Copper Peptides / Brand Comparison
GHK-Cu Concentration by Brand: The Full Disclosure Table (2026)
Most copper peptide serums do not tell you how much GHK-Cu they contain. Of the sixteen widely searched serums on this page, only eight publish an exact figure, ranging from Asterwood's 0.10% to Theramid's 3%. The rest ask you to trust the marketing. This table collects every disclosed number, the copper form used, and the price per ml, in one place.
The single most asked and least answered question in this category is a number. Ingredient databases list dozens of copper peptide products, yet disclosed concentrations are so rare that comparison shopping mostly runs on vibes. This page fixes that: every major serum, its copper form, its published percentage if one exists, and what the gaps mean. No scores, no winners, just the data brands chose to publish, and the data they chose not to.
What's in This Guide
The disclosure table
Every serum below is a recognizable, widely searched copper peptide product. "Disclosed %" is the concentration the brand itself publishes on its product page or label as of August 2026. Where the cell says not disclosed, the brand lists the ingredient but not the amount. Prices are the brand's own direct-to-consumer prices at the time of writing and will drift.
| Brand | Product | Copper form | Disclosed % | Size | Price | $/ml |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asterwood | Copper Peptides Serum | Copper Tripeptide-1 | 0.10% | 30ml | $22 | $0.73 |
| Peach & Lily | Copper Peptide Pro Firming Serum | Copper Tripeptide-1 | 0.2% | 30ml | $49 | $1.63 |
| MAXXING | Glow GHK-Cu Copper Peptide Serum | Copper Tripeptide-1 | 0.2% | 50ml | $49.99 | $1.00 |
| REMEDY Science | Copper Peptide Complex Advanced Firming | Copper Tripeptide-1 | 1% | 30ml | $30 | $1.00 |
| NIOD | Copper Amino Isolate Serum CAIS3 | Copper Tripeptide-1 (+ free GHK) | 1% + 1% GHK | 30ml | $62+ | $2.07+ |
| Allies of Skin | Copper Tripeptide & Ectoin Advanced Repair | Copper Tripeptide-1 + Copper Lysinate/Prolinate | 1% + 2% salt | 30ml | $199 | $6.63 |
| Theramid | 3% Pure Copper Peptide | Copper Tripeptide-1 | 3% | 30ml | ~$45-49 | ~$1.57 |
| The Ordinary | Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% | Copper Tripeptide-1 (in blend) | partial: 1% = the blend, GHK-Cu share unstated | 30ml | $32 | $1.07 |
| Biossance | Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping | Copper Tripeptide-1 + Copper PCA | not disclosed | 50ml | $69 | $1.38 |
| INNBEAUTY Project | Elastic Firming & Plumping Serum | Copper Tripeptide-1 | not disclosed (19% total actives) | 30ml | $46 | $1.53 |
| COSRX | The Blue Peptide Bakuchiol Plump Glow Serum | GHK-Cu + 5 peptides | 0.5% | 50ml | ~$27 | ~$0.54 |
| Medicube | PDRN Pink Peptide Serum | Copper Tripeptide-1 (PDRN is the hero) | not disclosed | 30ml | ~$35 | ~$1.17 |
| iS Clinical | Super Serum Advance+ | Copper Tripeptide-1 (+ 15% vitamin C) | not disclosed | 30ml | ~$148 | ~$4.93 |
| Skin Biology | CP Serum | Copper via hydrolyzed soy + copper chloride | not disclosed | 30ml | $27.50 | $0.92 |
| Medik8 | Copper PCA Peptides | Copper PCA (salt, no tripeptide) | not disclosed | 30ml | ~$72 | ~$2.40 |
| Naturium | Multi-Peptide Advanced Serum | Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14 (not GHK-Cu) | not disclosed | 30ml | $25 | $0.83 |
Figures compiled from each brand's own product pages and labels, August 2026. Corrections welcome: if a brand publishes a figure we missed, we will update this table and date-stamp the change.
The ppm math in plain English
Research papers usually talk about GHK-Cu in ppm or micrograms per ml. Labels talk in percent. The conversion is simple and worth memorizing, because it lets you read a study and a label in the same breath:
| Label % | ppm | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 0.05% | 500 ppm | The low end of published topical study ranges |
| 0.10% | 1,000 ppm | Asterwood's disclosed dose |
| 0.2% | 2,000 ppm | Peach & Lily and Glow's disclosed dose |
| 1% | 10,000 ppm | REMEDY, NIOD's tripeptide line |
| 3% | 30,000 ppm | Theramid, the highest disclosed figure in the field |
Two things follow from the math. First, the entire disclosed field, from 0.10% to 3%, sits well above the concentrations used in much of the published topical research, which often worked in the hundreds-to-low-thousands of ppm [1]. Second, "strongest" and "most researched" are different claims: a 3% serum is a formulation choice, not a research benchmark. Our copper peptide percentage guide covers why more is not automatically better.
Why blends hide the number
The most common way a label avoids stating a GHK-Cu dose is the peptide blend. A product name like "Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1%" reads like a 1% GHK-Cu serum, but the 1% describes the copper peptide blend inside a larger multi-peptide formula, and the share of actual GHK-Cu inside that blend is not published. The result is a number that anchors your expectations without committing to anything measurable.
