Copper-complexed tripeptide
GHK-Cu (Copper Tripeptide-1)
Formula context
GHK is a three-amino-acid peptide. GHK-Cu is that peptide bound to a copper ion. The copper is what gives copper peptide formulas their characteristic blue to blue-green colour, which is why Amplified Glow warns that batch-to-batch colour variation is normal in its products.
In cosmetic formulation the practical constraints are the interesting part. Copper complexes are coloured, which limits how much can be used before a product looks distinctly blue. They also interact with other formula components, so a copper peptide product is not simply a base formula with a peptide stirred in.
Amplified Glow uses GHK-Cu in both leave-on skincare and rinse-off haircare. Those are very different contexts: a leave-on serum stays on skin, while a shampoo is diluted, applied and rinsed within a couple of minutes. The same ingredient at the same percentage is doing a different job in each.
| Product | Disclosed concentration | Format |
|---|---|---|
| GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 Peptide Renewal Serum | 0.15% | Leave-on serum |
| Copper Peptide Strengthening Shampoo – Lavender | 0.15% | Rinse-off shampoo |
| Copper Peptide Nourishing Conditioner – Lavender | 0.15% | Rinse-off conditioner |
| Copper Peptide Renewal Serum | 0.1% | Leave-on serum |
| Copper Peptide Renewal Cream | 0.1% | Leave-on cream |
| Copper Peptide Strengthening Shampoo – Berry | 0.1% | Rinse-off shampoo |
| Copper Peptide Nourishing Conditioner – Berry | 0.1% | Rinse-off conditioner |
| GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 Copper Peptide Cream | Not disclosed | Leave-on cream |
| Men’s Blue Peptide Face Cream | Not disclosed | Leave-on cream |
What the evidence can and cannot establish
GHK-Cu has been studied as an isolated compound. That research exists and is real. What it does not do is tell you what a finished cosmetic containing 0.1% of it will do on your skin.
The gap between the two is not a technicality. A study on an isolated compound typically controls concentration, delivery, contact time and the biological system being measured. A finished cosmetic controls none of those in the same way: the peptide is in a formula with dozens of other ingredients, at a percentage the study may not have used, applied to intact skin for a duration nobody measured, by a person whose skin differs from the study system.
This is why we describe GHK-Cu's cosmetic role and stop there. Amplified Glow describes its products as supporting smoother, healthier-looking skin — an appearance claim about a cosmetic. We report that framing without extending it into any statement about what happens beneath the skin surface.
Claim limitations
- A copper peptide cosmetic is a cosmetic. It is not established here as regenerating tissue, stimulating collagen production in use, healing wounds, or reversing any biological process.
- A disclosed concentration is a formulation fact, not evidence of an outcome.
- A higher disclosed concentration does not establish a better product. Formulation, delivery and the rest of the ingredient list all matter and are not published.
- Results reported for isolated GHK-Cu in laboratory settings do not transfer to finished cosmetic products.
- In a rinse-off product, contact time is short. Nothing here establishes what any peptide achieves in a two-minute wash.
Sensitivity considerations
Amplified Glow recommends patch testing before first use of its leave-on copper peptide products, and states the standard cosmetic warnings: external use only, avoid contact with eyes, discontinue if irritation occurs.
Because no Amplified Glow product publishes a full ingredient list, someone with a known sensitivity cannot screen these products from the website. That is a limitation of the available information rather than a statement about the ingredient.
Common formulation companions
- Sodium hyaluronate and other humectants, used across the whole Amplified Glow range alongside GHK-Cu
- Other peptides — SNAP-8, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 in the Amplified Glow serums
- Methylene blue, disclosed in two Amplified Glow products
- Keratin and panthenol in the haircare formulas
Amplified Glow products that disclose ghk-cu
GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 Peptide Renewal Serum
This is the best-documented serum in the Amplified Glow range. It is the only skincare product in the catalogue that publishes a copper peptide percentage, names three separate peptides, and states a fragrance-free formulation — three things a shopper can actually check before buying. At 30 mL for $21 it is the smallest serum Amplified Glow sells and the most expensive per millilitre. The full ingredient list is not published as text anywhere we could find, so anyone screening for a specific ingredient still cannot do so from the website alone.
