Beyond GHK-Cu: The Science Behind the Rest of Our Formulas

Niacinamide, ceramides, squalane, jojoba, adenosine, panthenol, collagen and the supporting peptides. What else is in koppā skincare, how much of it, and why it is there.

GHK-Cu gets most of the attention, and that makes sense. It is the reason koppā exists. But no skincare product is one ingredient. Everything around the active decides how a formula feels, how well your skin holds on to water, and how comfortable it stays with daily use.

Plenty of those supporting ingredients have research histories of their own, some with controlled human trials behind them. Here is what is in our three products besides copper peptides, what the research says, and why the three formulas are built so differently.

One label note before we start: GHK-Cu appears on our ingredient lists under its INCI name, Copper Tripeptide-1.

At a glance

Niacinamide: the best-researched ingredient on the list

If you only read one section, make it this one.

Niacinamide, also called nicotinamide, is a form of vitamin B3. It is one of the few supporting ingredients in skincare with controlled human trials behind it, and those trials looked at exactly the things people care about as skin ages.

In a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in 2004, 50 women aged 40 to 60 applied a moisturizer containing 5% niacinamide to one side of the face and the same moisturizer without it to the other. Compared with the control side, the niacinamide side showed significant improvements in fine lines and wrinkles, dark spots, texture, red blotchiness and yellowing. A 2005 paper from the same research team, using the same split-face design in 50 women, also reported improved skin elasticity.

Those trials used 5% niacinamide, the same level in our Advanced Capsule Cream. Your results still depend on the whole formula and on using it consistently, but this is evidence from controlled human research, not from marketing.

Where you'll find it: koppā Advanced Capsule Cream, with 5% niacinamide alongside 0.5% GHK-Cu.

Research: Bissett et al., 2004^[1] and Bissett et al., 2005^[2].

Adenosine: the cream's quiet extra

Adenosine is a small molecule found in every cell in the body. It is one of the building blocks of ATP, the molecule cells run on. In skincare it is used for smoother-looking skin.

South Korea's cosmetics regulator recognizes adenosine as a wrinkle-care ingredient at 0.04%. Our Advanced Capsule Cream contains 0.1%, working alongside the niacinamide.

Where you'll find it: koppā Advanced Capsule Cream.

Research: Abella, 2006^[3].

Ceramides: the skin barrier's mortar

The outer layer of skin is often compared to a brick wall. Skin cells are the bricks, and a mix of lipids forms the mortar between them. Ceramides make up a large share of that mortar, together with cholesterol and free fatty acids. When the mortar runs low, water escapes faster and skin turns dry, rough and easily irritated.

Our Copper Peptide Serum contains two ceramides. Ceramide NP is one of the most abundant ceramides in healthy human skin. Ceramide EOP belongs to a group called acylceramides, which have an unusually long fatty chain and play a particular part in how the lipid layers stack together.

A 2021 review in the Journal of Dermatology brought together the clinical studies on ceramide-containing formulations and found they help skin retain water and support barrier function, with results depending on which ceramides are used and how the product is built. In our serum they sit alongside several water-binding ingredients, so the formula hydrates and conditions as well as delivering copper peptides.

If your barrier is already struggling, our guide to repairing a damaged skin barrier covers the routine side.

Where you'll find them: koppā Copper Peptide Serum.

Research: Kono, Miyachi and Kawashima, 2021^[4].

Panthenol: decades of barrier research

Panthenol is provitamin B5, and dermatology products have used it for decades. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study published in 2000, topical dexpanthenol improved hydration of the stratum corneum and reduced transepidermal water loss over seven days. Transepidermal water loss, or TEWL, is the water that passes through skin and evaporates, and it is one of the main ways researchers measure barrier function. Two later randomized studies of a panthenol-containing emollient looked at moisturization and barrier restoration with positive results.

Our serum contains 0.3% panthenol. Most of the clinical work uses higher levels, so in our formula it plays a supporting conditioning role rather than a headline one.

Where you'll find it: koppā Copper Peptide Serum.

Research: Gehring and Gloor, 2000^[5] and Stettler et al., 2017^[6].

Glycerin: the ingredient that never gets the headlines

Glycerin is about as unglamorous as skincare gets, and it is still one of the most useful things in the bottle. It is a humectant, meaning it draws water into the outer layer of skin and holds it there. Your skin also makes its own glycerol as part of keeping itself hydrated.

