Skin, Hair & Cosmetic Research Peptides

What's here and what has been tested

Both figures came from HPLC. An HPLC purity result covers identity and purity of the material in the tested lot. It does not measure sterility, endotoxin or heavy metals, and it describes that lot rather than everything sharing a label. We hold each report and send it on request.

The copper in GHK-Cu is chemistry, not marketing

GHK is a tripeptide with the sequence glycyl-histidyl-lysine, and it occurs naturally in human plasma, saliva and urine.¹ The copper form is the one sold, and the reason matters.

When copper ions bind to the GHK tripeptide, the copper's redox activity is silenced. That is how the complex carries copper into a cell without the toxicity free copper would carry. It's a property of the complex, not a benefit claim, and it's the single most useful thing to understand about why this compound is sold as GHK-Cu rather than as GHK.

The published work covers skin regeneration and cellular pathway modulation.¹ Those are the models the literature used. They are not outcomes we're claiming for a vial.

One caveat specific to copper complexes: peptide purity and copper content are separate questions. An HPLC purity result addresses the peptide. It says nothing about how much copper is present or how well it is bound.

Glutathione is a tripeptide, and most of what's sold is oral

Glutathione is glutamate, cysteine and glycine joined together, and it occurs in cells throughout the body as the principal intracellular antioxidant.² A 2011 study in Diabetes Care examined glutathione synthesis in patients with uncontrolled diabetes and its restoration through dietary cysteine and glycine.²

That study is about endogenous synthesis and diet. It is not about an injected research vial, and the distance between the two is the point.

Glutathione is also sold widely as an oral supplement. We haven't tested those and won't characterise them. What we can say is what this listing carries: a purity figure, a named laboratory and a batch reference you can ask to see.

Regulatory status in Canada

Health Canada regulates injectable peptides as drugs and has stated in writing that labelling one "for research use only" doesn't remove it from that regulation.³ Both compounds here are supplied for laboratory research use only, and neither is approved for human or veterinary use.

GHK and GHK-Cu appear by name on the seized-product list in Health Canada's notice.⁴

Neither of these is a cosmetic. Cosmetic products in Canada are regulated separately and carry their own requirements, and nothing on this page is supplied for topical or personal use.

Buying these in Canada

GHK-Cu is in stock and ships anywhere in Canada. Glutathione is listed but has no price, so it cannot currently be ordered.

Both are lyophilised powders and need bacteriostatic water, which we stock separately. GHK-Cu also appears inside two blends, KLOW and GLOW, where it is 50mg of the total in each, so if you want it alongside BPC-157 and TB-500 that's the route.

Compare on price per milligram rather than price per vial. When you order, the batch reference travels on the packing slip.

Browse the full range, or contact us with a compound name to ask for a certificate before you buy.

Common questions

What are skin peptides? A loose label for peptides studied in skin and cellular repair models. Here it means one copper-bound tripeptide and one antioxidant tripeptide. It isn't a chemical class, and it isn't a claim about skin.

Which of these has a certificate of analysis? Both. GHK-Cu at 98.87% and Glutathione at 99.15%, each with Medutest, each with the batch named.

Can I buy Glutathione? Not at present. It has no price set. That's a listing gap, not a stock problem, and it's one of five products on the site in the same position.

Why is it GHK-Cu rather than GHK? Because the copper is bound into the complex, which silences the copper's redox activity. That's the chemical reason the copper form is the one studied and sold.

Does the purity figure cover the copper? No. An HPLC purity result addresses the peptide. Copper content is a separate question and this figure doesn't answer it.

Are these cosmetics? No. Nothing here is supplied for topical or personal use, and cosmetics are regulated separately in Canada.

Are they safe? No safety profile has been established for either as supplied here, and a purity assay isn't a safety assessment. An HPLC result covers identity and purity in one lot. It doesn't measure sterility, endotoxin or heavy metals.

How long does reconstituted material last? Much less time than sealed lyophilised powder. Reconstitution shortens the usable life considerably, which is why the vials ship as dry powder.

Sources

1. Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. "GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration." BioMed Research International, 2015. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4508379/
2. Sekhar RV et al. "Glutathione synthesis is diminished in patients with uncontrolled diabetes and restored by dietary supplementation with cysteine and glycine." Diabetes Care, 2011. doi:10.2337/dc10-1006. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20929994/
3. Health Canada. "Think twice before injecting peptides bought online: unauthorized products can seriously harm your health." Advisory, 9 April 2026: "This type of labelling does not make these products legal or exempt from regulatory requirements." https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/think-twice-injecting-peptides-bought-online-unauthorized-products-can-seriously-harm
4. Health Canada. "Unauthorized injectable peptide drugs seized and sold by Canada Peptide may pose serious health risks." GHK and GHK-Cu appear on the seized-product list. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/unauthorized-injectable-peptide-drugs-seized-and-sold-canada-peptide-may-pose-serious