The Peptide Desk The Peptide Desk

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Lexicon
Skin, hair & anti-aging

AHK-CU

A copper tripeptide focused on hair growth and scalp circulation, related to GHK-Cu.

2 min read 5 sources

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Still from the explainer video about this entry
Preclinical (lab) · not approvedLab tested in the shop

No time to read it all? The video sums up the whole entry in about a minute, from how it works to the studies and storage.

Summary

At a glance

Sources checked on 26 Oct 2026

Length
3 amino acids

alanine, histidine, lysine, plus a bound copper ion5

Published paper on hair
1 study

human hair follicles and papilla cells in the lab1

Own human trial in the registry
0 trials

only as part of a skin serum with five peptides, as of 26 Oct 20264

  • AHK-Cu is the copper complex of the tripeptide alanine-histidine-lysine and closely related to GHK-Cu. The focus is hair growth.51
  • In a lab study human hair follicles outside the body grew longer with AHK-Cu and the dermal papilla cells divided more often.1
  • In these cells the ratio of the protective proteins Bcl-2 to Bax rose while cleaved caspase-3 and PARP fell. Less cell death appeared as a trend but was not significant.1
  • According to the same paper the tripeptide copper complex stimulates connective tissue cells of the skin and raises their production of VEGF, a signal for new blood vessels.1
  • There is no human study of AHK-Cu alone (as of October 2026). Everything here is preclinical research, not a recommendation.4
Profile

Updated May 2026

Class
Copper tripeptide

copper tripeptide-3

Use
Subcutaneous or topical

in mcg/mg

Focus
Hair growth

scalp

Status
Preclinical

in vitro

Sizes
50 to 100 mg

2 sizes in the shop

Contents 16 sections
  1. At a glance
  2. What is AHK-CU?
  3. How it works
  4. What you need
  5. Reconstitution
  6. Dosing
  7. Injection
  8. What the research shows
  9. Research status
  10. On the skin
  11. Side effects
  12. Storage
  13. Related compounds
  14. FAQ
  15. Glossary
  16. Sources

What is AHK-CU?

AHK-CU is a copper tripeptide (copper tripeptide-3), closely related to the better-known GHK-Cu. While GHK-Cu targets skin and connective tissue more, AHK-Cu focuses on hair growth and scalp circulation.

Comparison

Copper tripeptides compared

Related tripeptides from the TPD lexicon, as described there. Tap a card to open its entry.

Tripeptide without copper GHK Basic Tripeptide Copper tripeptide, focus on skin GHK-Cu TripeptideCopper
Copper tripeptide, focus on hair AHK-CU TripeptideCopper

Simplified by structure and focus of the entries. There is no direct comparison in a study. 1

How it works

Copper peptides promote the formation of new blood vessels and support the cells important for hair growth (dermal papilla cells). AHK-Cu is meant to stimulate exactly these cells and support the hair follicles via better circulation.

Related copper-peptide information is in the GHK-Cu entry.

Where it acts

Where AHK-Cu acted in experiments

Tap a point or a card. Grey = observed. All from lab experiments with human tissue.

  1. Hair follicles (scalp)

    Longer hair follicles and more division of papilla cells, in the lab outside the body1

    Observed in trials
Glass hair root in layered glass skin, surrounded by fine copper-red vessels, small blue molecules beside it
Copper peptides are meant to support the cells at the hair follicle and blood flow. Symbolic image.

What you need

Supplies

2 things, numbered as in the picture

Tick off what you already have. Vial and BAC water are our real shop photos at the same size.

AHK-CU vial with blue powder and bacteriostatic water at the same size with the black TPD label, next to two U-100 insulin syringes, two alcohol swabs and a sharps container with a blue lid

  1. AHK-CU vial

    The AHK-CU vial (lyophilized powder).

    In the shop

  2. Water and supplies

    Bacteriostatic water, U-100 insulin syringes, alcohol swabs.

    In the shop

Reconstitution

Use the peptide calculator. A 100mg vial with 3ml water gives roughly 33mg per ml. Just add the water to the vial and let it dissolve. Many also use AHK-Cu topically on the scalp.

Step by step

Dissolving the powder

Four steps, the same for every vial size.

