How to Use GHK-Cu: The koppā 3-Step Routine, Morning and Night

Here's how to use GHK-Cu, the short way: serum on clean skin, capsule cream on top, balm stick on the few spots that want more. Morning and night. Sunscreen last thing in the morning. That's the whole routine, and it takes about three minutes.

The rest of this page is the detail: how much of each product to use, why the order runs thin to thick, what to keep away from copper peptides, the mistakes we see most often, and what a fair trial looks like. If you're new to the peptide itself, start with what GHK-Cu is and where it came from, then come back.

How to use GHK-Cu: the short answer

Three products, one order, twice a day:

1. The serum (2% GHK-Cu): three to four drops, pressed into clean face and neck.
2. The capsule cream (0.5% GHK-Cu): a small amount over the serum, massaged in until the blue beads disappear.
3. The balm stick (0.5% GHK-Cu): a light swipe on the areas you want to give extra attention, such as crow's feet, forehead lines or the neck.

In the morning, finish with sunscreen. At night, you're done after step three. Together they're sold as the Protocol, but nothing about the routine needs all three on day one.

Why the order matters

The usual rule is thinnest to thickest. Watery products go first, so they meet bare skin. Creams go on top to hold water in. Heavy balms go last, because very little gets through a balm once it's down.

GHK-Cu fits that rule neatly. It's a small peptide, and small is what you want in something that has to get past the top layer of skin. The serum carries the most of it, at 2%, in a water-light base, so it goes first. The capsule cream and balm stick carry less, at 0.5% each, and do the second job: keeping skin comfortable and holding the serum in place.

What the penetration research shows

The clearest study on this is a 2010 lab study by Hostynek, Dreher and Maibach in Inflammation Research. They put a 0.68% GHK-Cu solution in water on human skin samples in a diffusion chamber for 48 hours and measured where it ended up. Most stayed in the outer layer, but measurable amounts reached the epidermis, the dermis and the fluid beneath.

How to read that honestly. What it did: donor skin in a lab, not skin on a living face. How it relates to us: adjacent. Our serum is stronger and in a different base. What it doesn't prove: that any product, ours included, delivers the same amount through your skin. It does tell you the peptide can get past the surface, which is why we put the serum on first.

The three steps, in detail

Step 1: the serum

The serum is 2% GHK-Cu with eight supporting peptides, in a fragrance-free, silicone-free base. It's blue because copper is blue. There's no added colour.

• How much: three to four drops covers the face and neck. More won't do more; it just takes longer to dry.
• How: put the drops in your palm, warm them briefly between your hands, then press them into the skin. Pressing is tidier than rubbing and wastes less on your fingers.
• Where: face, neck and the skin around the eyes, keeping clear of the lash line.
• Wait: give it a minute to sink in. It dries fast and leaves no greasy film.

Step 2: the capsule cream

The capsule cream carries 0.5% GHK-Cu inside small blue beads that open as you rub it in. The base has 5% niacinamide, 4% squalane and 3% jojoba, so it moisturises in its own right.

• How much: a small fingertip amount, roughly the size of a pea to start. Add a little more if your skin still feels tight after a few minutes.
• How: warm it between your fingertips and massage it over the serum until the beads have broken and disappeared.
• When: morning and night. If you find it too much under makeup, keep it for nights and use a lighter moisturiser in the morning.

Step 3: the balm stick

The balm stick is 0.5% GHK-Cu with eight other peptides, including the ones sold as Argireline and Matrixyl, in a water-free balm with a matte finish. Think of it as the targeted step. It's also the one you can use below the neck.

• How much: one or two light swipes per area. It's a thin layer, not a coat of paint.
• Where: crow's feet, forehead lines, the lines between the brows, the neck and chest, the backs of the hands, elbows and knees.
• How: glide it on, then press with a fingertip if you want it to blend. Because it's a balm, it goes on last.

Your morning and night GHK-Cu routine

The products stay the same. What changes is what comes before and after them.

