Use the good towels

Use the good towels means stop saving the things you love for an occasion that never quite arrives. I think skincare works the same way. A product you ration is a product you don't use consistently, and consistency is the whole point. That's why I wanted koppā to come in sizes made for everyday use: a 45 ml serum, an 80 g cream and a 20 g balm stick. With the GHK-Cu 2% High Potency Serum, that means three to four drops, morning and night, is the amount to use, not the amount to save.

This is why I wanted koppā skincare to feel worth using, every day. It starts in my bathroom.

I have beautiful white towels in my bathroom that I barely use. They are there. Folded nicely. Looking exactly the way white towels are supposed to look.

And then, when I actually need a towel, I reach for the old ones. The ones that are a little rougher. The ones with the faint stains that never quite came out. The ones that have already crossed some invisible line where I no longer feel the need to protect them.

I do the same thing with perfume. I have an expensive French perfume I love, which somehow means I ration it.

Dinner out? Yes. Wedding? Definitely. Random Tuesday morning? Apparently not worthy.

There is something slightly absurd about buying something because you love it and then trying not to use it. But I know I am not the only person who does this.

We save the good candles. We keep the nice plates for guests. We leave the beautiful shoes in their boxes. We own things that are supposed to make ordinary life better, then wait for an occasion important enough to deserve them.

Why does using something feel like losing it?

I think part of it is scarcity. Once something feels expensive, special or difficult to replace, using it can start to feel a little like losing it.

Every spray of perfume makes the bottle emptier. Every use of the good towels moves them closer to looking like the ordinary towels. Every application of an expensive cream means there is slightly less left in the tube.

So we ration. Which makes sense emotionally. But not always logically.

Because the value of most things is not in how long we can preserve them. It is in using them.

Why skincare should not feel too precious to use

I have been thinking about this a lot while building koppā, the GHK-Cu copper peptide skincare brand I co-founded with my daughter, Madelaine.

Skincare can become exactly the same kind of object. You buy something you are excited about. It arrives in beautiful packaging. It costs enough that you are conscious of the price.

And then you start holding back. A little less serum. A smaller amount of cream. Skipping the neck because the face feels more important. Not because that is necessarily the right amount for your skin, but because you want the product to last.

I understand that. Especially now. Budgets are tight for a lot of people, and skincare is not a necessity in the same way food, rent or electricity are.

If someone chooses to spend meaningful money on skincare, I think the product should respect that. For me, that means thinking about the amount someone receives, how the product fits into their day and whether they feel comfortable using it consistently.

Why does koppā come in 45 ml, 80 g and 20 g sizes?

The size of our products was a deliberate part of building koppā. Our three GHK-Cu formulas come in these sizes:

• GHK-Cu 2% High Potency Serum: 45 ml, 50% more than a 30 ml serum
• GHK-Cu Advanced Capsule Cream: 80 g
• GHK-Cu Face + Body Balm Stick: 20 g, more than twice a typical 9 g stick

I wanted the value to be built into the amount you receive, alongside the formula itself.

The first reason is simple: I do not want someone to feel afraid to use the product.

If you have paid for a copper peptide serum, I want you to feel comfortable applying it to your face and neck according to the directions. If you love the cream, I do not want every application to become a negotiation with yourself about how much is left. And if a balm stick is designed for face and body, I want its size to reflect that purpose.

A larger product is not automatically a better product. But the amount you receive is part of its value, particularly when it is something you plan to use regularly. These sizes were my way of making room for everyday use.

A consistent skincare routine needs room to become a habit

The second reason matters even more to me.

I look at koppā as a commitment to skin over time.

That is what our idea of skin longevity means to me: caring for the skin you live in, rather than constantly trying to return to a younger version of yourself.

If we are asking someone to build a consistent skincare routine, I want the experience of using the products to support that habit. It never made sense to me to talk about long-term skin support while making the customer feel as though they needed to preserve every drop.

How long any skincare product lasts depends on how often you use it, how much you apply and where you apply it, so the answer is different for everyone.

But I can make a deliberate choice about the amount we put in it. And I can build the brand around regular use, rather than special occasions.

