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GHK-Cu Half-Life: How Long It Stays in Your System

How long GHK-Cu stays in the body, how that shapes dosing frequency, and what is known about drug testing.

Medically reviewed by Juan Pablo Frías, MD · · DisclosureCopper tripeptideUpdated
Half-life
Not found
No published half-life found (PubMed search, 2 Oct 2026)
Dosing interval
once a week
as used in studies
WADA
Unclear
Not named on the 2026 list
Detection window
Not found
None reported as of 2 Oct 2026

GHK-Cu half-life

Half-life: no published half-life found (PubMed search, 2 Oct 2026). A half-life depends on the route (under the skin, into a vein, by mouth or nasal spray), so we report it per route with the study it came from.

What half-life means

Half-life is the time it takes for the amount of a drug in the blood to fall by half. After one half-life, about 50% is left; after two, about 25%; after four to five, only a few percent remain.

  • A long half-life lets a drug be dosed less often, for example once a week.
  • A short half-life means levels rise and fall quickly, which is why some peptides are given daily or more often.
  • Effects can outlast blood levels, so half-life alone does not tell you how long a drug works.

What it means for dosing frequency

Dosing intervals used in published studies of GHK-Cu:

Changing the interval changes how much drug builds up between doses, so it is not a free choice.

Drug tests and sport

WADA status unclear

GHK-Cu: This is not named on the 2026 list. The catch-all class S0 prohibits any drug with no approval anywhere for human use, so it would be banned if no health authority has approved it, but we have not verified that for this substance.

Anti-doping labs use tests built for specific substances. Whether a given test detects GHK-Cu, and for how long, is not reported in the anti-doping literature we checked (as of 2 Oct 2026).

Common questions

How long does GHK-Cu stay in your system?

We found no published half-life for GHK-Cu (PubMed search, 2 Oct 2026). As a rule, most of a dose is cleared after about four to five half-lives.

What is the half-life of GHK-Cu?

No published half-life was found in our PubMed search, 2 Oct 2026. We add one with its source and route if a study reports it.

Is GHK-Cu on the WADA prohibited list?

It is unclear. GHK-Cu: This is not named on the 2026 list. The catch-all class S0 prohibits any drug with no approval anywhere for human use, so it would be banned if no health authority has approved it, but we have not verified that for this substance.

More on GHK-Cu

DosageDoses used in published studies, with the source for each.CalculatorVial, water and dose to syringe units.Side effectsWhat labels and studies report, and what is unknown.ResultsStudy outcomes and when they were measured.PricePrice per mg and per week from dated listings. No vendor links.Legal statusFDA, compounding and WADA status with dates.

Sources

  1. 1Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks (Category 2; 'nominated but withdrawn' table, content current as of 22 Apr 2026)U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2026fda.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  2. 2World Anti-Doping Code International Standard Prohibited List 2026World Anti-Doping Agency · 2026wada-ama.orgAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  3. 3Tripeptide-copper complex GHK-Cu (II) transiently improved healing outcome in a rat model of ACL reconstruction.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2015PMID 25731775Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  4. 4PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR GHK[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) (431 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  5. 5PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR GHK[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (humans[mh] OR patients[tiab] OR volunteers[tiab]) (150 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  6. 6PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR GHK[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (randomized[tiab] OR clinical trial[pt] OR split-face[tiab]) (8 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  7. 7PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR GHK[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (wound[tiab] OR hair[tiab] OR skin[tiab] OR wrinkle*[tiab]) (123 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  8. 8PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR GHK[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (half-life[tiab] OR pharmacokinetic*[tiab]) (2 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  9. 9PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR GHK[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (rat[tiab] OR mice[tiab] OR rats[tiab] OR animal[tiab]) (80 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  10. 10PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (facial[tiab] OR cream[tiab] OR photodamage[tiab] OR volunteers[tiab] OR women[tiab]) (6 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026
  11. 11PubMed search: ("GHK-Cu"[tiab] OR "copper tripeptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptide"[tiab] OR "copper peptides"[tiab] OR "glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine"[tiab] OR "glycyl-histidyl-lysine"[tiab] OR "Gly-His-Lys"[tiab]) AND (hair[tiab] OR alopecia[tiab]) (16 results)PubMed · 2026pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.govAccessed 2 Oct 2026

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