  1. 1Wipe the cap

    Clean the rubber stopper with an alcohol swab.

  2. 2Add BAC water

    Just add it, it does not matter if it hits the powder directly.

  3. 3Swirl or shake

    Until everything has dissolved, both are fine.

  4. 4Draw up

    With the U-100 insulin syringe.

Less water higher concentration fewer units on the syringe Example: 100 mg + 3 ml = 33.33 mg/ml

Dosing

Dosing

Dosing, titration and syringe

Loading the dosing information …

  • Getting started and stepping up, drawn as a staircase
  • Units on the U-100 syringe for every step
  • How long one vial lasts

Injection

The injection is subcutaneous, into the fat layer under the skin. Common spots are the abdomen (keep about two finger-widths clear of the navel), the front and the inner side of the thigh, or the back of the upper arm.

The short version:

Injection

Where and at what angle

Pick a spot or switch the angle. Subcutaneous means: into the fat layer, not the muscle.

Rotate the spot each time, never the same one twice in a row.

90°More fat under the skin

Rule of thumb: where there is more fat under the skin, insert straight at 90 degrees. In lean people with little fat, 45 degrees, so the needle stays in the fat layer. Simplified diagram.

  1. Clean the spot with an alcohol swab and let it dry

  2. Pinch up a small fold of skin

  3. Insert the needle: at 90 degrees where there is more fat under the skin, at 45 degrees in lean people with little fat

  4. Inject slowly, wait a moment, then withdraw

  5. Put the needle straight into the sharps container

Rotate the site each time so the tissue does not get irritated. Never the same spot twice in a row.

Alternatively AHK-Cu is used topically, in which case there is no injection.

What the research shows

An in vitro study (Pyo, 2007) showed that the AHK copper complex stimulated the growth of human hair follicles and the proliferation of dermal papilla cells. That is an interesting cell-level basis but not a clinical human study.

Incubator shelves with stacked petri dishes, in the middle a frosted glass hair root with fine hairs
Lab experiments only so far. Symbolic image.

Research status

Where the research stands

ClinicalTrials.gov lists no trial of AHK-Cu alone. An early trial (early phase 1, from October 2026) tests a skin serum with five small peptides including AHK-Cu together with medicines and supplements. It is not counted here as a trial of its own. As of 26 Oct 2026. 4

  1. Preclinical Hair follicles and cell culture in the lab
  2. Phase 1 no registered trial
  3. Phase 2 no registered trial
  4. Phase 3 no registered trial
  5. Approval not yet
Not approved as a medicine and no human trial of its own.4

So far there is no registered trial in humans. 4

On the skin

AHK-Cu is often applied directly to the scalp instead of being injected. The Pyo study treated hair follicles in the lab. There is no study yet in which AHK-Cu was applied to human skin or scalp. For the related GHK there is one: in a small placebo-controlled study men with pattern hair loss sprayed a solution of GHK and 5-aminolevulinic acid onto the scalp for six months. Hair count rose more than on placebo (Lee 2016).

Hand touching a swirl of white cream on a light marble slab with water droplets and white flowers
Symbolic image.

Side effects

  • Generally well tolerated, mainly local reactions at the application site.
  • Solid human data are limited.

Storage

Before mixing the powder is robust, normal room temperature (around 20 to 25 degrees) is fine, ideally kept in the dark. After mixing, keep in the fridge (2 to 8 degrees), do not freeze. It stays good there for at least 4 to 6 months with barely any loss of potency, in practice considerably longer. Swirl or shake to mix, both are fine.

Shelf life

How long it keeps

Undissolved (powder) Room temperature, around 20 to 25 degrees, dark

Robust, no fridge needed. Best kept in the dark.

Dissolved (mixed) Fridge, 2 to 8 degrees, do not freeze

At least 4 to 6 months with barely any loss of potency. The bacteriostatic water brings a preservative. The blue colour comes from the copper.

  • Keep it dark
  • Dissolved: 2 to 8 degrees
  • Note the mixing date on the vial
Nine vials with white powder and blue caps in the door shelf of a bright fridge
Powder dark at room temperature, once dissolved into the fridge (2 to 8 degrees), stable there for at least 4 to 6 months. Symbolic image.

