GHK-Cu injection protocol — 12 weeks in milligrams and clicks

What GHK-Cu is and what it is studied for

GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring tripeptide — glycine, histidine, lysine — bound to a copper ion. It is found in plasma, saliva and urine, and its level is reported to fall steeply with age. In research settings it is studied for collagen and elastin synthesis, wound healing, hair-follicle activity and the remodelling of damaged tissue, and it has one of the broader gene-expression footprints of any peptide in the library.

The single pen is for the researcher who wants that signal without BPC-157 and TB-500 riding along — the GLOW pen carries all three — or who has run GLOW and wants to continue the copper peptide alone. The house window is 1–3 mg a day, five days a week, with 3 mg as the soft ceiling. Everything about the protocol follows from the fact that the copper has to go somewhere: a low run-in, a two-week-on-two-days-off rhythm, and a ceruloplasmin recheck at the end.

Who it suits — and who should not run it

Written for adult women and men whose goal is skin quality, collagen, hair density or the healing of a specific area of skin — not fat loss, not performance. Baseline copper and ceruloplasmin are non-negotiable before the first click. The house exclusions:

Not for

• Active cancer or a recent history of cancer — GHK-Cu works through growth- and remodelling-signalling pathways.
• Wilson's disease or any other known disorder of copper metabolism.
• Pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning pregnancy in the next 6 months.
• Under 18.
• A known hypersensitivity to GHK-Cu or to copper-containing preparations.

The house protocol

Once daily, five days a week (Monday–Friday), subcutaneous in the abdomen a hand's width from the navel, rotating the site every day, in the evening. Weekends are off — five on, two off gives the copper two clear days a week. One pen = 300 clicks. The 100 mg pen delivers 333.3 mcg per click; the 50 mg pen delivers 166.7 mcg per click, so the same dose is twice the clicks.

Two phases: a two-week run-in at 1 mg, the bottom of the window, then a ten-week hold at 2 mg. 3 mg is the soft ceiling and is reserved for the researcher who has completed a cycle at 2 mg with clean week-12 labs — it is not a step within a first cycle.

Click total on the 100 mg pen: 10 days × 3 = 30, plus 50 days × 6 = 300, for 330 clicks → 2 pens (600 clicks), with most of the second pen unused at week 12. On the 50 mg pen the same cycle is 660 clicks → 3 pens (900 clicks). A 3-click dose is a very small turn of the dial; the 50 mg pen gives more resolution for the researcher who finds that fiddly.

Mild redness or itch at the site is common in the run-in weeks and is not a reason to stop. A lump, spreading heat or warmth around the site is not normal and is a same-day message to your coach. A metallic taste together with nausea and fatigue is the signal to stop and call. Keep the pen in the fridge between uses.

Week by week — what people typically notice and when

The pen does not work alone. SPF every morning without exception — collagen and tone gains are undone by unprotected sun. A retinoid at night if already tolerated, but do not start one for the first time in the same week as the pen. Vitamin C-rich food daily, because vitamin C is a required cofactor for collagen synthesis. Training is unchanged.

Labs we ask for before and during

The week-12 copper and ceruloplasmin recheck is the single most important number this protocol produces — it is also the gate to the 3 mg ceiling in a later cycle. No copper supplements for the duration, and no high-dose zinc changes without your physician. Vitamin D, magnesium and omega-3 remain the only general supplements.

Stacking: what it pairs with

GHK-Cu is already inside GLOW and KLOW, so the single pen is never run alongside either. The usual reason to choose it instead is to pair it with a different repair format — a standalone TB-500 loading schedule, say, or a daily BPC-157 micro-dose — while keeping the copper peptide at its own dose rather than the combo pen's ratio.

For hair as the main goal, the nightly CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin pairing is the common companion. Whatever is added, the copper rule does not change: no copper, no new high-dose zinc, and the week-12 ceruloplasmin recheck stays on the calendar.

Common mistakes

• Skipping baseline copper and ceruloplasmin. Twelve weeks of daily copper without a starting point is guessing.
• Starting at 3 mg. The ceiling is for a second cycle with clean labs. The first cycle is 1 mg, then 2 mg.
• Mixing up the pens. The 50 mg pen needs twice the clicks of the 100 mg pen for the same dose. Check which pen is in your hand.
• Injecting seven days a week. The two days off are part of the copper plan.
• Adding a copper supplement or a high-dose zinc change mid-cycle. Both alter the balance the protocol is built around.
• Running it on top of GLOW or KLOW. Both already carry GHK-Cu in every click.
• Not wearing SPF. Unprotected sun undoes exactly what the pen is being run for.