Copper Peptide Renewal Serum
This is the value option among Amplified Glow's copper peptide serums: 60 mL for $30.00 works out to $50.00 per 100 mL, against $70.00 per 100 mL for the smaller GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 serum. It discloses a lower copper peptide concentration (0.1% versus 0.15%) and pairs it with Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1 rather than SNAP-8. It is fragrance free, which is stated explicitly. As with every product in the range, the complete ingredient list is not published as text.
GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 Copper Peptide Cream
This is the largest and best-value moisturizer in the Amplified Glow range: 50 mL for $20.00, or $40.00 per 100 mL, against $80.00 per 100 mL for the 30 mL Copper Peptide Renewal Cream. The trade-off is disclosure. The Renewal Cream publishes a 0.1% GHK-Cu figure; this one publishes no copper peptide percentage at all, despite naming the peptide in the product title.
Copper Peptide Renewal Cream
This 30 mL cream is the only Amplified Glow moisturizer that publishes a copper peptide percentage — 0.1% GHK-Cu — and the only one whose disclosed hero ingredients are led by richer emollients: shea butter, jojoba oil and pomegranate seed oil. It is also the most expensive moisturizer per millilitre in the range at $80.00 per 100 mL. If the disclosed percentage matters to you, this is the cream that has one; if volume for money matters more, the 50 mL GHK-Cu + SNAP-8 cream is half the price per millilitre.
Copper Peptide Strengthening Shampoo – Berry
The berry shampoo makes the strongest free-from claim set in the Amplified Glow catalogue — sulfate free, paraben free, dye free, silicone free and cruelty free, all stated outright. On the two attributes where the brand publishes numbers it comes off worse than its lavender sibling: a lower disclosed peptide concentration (0.1% versus 0.15%) at a higher price ($32.00 versus $28.00). If the scent is what you want, the claim set is good; if you are choosing on published specification, the lavender version is better specified for less.
Copper Peptide Nourishing Conditioner – Berry
The berry conditioner discloses keratin, niacinamide, panthenol and 0.1% GHK-Cu at $32.00 for 473 mL. The most useful thing to know before buying is a documentation problem rather than a formula one: the standalone product page gives shampoo directions for a conditioner. Follow the instructions on the bundle page instead.
Copper Peptide Strengthening Shampoo – Lavender
The lavender shampoo discloses a higher copper peptide concentration than the berry version — 0.15% against 0.1% — and adds keratin, niacinamide, creatine and royal jelly extract to the disclosed ingredient set, while costing $4.00 less. On published information it is the better-specified of the two Amplified Glow shampoos. Two things hold this back from a stronger assessment: the sulfate-free wording is softer than the berry line's, and Amplified Glow's own pages disagree about the bottle size.
Copper Peptide Nourishing Conditioner – Lavender
On published specification this is the best-value conditioner Amplified Glow sells: 500 mL for $28.00 is $5.60 per 100 mL, the cheapest in the range, with the highest disclosed peptide concentration at 0.15% and the longest disclosed ingredient set. It is also the only Amplified Glow haircare product that is unambiguously larger than its counterparts — 500 mL against 473 mL.
The Glow Hair Stack (Berry Duo)
The Glow Hair Stack pairs the berry shampoo and berry conditioner for $58.00, against $64.00 for the two bought separately at their current sale prices — a $6.00 saving, or about 9%. Both products disclose 0.1% GHK-Cu and the bundle page gives clearer conditioner instructions than the standalone conditioner page does. It is a straightforward bundle: the same two products, slightly cheaper, with better directions.
References
- Personal Care Products Council — INCI Dictionary
The body that assigns International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients names. The authoritative source for whether a trade name maps to a given INCI entry.
ingredient dictionary
- European Commission — CosIng cosmetic ingredient database
The European Commission’s database of cosmetic substances and ingredients, including INCI names and declared functions.
ingredient dictionary
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review — ingredient safety assessments
An industry-funded expert panel that publishes safety assessments of cosmetic ingredients. Assessments address safety of use, not efficacy.
manufacturer technical
- PubChem — National Center for Biotechnology Information
Public chemical structure and property database maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
government
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Cosmetic Ingredients
The regulator’s overview of how cosmetic ingredients are handled in the United States, including labelling requirements.
government
Related guides
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An INCI list orders ingredients by concentration down to 1%, after which order means nothing. Marketing names and INCI names are different systems — SNAP-8 is a trade name and will appear on a panel as something else. The most useful skill is recognising what a list does not tell you: exact percentages, molecular weights, and the composition of anything labelled "extract" or "fragrance".
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