Related

Related compounds

Same features or a different path: all in the TPD lexicon.

AHK-CU
GHK-Cu Related copper tripeptide, focus on skin GHK Basic GHK without bound copper GHK-Cu + KPV Blend Blend of GHK-Cu and KPV KPV Another tripeptide, anti-inflammatory Minoxidil (oral) A different approach focused on hair Finasteride A different approach focused on hair

FAQ

Common questions about AHK-CU

Short answers, each backed by the sources below.

Has AHK-Cu been studied in humans?

Not on its own. The registry lists only an early trial from October 2026 that tests a skin serum with five small peptides including AHK-Cu. What AHK-Cu contributes will not be separable that way.43

What does the lab study on hair show?

Human hair follicles outside the body grew longer with AHK-Cu and the dermal papilla cells divided more often. The ratio of the protective proteins Bcl-2 to Bax rose while cleaved caspase-3 and PARP fell. Fewer dying papilla cells appeared as a trend but the difference was not significant.1

How does AHK-Cu differ from GHK-Cu?

Both are copper complexes of three amino acids. They differ in the first building block: alanine in AHK, glycine in GHK. GHK-Cu is far better studied, mainly on the skin.51

Does AHK-Cu help against hair loss?

That has not been shown. There are only experiments with tissue and cells in the lab. Whether the effect reaches the scalp of a person has never been tested in a study.14

Can AHK-Cu be applied to the scalp?

Many apply it directly to the scalp, but this has not been tested in humans. The only study on AHK-Cu treated hair follicles in the lab. For the related GHK there was a small placebo-controlled study with a scalp spray of GHK and 5-aminolevulinic acid in men with pattern hair loss. Hair count rose more there than on placebo.12

Which side effects are known?

There are no solid data because AHK-Cu has never been tested on its own in a human study.4

Glossary

Terms explained briefly

Dotted words in the text open these explanations directly.

Bcl-2 and Bax
Opponents in programmed cell death: Bcl-2 protects the cell, Bax drives cell death. A higher ratio means more protection.
Caspase-3
An enzyme that carries out programmed cell death. Its cleaved form shows that the process is under way.
Copper complex
A compound in which a copper ion is bound tightly to the peptide. Hence the blue colour of the powder.
Dermal papilla cells
Specialised connective tissue cells at the base of the hair follicle. They control the formation and growth of the hair.
Hair follicle
The small pocket in the skin in which a hair grows.
Lyophilisate
Freeze-dried powder. Without water a peptide keeps much longer.
Preclinical
Research before first use in humans, in cell cultures, tissue and animal models.
Subcutaneous
Into the fat layer just under the skin.
Tripeptide
A chain of exactly three amino acids. For AHK these are alanine, histidine and lysine.
VEGF
A growth factor that triggers the formation of new blood vessels.

Evidence

Sources

Show all 5 sourcesHide sources 2 Studies2 Trial registry1 Database checked 26 Oct 2026

Studies

  1. AHK-Cu and the growth of human hair follicles in the lab

    Pyo et al., Archives of Pharmacal Research, 2007

    DOI 10.1007/BF02978833 PMID 17703734
    Checked 26 Oct 2026 via doi.org, Crossref, PubMed
  2. Scalp spray of GHK and 5-aminolevulinic acid in pattern hair loss

    Lee et al., Annals of Dermatology, 2016

    DOI 10.5021/ad.2016.28.4.438 PMID 27489425
    Checked 26 Oct 2026 via doi.org, Crossref, PubMed, PubMed Central

Trial registry

  1. Early trial with a skin serum of five peptides (including AHK-Cu)

    ClinicalTrials.gov, Early Phase 1, Start Oktober 2026

    NCT07888595
    Checked 26 Oct 2026 via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2
  2. Search on ClinicalTrials.gov (no trial with AHK-Cu alone)

    ClinicalTrials.gov, U.S. National Library of Medicine

    Checked 26 Oct 2026 via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2

Database

  1. Structure of Ala-His-Lys in PubChem

    PubChem, U.S. National Library of Medicine (CID 7408502)

    Checked 26 Oct 2026 via PubChem

In the shop

AHK-CU in the catalog

Sizes, prices and shipping times are on the product page.

To the product