This is not unique to any one brand, and it is not necessarily cynical: blends are real formulation strategies, and trade-secret arguments are not imaginary. But for a shopper trying to compare products, a blend percentage is a different kind of number than a standalone disclosure, and the table above marks them differently for exactly that reason. If you want to sharpen your eye for this, our guide on how to spot an underdosed copper peptide serum goes deeper.
Copper forms: not all "copper peptide" is GHK-Cu
The table's copper form column matters as much as the percentage. The category label "copper peptide" covers at least four chemically different things:
- Copper Tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu). The molecule the research literature is actually about: the tripeptide glycyl-histidyl-lysine complexed with copper, first characterized in the 1970s [1]. Most serums above use this form.
- Copper salts (Copper PCA, copper gluconate). Copper without the peptide. A different ingredient with a different rationale; a "copper" serum built on Copper PCA is not a GHK-Cu serum. Our GHK-Cu vs copper gluconate guide covers the distinction.
- Other copper peptides. Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14 and similar molecules are genuinely peptide-plus-copper, but they are not GHK-Cu, and GHK-Cu research does not transfer to them automatically.
- Copper-generating systems. Some legacy formulas pair hydrolyzed proteins with copper chloride, aiming to form copper peptides in situ. Whether and how much GHK-type complex that yields in the bottle is exactly the kind of question a label cannot answer.
When a product page says "copper peptides" and the INCI list says Copper PCA, you are not buying what the GHK-Cu studies studied. The INCI list outranks the marketing copy every time.
Price vs disclosed dose
Price per ml across the field runs from about $0.73 to $6.63, a nine-fold spread, and it correlates surprisingly loosely with disclosed dose. The cheapest serum on the page publishes its figure; the most expensive one does too; several mid-priced products publish nothing. Three patterns stand out:
- Disclosure clusters at the value end and the premium end. Brands competing on honesty (Asterwood, REMEDY) and brands justifying a premium (NIOD, Allies of Skin, Theramid) both benefit from publishing numbers. The murky middle mostly stays silent.
- Bottle size changes the math. A 50ml bottle at a mid price can undercut a 30ml bottle that looks cheaper on the shelf. Price per ml is the only fair unit.
- A high price does not buy a number. Two of the most expensive serums in the category publish no concentration at all.
For a deeper treatment of what you do and do not get at each price tier, see cheap vs premium copper peptide serums.
What a missing number means for you
A missing concentration is not proof of a bad product. It is proof that you cannot compare it. Everything else on the label can be excellent: texture, packaging, supporting ingredients, brand reputation. But on the one axis this category is named after, an undisclosed product asks for trust it has not earned with data.
Our practical rule: treat disclosure as a tiebreaker that outranks marketing. Between two serums you otherwise like, take the one that told you what is in it. Brands respond to what shoppers reward, and the fastest way to make disclosure the norm is to buy like it matters.
What labels cannot prove, and what we are doing about it
Everything on this page is label data: what brands say they put in the bottle. A label cannot tell you whether the peptide is present at the stated level, whether it survived storage, or whether a copper-generating system actually generated anything. Only independent laboratory analysis can.
That is the honest limit of this table, and we are not going to pretend otherwise: we are preparing an independent, pre-registered lab analysis of the serums on this page, ours included, with results published whatever they show. Glow sits in the table at its disclosed 0.2%, and it will be tested blind in the same run as everything else. When that data lands, this page gets a second table: label claim next to measured value.
Frequently asked questions
Which copper peptide brands disclose their GHK-Cu concentration?
As of August 2026: Asterwood (0.10%), Peach & Lily (0.2%), MAXXING Glow (0.2%), REMEDY Science (1%), COSRX (0.5%), NIOD (1% GHK-Cu plus 1% free GHK), Allies of Skin (1% tripeptide plus 2% copper lysinate), and Theramid (3%). Most other widely sold serums publish no figure.
What does 0.2% GHK-Cu mean in ppm?
1% equals 10,000 ppm, so 0.2% equals 2,000 ppm, 0.10% equals 1,000 ppm, and 3% equals 30,000 ppm. Percent and ppm are the same measurement at different scales, and the conversion lets you read research papers and serum labels side by side.
Is The Ordinary's copper peptide serum 1% GHK-Cu?
The 1% in the name refers to a multi-peptide copper blend inside the formula, and the exact GHK-Cu share within that blend is not published. It is a partial disclosure: more information than nothing, less than a standalone figure.
Why do most brands hide their copper peptide concentration?
Trade-secret thinking, and sometimes the awkwardness of a small number. Either way the effect on you is the same: without a figure you are comparing marketing rather than data, which is why a published percentage is a meaningful trust signal in this category.
Does a higher GHK-Cu percentage make a serum better?
No. Published research has generally worked at modest concentrations, and formulation quality, pH, stability, and packaging shape how a serum behaves. The percentage is a transparency signal first and a potency signal second. A well-made lower dose can beat a carelessly made high one.
Can a label tell you how much GHK-Cu is really in the bottle?
No. A label records a claim, not a measurement. Independent lab testing is the only way to verify one, which is why we are preparing a pre-registered lab analysis of the serums on this page, our own included, with results published win or lose.
References
- Pickart L, Margolina A. Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide in the Light of the New Gene Data. Int J Mol Sci. 2018. PMID: 29986520
- Pickart L. The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed. 2008. PMID: 18644225
Brand concentrations and prices are drawn from each brand's own published product pages and labels as of August 2026, not from third-party estimates. This page reports label data; it does not rate product performance.