A 2008 review in the British Journal of Dermatology found its benefits go well beyond surface moisture, with effects on barrier function, skin elasticity and resilience against irritants. Some ingredients stay in almost every formula for decades simply because they work.

Our Advanced Capsule Cream contains 5% glycerin, and our Copper Peptide Serum contains 2%. The cream carries more because it is the moisturizer of the range.

Where you'll find it: koppā Advanced Capsule Cream and Copper Peptide Serum.

Research: Fluhr, Darlenski and Surber, 2008^[7].

Hyaluronic acid: what hydration actually means

Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in skin, where it helps manage water balance. In skincare, hyaluronic acid and its salts are valued for binding water at the surface, which makes skin look smoother and more supple and softens the look of dryness lines. That is a surface effect, not the added volume of an injectable filler, and it is still well worth having.

Our Copper Peptide Serum contains sodium hyaluronate. Our Advanced Capsule Cream contains both sodium hyaluronate and hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate, a version broken into smaller fragments. The two differ in molecular size, so they behave a little differently in a formula and on skin.

Where you'll find it: koppā Copper Peptide Serum and Advanced Capsule Cream.

Research: Verdier-Sévrain and Bonté, 2007^[8].

Trehalose, betaine and the rest of the hydration team

Hydration is never one ingredient's job, so both water-based formulas use several humectants that work in slightly different ways.

Trehalose is a sugar that some plants and animals use to survive drying out. It binds water and helps protect biological structures under stress. Our serum and cream each contain 3%.

Betaine, originally from sugar beet, is an osmolyte, a substance living cells use to manage their water balance. Our serum contains 1%.

Polyglutamic acid is a large water-binding molecule made by fermentation. It is the same substance that makes natto, the Japanese fermented soybean dish, stringy. You'll find it in the serum.

Euglena gracilis polysaccharide is a beta-glucan from a freshwater microalga and one of the larger ingredients in our cream, at 2.7%. It conditions skin and helps it hold moisture.

Tremella fuciformis polysaccharide comes from the snow mushroom and forms a light, moisture-holding film on skin. It is in the cream.

These are well-established humectants and conditioners in cosmetic chemistry, although none has the depth of human trial data behind niacinamide.

Squalane: light, stable and skin-familiar

Squalane is the stable, hydrogenated form of squalene, a lipid your skin produces naturally in its sebum. It is an emollient. Humectants pull water in, while emollients smooth the surface and help slow water loss, so the two categories do their best work together. Squalane is light, absorbs quickly and suits most skin types.

Our Advanced Capsule Cream contains 4% squalane and our Face + Body Balm Stick contains 10%. The difference comes down to format: the cream balances water-binding ingredients with emollients, while the balm is water-free and leans on oils for a richer conditioning layer.

Where you'll find it: koppā Advanced Capsule Cream and Face + Body Balm Stick.

Research: Huang, Lin and Fang, 2009^[9].

Jojoba: an "oil" that is really a wax

Jojoba is usually called an oil, but chemically it is made mostly of liquid wax esters. Most plant oils are triglycerides. Wax esters are also a natural part of human sebum, which is part of why jojoba spreads so easily and feels so comfortable on skin.

Reviews published in 2013 and 2021 cover jojoba's long use in moisturizers and its wider biological properties, much of which has so far been studied in the lab. In our formulas its job is straightforward: soften and condition.

Our Advanced Capsule Cream contains 3% jojoba seed oil. Our Face + Body Balm Stick contains 15%.

Where you'll find it: koppā Advanced Capsule Cream and Face + Body Balm Stick.

Research: Pazyar et al., 2013^[10] and Gad et al., 2021^[11].

Inside the Balm Stick: a water-free base

The Face + Body Balm Stick contains no water at all. Its base is a blend of plant oils and wax designed to sit on skin as a conditioning layer.

Olive fruit oil is the largest single ingredient. It gives the stick its cushion and glide.

Coconut oil has human research behind it as a moisturizer. In a randomized, double-blind trial in people with dry skin, virgin coconut oil improved skin hydration as effectively as mineral oil, a long-standing dermatology benchmark.

Jojoba (15%) and squalane (10%) add softness and a smoother finish.

Candelilla wax, from a desert shrub native to Mexico and the southwestern US, gives the stick its structure.

Meadowfoam seed oil is an unusually stable oil that helps the blend resist going rancid, with vitamin E (tocopherol) protecting the oils as well.

Tapioca starch takes the slip down, so the balm feels less oily once it is on.

