What is Hexarelin?
Hexarelin is a synthetic GH secretagogue and the most potent member of the classic GHRP series in terms of pure GH output. The catch: the body adapts relatively fast, the effect fades with continuous use.
Comparison
Other routes to growth hormone
Where each compound acts, as stated in the TPD lexicon. Tap a card to open its entry.
How it works
Hexarelin activates the ghrelin receptor and triggers a strong GH pulse. It can additionally, somewhat more than the other GHRPs, slightly raise cortisol and prolactin. Because of the tolerance it is used in cycles rather than continuously.
Where it acts
Where hexarelin acted in studies
Tap a point or a card. Colour = receptor, grey = effect seen in trials.
Known targets5
Compound CHEMBL108335: two described targets, type of action on each card.
- Gene
- GHSR
- UniProt
- Q92847
- ChEMBL
- CHEMBL4616
- Action
- Agonist, triggers growth hormone release
- Gene
- CD36
- UniProt
- P16671
- ChEMBL
- CHEMBL1744526
- Action
- Binding site in the heart, independent of growth hormone (animal studies)
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.
-
Hexarelin vial
The hexarelin vial (lyophilized powder).
-
Water and supplies
Bacteriostatic water, U-100 insulin syringes, alcohol swabs.
Reconstitution
Use the peptide calculator. A 5mg vial with 2ml water gives 2500mcg per ml, 100mcg is 4 units on the U-100 syringe. 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. Hexarelin is injected fasted, with a gap to meals.
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.
-
Clean the spot with an alcohol swab and let it dry
-
Pinch up a small fold of skin
-
Insert the needle: at 90 degrees where there is more fat under the skin, at 45 degrees in lean people with little fat
-
Inject slowly, wait a moment, then withdraw
-
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 study (Arvat, Ghigo, 2001) compared ghrelin, hexarelin and GHRH in humans and confirmed hexarelin as a very potent GH secretagogue. The tolerance with repeated dosing is also documented, which is why continuous use makes little sense.
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.
GH response with long-term use3
Area under the GH curve after a test dose, hexarelin until week 16, then a break
Hexarelin: Week 0 +19.1 µg·h/l, Week 1 +13.1 µg·h/l, Week 4 +12.3 µg·h/l, Week 16 +10.5 µg·h/l, Week 20 +19.4 µg·h/l.
Adults, twice daily under the skin. The drop at weeks 4 and 16 was significant, four weeks after stopping the response was back at baseline. IGF-1, fat mass, lean mass and bone density did not change significantly.
Peak GH after one dose1
Seven healthy young men, same amount per kilogram into the vein, in µg/l
Ghrelin released significantly more growth hormone than hexarelin, both clearly more than GHRH. Prolactin, ACTH and cortisol rose with both, more strongly with ghrelin.
How much arrives2
Biological availability compared with a dose into the vein, based on the GH response, 12 healthy young adults
The GH response rose with the amount on all routes. Via the nose and swallowed, many times the amount is needed for a similar response.
Left ventricular ejection fraction6
Before and after one dose into the vein, people with severe heart failure
In ischaemic cardiomyopathy the ejection fraction rose significantly, in dilated cardiomyopathy it did not, although growth hormone rose equally in both groups. The authors suspect a direct effect on the heart muscle.
Research status
Where the research stands
Hexarelin was studied in humans mainly in the 1990s, before trials had to be registered. ClinicalTrials.gov lists no trial, not even under the name examorelin. As of 26 Oct 2026. 8
Side effects
- Fading effect with continuous use (tolerance).
- Somewhat stronger rise in cortisol and prolactin than the other GHRPs.
- Water retention, tingling, local reactions.
Practice
-
Use in limited cycles, not continuously.
-
For a steady, clean GH push, ipamorelin is often the better fit.
-
Banned in official competition.
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, in practice considerably longer.
- Keep it dark
- Dissolved: 2 to 8 degrees
- Note the mixing date on the vial
