GHK-Cu Reconstitution Calculator
Turn an amount you already have into the exact injection volume and insulin syringe units for your vial. The math only. It never picks a dose for you, and for GHK-Cu no established human injectable dose exists.
This calculator does not tell you how much to inject. Once you enter a target amount from your own research protocol or supplier sheet, it converts that amount into concentration, liquid volume in millilitres, and U-100 insulin syringe units. The decision of whether to use GHK-Cu at all, and at what amount, is not one a web page can make for you.
Enter your own numbers
The target amount starts at zero and no result is shown until you set it yourself, because GHK-Cu has no established human injectable dose for this page to suggest. Drag the slider to whatever your protocol source specifies.
Target amount from your protocol or supplier. This starts at zero, and nothing is calculated until you drag the slider to your own figure. GHK-Cu has no established human injectable dose, so the number has to come from your source, not from here.
What the evidence and the community report
These are amounts recorded in published studies and source documents, not recommendations. The Who column says whether a figure came from people, animals, or self-report, and the Ref number points to the full citation in Sources below.
Caution: every published row here is topical, so the only subcutaneous figures on this page are self-reported.
A. Approved label doses
None. No regulator has approved GHK-Cu as a drug, so no label sets a figure.
B. Amounts administered in published studies
| Amount | Schedule | Route | Who | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.4 percent cream | not stated | topical | human, n=86 evaluable | [4] |
| ALAVAX 100 mg/ml (A), 50 mg/ml (B), or placebo | once a day for 6 months | topical, scalp | human, n = 45 | [8] |
| copper peptide 1 percent, with topical finasteride 0.05 percent and growth factors | not stated | topical | human, 4 cases | [9] |
C. Community reported practice
Self-reported and not peer reviewed; the publisher earns affiliate commissions from linked vendors.
| Amount | Schedule | Route | Who | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 percent to 3 percent by weight, some sources 4 to 5 percent; 1 to 2 percent for facial use | once or twice daily over 8 to 12 weeks | topical | self-reported | [10] |
| 1 to 2 mg per day; conservative 1.0 mg; standard 1.0 to 1.5 mg | 5 days on 2 days off for 4 weeks, or daily for 4 to 6 weeks | subcutaneous | self-reported | [10] |
Disclaimer: no figure here is a recommendation, and what to take, if anything, is a decision for a licensed prescriber, not for a web page.
Two worked math examples
Both examples use 2 mg because it is a round number that keeps the arithmetic easy to follow. It is not a recommendation and not a figure to copy. Use whatever your own protocol source specifies.
Example A: 50 mg vial with 2 mL
Math illustration, not a dose to take. The concentration is 50 / 2 = 25 mg/mL, or 25000 mcg/mL. A 2 mg target gives 2000 / 25000 = 0.08 mL, which is 8 units on a U-100 syringe. The vial contains 50000 / 2000 = 25 illustrative draws.
Example B: 50 mg vial with 1 mL
Math illustration, not a dose to take. The concentration is 50 / 1 = 50 mg/mL, or 50000 mcg/mL. The same 2 mg target gives 2000 / 50000 = 0.04 mL, which is 4 units on a U-100 syringe. The vial still contains 25 illustrative draws.
Changing the water volume changes the concentration and syringe reading, but it does not change how much peptide is in the vial or how many equal amounts the vial contains.
What this calculator does, and what it will not do
A reconstitution calculator answers a mechanical question. You have a vial of freeze dried peptide and add a known volume of water. That fixes the concentration. From there, any amount you enter has one matching draw volume, and the calculator finds it. There is no judgment in that step, only division.
It will not choose the amount. There is no established human injectable dose for GHK-Cu to use as a fallback. The target amount is something you bring to the calculator, not something it gives you. If you do not have a number from a source you trust, no calculation on this page can supply one.
How the concentration math works
Divide the peptide amount in the vial by the water volume to get the concentration in mg/mL. Convert the target amount to micrograms, then divide it by the concentration in mcg/mL to get the liquid volume. The calculator multiplies that volume by 100 for U-100 syringe units.
target mcg / concentration mcg per mL = volume in mL
volume in mL x 100 = U-100 syringe units
Picking the BAC water volume
The amount of water you add does not change how much peptide is in the vial. It only changes the concentration and therefore the liquid volume for the target number you enter. A 50 mg vial with 1 mL is twice as concentrated as the same vial with 2 mL, so the calculated draw is half the volume for the same amount. The calculator recomputes instantly so you can compare the arithmetic with your supplier's written reconstitution instructions. For more context on water types, read BAC water vs sterile water.
Reading the insulin syringe
The calculator uses the U-100 conversion:
1 unit = 0.01 mL
100 units = 1 mL = full 1 mL barrel
A result of 0.5 mL is 50 units, and a result of 0.25 mL is 25 units. The calculator shows both formats and checks the result against the selected 0.3 mL, 0.5 mL, or 1.0 mL barrel capacity. For a general mixing and measuring walkthrough, see how to use peptides.
Why the calculator does not choose an amount
The cited record below includes reviews, animal studies, cell-culture work, and controlled human studies of topical products. It does not establish a human injectable dose for GHK-Cu. Those papers cannot supply a target number for this calculator, so the tool only runs arithmetic on the number you enter.
For information about the compound itself, read the GHK-Cu compound profile and the topical GHK-Cu profile.
Sources
1. Dou Y, Lee A, Zhu L, Morton J, Ladiges W. The potential of GHK as an anti-aging peptide. Aging Pathobiol Ther. 2020 Mar 27;2(1):58-61. PMID: 35083444. DOI: 10.31491/apt.2020.03.014.
