What is GHK Basic?
GHK Basic is the GHK peptide (glycyl-histidyl-lysine) in its base form, so without the tightly bound copper ion that characterizes the GHK-Cu variant. GHK is an endogenous tripeptide associated with skin, collagen and tissue regeneration.
Comparison
Small peptides of three building blocks
Where each compound acts, as stated in the TPD lexicon. Tap a card to open its entry.
How it works
GHK readily binds copper in the body anyway and unfolds many of its effects through that: it stimulates the formation of collagen and other connective-tissue building blocks, supports skin regeneration and acts antioxidant. The base form can take up the body's own copper, in practice GHK and GHK-Cu are closely related.
Where it acts
Where GHK acted in experiments
Tap a point or a card. Colour = feature, grey = observed. Almost all from cell experiments, gene data and animal models.
- Lung
Reversed the gene pattern of lung destruction, connective tissue cells from COPD lungs remodelled collagen normally again6
Observed in trials - Liver cells
GHK forms a complex with copper and carries it into cultured liver cancer cells5
Copper - Skin
More collagen, dermatan sulphate and decorin, according to a review mostly as the copper complex3
Observed in trials - Blood
Level falls from about 200 to about 80 ng/ml between ages 20 and 602
Observed in trials
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.
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GHK Basic vial
The GHK Basic vial (lyophilized powder).
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Water and supplies
Bacteriostatic water, U-100 insulin syringes, alcohol swabs.
Reconstitution
Use the peptide calculator. A 50mg vial with 2ml water gives 25mg per ml. Just add the water to the vial and let it dissolve.
Step by step
Dissolving the powder
Four steps, the same for every vial size.
- 1Wipe the cap
Clean the rubber stopper with an alcohol swab.
- 2Add BAC water
Just add it, it does not matter if it hits the powder directly.
- 3Swirl or shake
Until everything has dissolved, both are fine.
- 4Draw up
With the U-100 insulin syringe.
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.
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.
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Clean the spot with an alcohol swab and let it dry
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Pinch up a small fold of skin
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Insert the needle: at 90 degrees where there is more fat under the skin, at 45 degrees in lean people with little fat
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Inject slowly, wait a moment, then withdraw
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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.
What the research shows
A detailed review (Pickart & Margolina, 2018) summarizes the regenerative and protective actions of GHK: promotion of collagen, skin regeneration, wound healing and antioxidant effects. Much of this is described in cell and animal models, for injectable use in humans the data is thinner.
Study results
What the trials measured
Interactive: switch tabs, tap points, show or hide arms. Arms are named relative to each other, no dosing advice.
GHK in blood plasma2
Approximate level in nanograms per millilitre
Values from the full text of the 2018 review, measured for the body's own GHK. This is not a trial of the compound. Whether GHK given from outside takes over the same jobs has not been tested in humans.
Research status
Where the research stands
The registry lists no trial with copper-free GHK. With GHK-Cu there is only an early trial of a skin serum made of several peptides. As of 26 Oct 2026. 8
On the skin
GHK without copper has been tested in humans as a scalp spray. In a small placebo-controlled study men with pattern hair loss applied a solution of GHK and 5-aminolevulinic acid for six months. Hair count rose more than on placebo and no side effects occurred (Lee 2016). Because GHK was combined with a second ingredient there, the effect cannot be put down to the peptide alone.
Side effects
- Generally well tolerated, mainly local reactions at the injection site.
- Solid human data on injection 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
Robust, no fridge needed.
At least 4 to 6 months with barely any loss of potency. The bacteriostatic water brings a preservative.
- Keep it dark
- Dissolved: 2 to 8 degrees
- Note the mixing date on the vial
