GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser
GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser from Ion Peptide, built on GHK-Cu (inj/oral). Below: what's in it, whether the active actually reaches the layer it needs to, where it goes in a routine, and what to expect.
GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser at a glance
| Sold by | Ion Peptide |
| Where it goes | Cleanse |
| Key active | GHK-Cu (inj/oral) |
Does GHK-Cu (inj/oral) actually work on skin?
This is a different question from whether it works injected, and the answer is often different too — a molecule has to survive the stratum corneum before any of its biology matters. Full GHK-Cu (inj/oral) breakdown →
Human clinical evidence
- The best-evidenced peptide in this section for topical use, and unusually it is evidenced as a topical specifically rather than borrowed from injection studies. Controlled work reports increased collagen and elastin, improved skin firmness and reduced fine lines over 12 weeks in facial creams, and improved wound closure in dermatology settings.
Correlative data
- Decades of use in cosmetic dermatology, and one of very few peptides that survived from prescription wound care into ordinary skincare on the strength of results rather than marketing.
- Scalp use for density is widespread and reported experience is positive but slow — months, not weeks — and far less dramatic than minoxidil.
How the mechanism reads
- A copper-binding tripeptide (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) at about 340 Da — small enough to actually cross the stratum corneum, which is why it works topically when larger peptides do not. It upregulates collagen I, III and IV and elastin, signals metalloproteinase remodelling, and delivers copper as a cofactor for lysyl oxidase, the enzyme that cross-links collagen.
- The copper is the caveat. It is what makes it work and also what makes it stain, oxidise and interact badly with direct vitamin C in the same layer. Separate them by routine, AM and PM.
How to use GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser
Step 1 — Cleanse
First step, AM and PM. A cleanser is contact-time-limited by definition — most of the active rinses away, so judge it as a cleanser, not as a treatment.
What to expect, and when
Immediate cleanse; do not expect peptide effects.
What not to layer with GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser
- GHK-Cu (inj/oral) + Vitamin C — Copper peptides and direct (L-ascorbic) vitamin C deactivate each other. Not dangerous — just wasteful. Split them: vitamin C in the morning, copper peptide at night.
Where to get GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser
Buy GHK-Cu Facial Cleanser at Ion Peptide →Other GHK-Cu (inj/oral) products in the Vault
The rest of the routine
Every cosmetic in the Vault is free to read — mechanism, evidence, layering and where to buy, no login. What the Academy adds is the compound side: 237 peptides and small molecules with dosing, cycling and the protocols that use them.
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