Using enough does not mean using more than you need

There is something freeing about not having to make every application a calculation.

I am fairly liberal with our cream. Face, neck, then whatever is left on my fingers gets dragged onto my chest. I do not want to stand there wondering whether I should have saved that last bit. That is exactly the feeling I wanted to avoid.

Of course, more is not always better. A larger bottle or tube is not an instruction to use more than your skin needs. Follow the product directions and use an amount that works comfortably for you. Here is what those directions are:

1. Serum first. 3 to 4 drops of the GHK-Cu 2% High Potency Serum on clean skin, face and neck, morning and night. It is water-light and absorbs quickly with a non-greasy finish.
2. Then the cream. The GHK-Cu Advanced Capsule Cream goes on after the serum, morning and night. The blue capsules release as you massage it in.
3. Then the stick, where you want it. The GHK-Cu Face + Body Balm Stick glides over targeted areas such as crow's-feet, forehead lines, the neck, hands, elbows and knees.
4. Sunscreen in the morning, SPF 30 or higher.

But there is a difference between using a product sensibly and rationing it because it feels too precious. That difference matters. If you want to see how this plays out on an ordinary day, I wrote about how koppā fits into my real life, and our 3-step routine guide has the full order, morning and night.

Where koppā fits in your routine

I want koppā to be the thing you reach for on a random Tuesday, not the thing you save. The serum is 2% GHK-Cu (copper tripeptide-1) with six additional peptides, water-light and fragrance-free, with the concentration on the label, so you know what you are paying for. The capsule cream is cushiony, with visible blue capsules, niacinamide and squalane, for skin that feels comfortable and looks rested. If you want all three, The GHK-Cu Protocol puts the full-size serum, capsule cream and balm stick together for $175, against $190 bought separately. Check the product page for current availability and delivery information.

It is skincare built to be used, consistently, for as long as you care to. Start with the serum tonight, and if you want to understand what the number on the bottle means, read what 2% GHK-Cu means.

Ordinary days deserve the things we love

I think there is a bigger idea underneath all of this.

We spend a lot of time waiting for the right moment to use the things we love. The right dinner. The right occasion. The right outfit. The right day.

But most of life is made up of ordinary days. If something makes those days a little better, maybe that is exactly when we should use it.

So I am trying to change a few habits. I am using the white towels. I am wearing the perfume on Tuesdays. And when I buy something I enjoy, I am trying to let myself enjoy it instead of preserving it for some hypothetical future version of my life.

Because nice things do not become more valuable because we save them. Most of the time, they become valuable because we use them. And I think skincare should work the same way.

Frequently asked questions

What does "use the good towels" mean?

It means using the things you love on ordinary days instead of saving them for a special occasion. For me it started with white towels and a French perfume, and it is the reason I wanted koppā to feel worth using every day.

Why are koppā's products bigger than usual?

Because I did not want anyone to feel afraid to use them. The serum is 45 ml, 50% more than a 30 ml serum. The capsule cream is 80 g. The balm stick is 20 g, more than twice a typical 9 g stick.

How long does a bottle of koppā serum last?

It depends on how often you use it, how much you apply and where you apply it, so it varies from person to person. The directions are 3 to 4 drops on face and neck, morning and night.

Should I use more because the bottle is bigger?

No. A larger bottle or tube is not an instruction to use more than your skin needs. Follow the directions and use an amount that works comfortably for you. The point is to stop rationing, not to overdo it.

What is in the GHK-Cu 2% High Potency Serum?

2% GHK-Cu with six additional peptides, Hydrolyzed Collagen and Collagen, in a water-light, fragrance-free, silicone-free serum. It is 45 ml and $75. The blue colour comes from the copper-peptide complex, not an added colourant.

The short version

We save the things we love because using them feels like losing them. I did not want koppā to feel like that, so I chose sizes made for everyday use: 45 ml of serum, 80 g of cream, a 20 g balm stick. Use what the directions say, not less because it feels precious. Start with the serum on clean skin tonight, and use the good towels too.

By Chantelle, co-founder of koppā