2. Maquart FX, Bellon G, Chaqour B, Wegrowski J, Patt LM, Trachy RE, et al. In vivo stimulation of connective tissue accumulation by the tripeptide-copper complex glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-Cu2+ in rat experimental wounds. J Clin Invest. 1993 Nov;92(5):2368-76. PMID: 8227353. DOI: 10.1172/JCI116842.
3. Miller TR, Wagner JD, Baack BR, Eisbach KJ. Effects of topical copper tripeptide complex on CO2 laser-resurfaced skin. Arch Facial Plast Surg. 2006 Jul-Aug;8(4):252-9. PMID: 16847171. DOI: 10.1001/archfaci.8.4.252.
4. Bishop JB, Phillips LG, Mustoe TA, VanderZee AJ, Wiersema L, Roach DE, et al. A prospective randomized evaluator-blinded trial of two potential wound healing agents for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers. J Vasc Surg. 1992 Aug;16(2):251-7. PMID: 1495150. DOI: 10.1067/mva.1992.37086. The abstract names a biologically active tripeptide copper complex rather than GHK-Cu, so the identification rests on that description. The result was negative: silver sulfadiazine 1 percent beat both the copper complex and placebo, and there was no difference between the copper complex and placebo.
5. Gruchlik A, Chodurek E, Dzierzewicz Z. Effect of GLY-HIS-LYS and its copper complex on TGF-β secretion in normal human dermal fibroblasts. Acta Pol Pharm. 2014 Nov-Dec;71(6):954-8. PMID: 25745767.
6. Wang X, Liu B, Xu Q, Sun H, Shi M, Wang D, et al. GHK-Cu-liposomes accelerate scald wound healing in mice by promoting cell proliferation and angiogenesis. Wound Repair Regen. 2017 Apr;25(2):270-278. PMID: 28370978. DOI: 10.1111/wrr.12520.
7. Pickart L, Margolina A. Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide in the Light of the New Gene Data. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Jul 7;19(7):. PMID: 29986520. DOI: 10.3390/ijms19071987.
8. Efficacy of a Complex of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid and Glycyl-Histidyl-Lysine Peptide on Hair Growth. Ann Dermatol. 2016. PMID: 27489425. ALAVAX is a complex of 5-aminolevulinic acid and GHK peptide, so its concentration is not a pure GHK-Cu figure and not a copper complex figure, and must not be read as one.
9. Fractional non-ablative laser-assisted drug delivery leads to improvement in male and female pattern hair loss. J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2019. PMID: 29452017. Uncontrolled 4 case series; the copper peptide was applied after non-ablative fractional erbium glass laser and was one of at least six simultaneous interventions, so no effect can be attributed to it.
10. Grant G. GHK-Cu Peptide Dosing Guide. Peptide Dosing Protocols, peptidedosingprotocols.com/protocol/ghk-cu, fetched 2026-08-04. Self-reported and not peer reviewed. Commercial interest: the publisher runs an affiliate model, earning commissions from linked vendors. That same page states of its own accord that no published human randomized trial has evaluated injectable GHK-Cu for cosmetic, hair, or wound endpoints, and describes injectable timelines as anecdotal and not trial validated.
Frequently asked questions
Does GHK-Cu have an established human injectable dose?
No. There is no established human injectable dose for GHK-Cu. That is why the target amount on this page starts at zero and no result appears until you set it yourself: there is no figure the tool could fill in that would not read as a recommendation. If you are working from your own research protocol or a supplier's sheet, drag the slider to that number and let the tool do the volume math. What you personally should do, if anything, is a decision for you and a qualified clinician, not for a web page.
How do I use this calculator for a specific amount?
The target amount starts at zero and nothing is calculated until you move it. Drag the slider to whatever number your own protocol or supplier specifies, in mcg or mg, and the calculator recomputes the injection volume, the insulin syringe units, and how many doses your vial holds. It never judges the number you set. It only does the arithmetic on it.
How much BAC water do I add to a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial?
There is no single answer from the calculator because water volume is a readability choice, not a potency choice. A 50 mg vial in 2 mL of water gives a concentration of 25 mg/mL. The same vial in 1 mL gives 50 mg/mL, so whatever amount you enter draws half the volume at the higher concentration. More water spreads the marks out on the syringe, less water concentrates the draw, and neither changes how much peptide is in the vial. For the same arithmetic without a compound preset, use the general peptide reconstitution calculator.
Why does this calculator not choose an amount?
A reconstitution calculator can divide the peptide in a vial by the water added, but it cannot turn animal studies, cell-culture work, or a protocol from somewhere else into medical advice. GHK-Cu has no established human injectable dose. You bring the target number, and the calculator handles only the concentration and draw math.
Why does changing BAC water change the syringe reading?
The amount of peptide in the vial stays fixed. Adding more water lowers the concentration, so the same target amount needs a larger draw volume. Adding less water raises the concentration, so the same target amount needs a smaller draw volume. The calculator updates both the millilitres and U-100 syringe units when you move the water slider.
How do I read insulin syringe units?
On a U-100 insulin syringe, 1 unit equals 0.01 mL and 100 units equals 1 mL. The calculator multiplies the injection volume in millilitres by 100 and shows the result as syringe units. Check that result against the markings and capacity of the syringe you selected.
Is this calculator medical advice?
No. It is harm reduction education. It performs reconstitution arithmetic on numbers you supply. It does not diagnose, does not prescribe, and does not tell you what amount to take. GHK-Cu has no established human injectable dose. Always cross-check with your protocol source, supplier instructions, and where possible a qualified clinician.
This is harm reduction education, not medical advice
This calculator is for educational use. It converts an amount you already have into a volume and syringe reading. It does not choose an amount, and GHK-Cu has no established human injectable dose. Peptide protocols vary between individuals and compounds. Always cross-check with your protocol source, supplier instructions, and where possible a qualified clinician.