Myrothamnus flabellifolia extract comes from a southern African shrub known as the resurrection plant, which can lose almost all of its water and come back to life when it rains. Research on it in skincare is still early, so we count it as a supporting conditioner.

Where you'll find it: koppā GHK-Cu Face + Body Balm Stick.

Research: Agero and Verallo-Rowell, 2004^[12].

Why the cream feels light

The Advanced Capsule Cream is built to absorb quickly and leave no greasy film, and its emollients are chosen for that. Alongside the squalane and jojoba, isononyl isononanoate and caprylic/capric triglyceride are light, fast-spreading emollients that give a non-greasy finish. The cream is held together by olive-derived and plant sugar-based emulsifiers (cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate and an alkyl glucoside).

Ingredients that keep skin calm

Skin that stays comfortable is skin you keep using products on, so both water-based formulas include soothing ingredients.

In the serum, allantoin is a long-standing skin conditioner known for its soothing feel, and dipotassium glycyrrhizate, from licorice root, is widely used to calm the look of redness.

In the cream, purslane extract comes from a plant with a long history in soothing skin preparations, and edelweiss and sea fennel callus culture extracts are grown from plant cells in the lab rather than harvested from wild plants. Edelweiss is protected in much of its alpine habitat, so cell culture is the responsible way to use it. The cream also contains vitamin E (tocopheryl acetate) as an antioxidant.

The supporting peptides, one by one

GHK-Cu is not the only peptide in our formulas. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, and each one is built to send skin a specific message. GHK-Cu is a carrier peptide: its job is to deliver copper. The supporting peptides around it do three other jobs. Some help skin look firm and smooth, some soften expression lines, and some protect and condition.

Several carry a palmitoyl group, a fatty acid attached to the peptide so it can move more easily into the oil-rich outer layers of skin.

In total, the Balm Stick carries nine peptides (GHK-Cu plus eight), the Copper Peptide Serum seven (GHK-Cu plus six) and the Advanced Capsule Cream four (GHK-Cu plus three).

For firm, smooth-looking skin: signal peptides

Signal peptides copy short fragments of skin's own structural proteins. In lab research, skin cells read those fragments as a cue to keep up the work of maintaining collagen and the other proteins that give skin its structure.

Palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 (trade name: Matrixyl) is a fragment of the molecule skin uses to build type I collagen, and it has human evidence behind it. In a 12-week, placebo-controlled, split-face trial, it visibly improved fine lines and wrinkles compared with placebo.

Palmitoyl tripeptide-5 (trade name: SYN-COLL) copies a short sequence from thrombospondin-1, a protein skin uses to switch on one of its main collagen signals.

Tripeptide-1, in our cream, is GHK on its own, without copper. It is the same sequence as our core active, and it binds copper readily.

For softer expression lines: neuropeptides

Frowning, squinting and smiling create lines because small facial muscles contract each time a nerve sends a signal. Five of our peptides are designed around that signal. In lab studies, acetyl hexapeptide-8 and acetyl octapeptide-3 (trade name: SNAP-8) mimic part of SNAP-25, a protein nerve endings use to release their message, while pentapeptide-3 (trade name: Vialox), dipeptide diaminobutyroyl benzylamide diacetate (trade name: SYN-AKE) and tridecapeptide-1 act on the receiving side. The dipeptide is modeled on waglerin-1, a peptide found in the venom of the temple viper.

Acetyl hexapeptide-8 (trade name: Argireline), in all three products, has the strongest human data of the group. In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, it was applied twice daily for four weeks, and the researchers reported a total anti-wrinkle efficacy of 48.9%, against 0% for placebo.

Tridecapeptide-1 (trade name: BGT TDP-1), in the Balm Stick, is one of the newest peptides in skincare. In its maker's own testing, it visibly smoothed expression lines within 15 minutes of application.

These peptides are not an injection, and a 2025 review found no evidence that they stop muscle movement in living skin. What they offer is softer-looking lines with regular use, and no needles.

For protection and conditioning

Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 (trade name: Rigin) reduces the release of interleukin-6 in lab studies. Interleukin-6 is a chemical messenger skin cells send out under stress, such as after sun exposure, and keeping it in check helps skin look calmer and more even.

Carnosine is a two-amino-acid peptide the body makes naturally. It is an antioxidant, and in lab studies it helps protect proteins from glycation, the process in which sugars bind to collagen and stiffen it.

Arginine/lysine polypeptide, in the Balm Stick, is built from two amino acids that occur naturally in skin and is used to condition skin and leave it feeling firmer.

