spa, beauty OEMs, and finished-product formulators worldwide; INCI name supplied on SDS for cosmetic-notification workflows (CPNP in EU, equivalent registries elsewhere).
Frequently asked questions
What use level should I start with in a serum or eye cream?▾
For a leave-on serum, most published cosmetic formulations land between 0.05% and 0.5% on a finished-mass basis; a sensible starting point for a hero-claim serum is 0.1% with room to titrate up. Eye and recovery creams that lean on the dermal-repair narrative typically sit between 0.1% and 1.0%, with the upper end reserved for night-only or post-procedure pots where buyers expect a richer feel and a noticeable colour cast. The colour itself is a feature you can lean into editorially or mute with opaque packaging — both choices are valid, but pick one before you finalise the bottle so marketing and formulation are aligned.
Which carrier systems and emulsifiers play nicely with Copper Tripeptide-1?▾
Add the active to the water phase late in the cool-down, ideally below 40 °C, using copper-clean process water and a buffer that holds pH between 5.5 and 7.0 (citrate is fine at low loading, phosphate is preferable above pH 6). It performs reliably in anionic and non-ionic emulsions built on polyglyceryl, lecithin, and sucrose-ester emulsifiers, and slots into hydrogels based on hydroxyethylcellulose or sclerotium gum. Cationic systems — quat-stabilised conditioners, some occlusive scalp bases — will pull the copper off the peptide and turn the formula colourless within hours, so route those programmes through an INCI-equivalent peptide instead or run a compatibility screen first. Avoid co-formulating with high-load EDTA, ascorbic acid above 5%, or sulfite preservatives in the same phase.
What sample sizes and lead times are available for a brand build?▾
Sample fills are 25 g for first-pass bench trials (enough to take a base recipe through three or four iterations), 100 g once you are locking the carrier and starting stability, and 500 g for pilot scale-up into pre-production batches. Sample shipments leave within five business days of inquiry approval; bulk fills for confirmed brand programmes run on a 21–45 day cycle depending on packaging spec. Every shipment carries the INCI name, CAS, an allergen and impurity statement for CPNP and equivalent cosmetic-product notifications, and a one-page formulation-notes card so the chemist who opens the box has the answers in front of them, not in a separate PDF.
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