	Morning	Night
Cleanse	A splash of water, or a gentle cleanser if you wore something heavy overnight	A gentle cleanser. Double cleanse if you wore sunscreen or makeup
Serum	Three to four drops, face and neck	Three to four drops, face and neck
Capsule cream	A thin layer, or a lighter moisturiser if you prefer	A comfortable layer
Balm stick	Optional, on targeted areas	On targeted areas
Last step	Broad-spectrum sunscreen, SPF 30 or higher	Nothing. Go to bed

That sunscreen line is not optional. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher. Daytime UV does more to age skin than any serum can make up for, so if you skip one thing in the morning, don't let it be this.

Night is the easier time to be consistent. If you can only manage GHK-Cu once a day, do it in the evening.

What to use with GHK-Cu, and what to keep apart

Copper peptides get along with most of a normal routine. A few ingredients need a little distance.

• Fine together: hyaluronic acid, niacinamide (the capsule cream already has it), ceramides, squalane, sunscreen.
• Different times of day: vitamin C. In the same step, the two work against each other. Vitamin C in the morning and GHK-Cu at night is the simple fix. Our guide to copper peptides and vitamin C explains the chemistry.
• Different nights: strong exfoliating acids. Low pH can break the peptide apart before it does anything.
• With some care: retinol. Alternate nights, or use GHK-Cu first and retinol after once your skin is used to both. Our copper peptides and retinol guide covers both approaches.

For every other pairing, including azelaic acid, salicylic acid and microneedling, see the full GHK-Cu layering guide.

Common mistakes

• Using the serum over a heavy product. If something rich is already on your skin, the serum sits on top of it. Serum first, always.
• Layering vitamin C or a strong acid in the same step. See above. Split them by time of day.
• Using far more than you need. Extra product means a tacky finish, not extra effect.
• Stopping and starting. The processes GHK-Cu works on are slow. Using it three nights, then forgetting for a week, is the most common reason people say it did nothing.
• Adding five new products at once. If your skin reacts, you won't know why. Add GHK-Cu on its own, then build around it.

If a copper peptide product ever stings, flakes or leaves skin looking rough, stop and read our piece on the "copper uglies" and what causes them. It's usually the formula or the pairing, not the peptide.

What to expect, and how to judge it

We're not going to give you a week-by-week timeline, because nobody can promise one honestly. Skin replaces its top layer roughly once a month. The deeper processes GHK-Cu is studied for, like collagen, take longer than that.

What we suggest instead: take a photo in the same light, at the same time of day, before you start. Use the routine every day. Take another photo when you finish the bottle of serum and compare. That's a fair trial, and you're the judge of it.

In research settings, the best-known result is a 12-week study in which 71 women with sun-damaged skin used a GHK-Cu facial cream. As a 2018 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences reports, their skin measured denser and thicker, with shallower fine lines. That was a different formula, so it tells you what the peptide can do, not what any one product will do.

Frequently asked questions

Should I apply GHK-Cu before or after moisturiser?

Before. The serum is the thinnest step and carries the most GHK-Cu, so it should touch bare skin. Moisturiser goes on top to keep skin comfortable and hold the serum in. Our capsule cream carries its own 0.5% GHK-Cu, so the second step adds a little more peptide rather than covering it up.

Can I use GHK-Cu morning and night?

Yes. Our routine is built for twice a day, and GHK-Cu is generally well tolerated because it doesn't depend on irritation to work. If you're starting out or your skin is reactive, begin with nights only for a couple of weeks, then add mornings.

Do I need all three products?

No. The serum does most of the work, so it's the place to start. If you already have a moisturiser you like, keep it. The capsule cream and balm stick add more peptide and more comfort, and the stick covers areas like the neck and hands. Our guide to choosing between the serum, cream and stick goes into who each one suits.

Can I wear makeup over GHK-Cu?

Yes. Let the serum dry for a minute, keep the capsule cream thin, then apply sunscreen before makeup as usual. If makeup pills or slides, use less cream in the morning or swap in a lighter moisturiser, and save the fuller routine for night.

The short version

Serum first, on clean skin. Capsule cream on top. Balm stick on the spots that want extra. Sunscreen in the morning, nothing after the balm at night. Keep vitamin C and strong acids to a different time of day. Use it every day, take a photo at the start, and judge it over a bottle.

Not sure where to begin? The routine finder takes a couple of minutes.