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Does topical GHK-Cu work?

It depends on the use. In a randomized trial, a GHK-Cu gel on diabetic foot ulcers was followed by fewer ulcer infections (7% versus 34% with vehicle).

Copper tripeptideUpdated

Short answer

It depends on the use. In a randomized trial, a GHK-Cu gel on diabetic foot ulcers was followed by fewer ulcer infections (7% versus 34% with vehicle).[1]

For skin appearance the picture is weaker: in a 13-patient trial, objective evaluation found no significant improvement in wrinkles or overall skin quality with GHK-Cu products.[2]

Delivery is an open issue

A review notes that GHK-Cu trials rarely use delivery methods that reliably cross the skin's outer layer, which limits what a cream trial can show.[3]

The one measure that favoured GHK-Cu in that trial was patient satisfaction, a subjective outcome.[2]

More questions on GHK-Cu

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More on GHK-Cu

ResultsStudy outcomes and when they were measured.GHK-Cu overview

Sources

  1. 1Enhanced healing of ulcers in patients with diabetes by topical treatment with glycyl-l-histidyl-l-lysine copper.Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society · 1994PMID 17147644Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  2. 2Effects of topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin.Archives of facial plastic surgery · 2006PMID 16847171Accessed 2 Oct 2026
  3. 3A Systematic Review of the Mechanisms and Therapeutic Applications of GHK-Cu (Glycyl-L-Histidyl-L-Lysine-Copper Complex) in Topical Microneedle Delivery: A Case for Expanded Clinical Trials.Archives of internal medicine research · 2026PMID 42787770Accessed 2 Oct 2026

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