Med Spa @SanduskyWellnessPeptide Library
For physiciansFor individuals
Education · from the physicians at Med Spa @ Sandusky Wellness

Know what's in the bottle.

Every peptide we carry, shown as the short amino-acid chain it really is. Each one comes with what the studies found and where the evidence runs out. Turn a molecule with your mouse or finger.

BasicPolarAcidicNonpolarCopper ion

GHK-Cu

Copper tripeptide-1 · glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper complex
Found
Isolated from human plasma by Loren Pickart in 1973. Plasma levels fall with age.
In studies
In a pilot study of topical copper tripeptide on aged skin (Krüger et al.), skin got thicker, better hydrated, smoother and more elastic.
Typical use
Cosmetic products commonly use it at about 0.2–2%.
Where the evidence stopsMost human studies are small, and many are funded by the cosmetic industry. Injecting it is outside what that research covers.
  1. Pickart & Margolina, "Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide," Int J Mol Sci 2018
  2. Pickart et al., "Skin Regenerative and Anti-Cancer Actions of Copper Peptides," Cosmetics 2018
  3. NPR, "The copper peptide trend…," Sept 2026
  1. 10 cmFace
  2. 1 mmSkin
  3. 10 µmCell
  4. 100 nmCollagen
  5. ~1 nmPeptide
How deep do they go?

Getting through the skin is the hard part.

A peptide can only work on the skin if it gets past the outer barrier. That's why formulators add fatty tails like the palmitoyl chain on palmitoyl pentapeptide-4. Reviews of acetyl hexapeptide-8 name poor skin penetration as its biggest limit.

That's why we focus on the look of skin: cosmetic peptides act where you put them.

Stratum corneumThe dead-cell barrier. Water-loving peptides struggle here.
surface
Living epidermisKeratinocytes renew the surface every few weeks.
below the barrier
DermisFibroblasts build collagen and elastin. Lab studies of these peptides focus here.
deepest target
Rule 1

We sell cosmetics only

Sandusky Wellness sells only topical cosmetics, made to be used on skin, through the Med Spa. This library is education: it covers cosmetic peptides and research peptides, and nothing in it is for sale here.

Rule 2

Every claim has a source

Each fact on this page links to the study or review it came from, so you can read it yourself.

Rule 3

Limits up front

Many peptide studies are small and paid for by the companies that make the ingredient. We tell you when that's the case.