Research: Robinson et al., 2005^[13], Wang et al., 2013^[14] and Zdrada-Nowak et al., 2025^[15].

Trade names mentioned are trademarks of their respective owners.

Where collagen fits

The Serum and Cream also contain collagen and hydrolyzed collagen, and they do a different job from the peptides.

Size explains it. Molecules much larger than about 500 daltons struggle to pass through the skin's outer barrier. GHK-Cu is roughly 400 daltons. An intact collagen molecule is around 300,000. Even hydrolyzed collagen, which is collagen broken into smaller fragments, is mostly well above that threshold.

So collagen in skincare works at the surface. It holds water, forms a light film and leaves skin feeling smooth and supple. It does not replace your skin's own collagen, and research on collagen supplements you swallow does not carry over to collagen you apply.

If firmer-looking skin is what you are after, the peptides are the ingredients doing that work, starting with GHK-Cu. GHK is part of the collagen story in its own right: the same three-amino-acid sequence sits inside type I collagen and is released when collagen breaks down, which is one reason it has become such a focus of skin research.

Research: Bos and Meinardi, 2000^[16] and Pickart, Vasquez-Soltero and Margolina, 2015^[17].

Why three formulas instead of one

Each product is built around a different format, and the supporting ingredients follow from that.

The Copper Peptide Serum has our highest GHK-Cu level, 2% (2%), in a thin, water-based formula with ceramides, panthenol, layered humectants, soothing ingredients and six supporting peptides. It goes on first, on clean skin, and sits comfortably under anything.

The Advanced Capsule Cream is the moisturizer: 0.5% GHK-Cu with 5% niacinamide, adenosine, glycerin and hyaluronic acid, held in a light emollient base that does not feel greasy.

The Face + Body Balm Stick is water-free: 0.5% GHK-Cu plus eight supporting peptides, nine peptides in all, in an oil and wax base. It is for the places that need more, such as dry patches, hands and elbows, and as a solid stick it is TSA-friendly.

Each one works on its own. Used together, the serum goes on first, the cream over it, and the balm wherever your skin needs extra. All three come together in the koppā GHK-Cu Protocol Set.

Frequently asked questions

What else is in koppā skincare besides GHK-Cu?
Depending on the product: 5% niacinamide, adenosine, ceramides EOP and NP, panthenol, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, trehalose, squalane, jojoba, a plant oil and wax balm base, soothing ingredients such as allantoin and licorice, and up to nine peptides in a single product (the Balm Stick carries GHK-Cu plus eight supporting peptides).

Which koppā product contains niacinamide?
Only the Advanced Capsule Cream, at 5%, the same level used in published split-face clinical trials.

Does the serum contain hyaluronic acid and ceramides?
Yes. The Copper Peptide Serum contains sodium hyaluronate, Ceramide EOP and Ceramide NP, alongside 2% GHK-Cu.

Does koppā contain collagen?
Yes. The Copper Peptide Serum and Advanced Capsule Cream contain collagen and hydrolyzed collagen, which hold moisture at the skin's surface. The ingredients aimed at firmer-looking skin are the peptides, led by GHK-Cu.

What do the supporting peptides do?
They fall into three groups: signal peptides for firm, smooth-looking skin, neuropeptides that soften the look of expression lines, and peptides that protect and condition. The Balm Stick carries the most, with nine peptides in total including GHK-Cu.

Is the Balm Stick water-free?
Yes. There is no water in its ingredient list. It is built from plant oils, candelilla wax, squalane, tapioca starch, vitamin E, a plant extract and peptides.

Sources and further reading

1. Bissett et al., 2004 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2. Bissett et al., 2005 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3. Abella, 2006 doi.org
4. Kono, Miyachi and Kawashima, 2021 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5. Gehring and Gloor, 2000 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
6. Stettler et al., 2017 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
7. Fluhr, Darlenski and Surber, 2008 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
8. Verdier-Sévrain and Bonté, 2007 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
9. Huang, Lin and Fang, 2009 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
10. Pazyar et al., 2013 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
11. Gad et al., 2021 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
12. Agero and Verallo-Rowell, 2004 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
13. Robinson et al., 2005 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
14. Wang et al., 2013 doi.org
15. Zdrada-Nowak et al., 2025 doi.org
16. Bos and Meinardi, 2000 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
17. Loren Pickart et al. (2015). GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. BioMed Research International. DOI: 10.1155/2015/648108 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

GHK-Cu evidence table · Editorial and sourcing policy