Celebs Are Injecting Copper to Look Younger. What Could Go Wrong?

What if there were a peptide like Ozempic, but it made your face look younger instead of thinner — and cost a fraction of the price?

That’s the hype behind a peptide that some celebrities, biohackers and life-extension enthusiasts are embracing in growing numbers.

The peptide is called GHK-Cu and its formulation is simple: Three naturally occurring amino acids (all peptides are short chains of amino acids) bound to a copper ion.

“I inject GKU-Cu and use a topical all over my body too,” enthused one Reddit user. “I’m almost 60 and my skin is no longer crepey. The stuff is liquid gold.”

Hailey Bieber, who has her Rhode skin-care company, is a fan. “I think there are certain peptides you can take that are really good for hair, skin and nails, like GHK-Cu, which is the copper peptide, something I take,” she told Interview magazine.

Versions of copper peptides have been used in skin-care products for decades, but the popularity of the GHK-Cu formula has soared over the last year. Google searches for GHK-Cu spiked massively in 2025 and have remained elevated. The safest and most science-backed use of the peptide is in professionally formulated topical creams and when injected by a dermatologist combined with other treatments — such as microneedling and skin resurfacing. It is also used to try and regrow hair.

“Over the past few years, it’s gained much more popularity — starting in the circle of biohackers, bodybuilders and people looking for faster [skin healing] recovery, but also in esthetic circles,” says New York-based dermatologist Dr. Anetta Reszko. “There are multiple benefits. It stimulates new collagen elastin and has been shown to improve overall texture of the skin, like the size of your pores. It works really well for post-laser resurfacing and also for microneedling. It seems to speed up the recovery of the tissue afterwards.”

But GHK-Cu is also being purchased in injectable forms through unregulated online vendors as part of the thriving gray market where peptides are sold as “research chemicals” because they bypass pharmaceutical manufacturing oversight. One popular variation is the so-called “GLOW protocol,” which is GHK-Cu combined with “healing” peptides BPC-157 and TB-500. The cost usually runs about $70 to $300 a month, depending on the source. An injectable form is considered far more effective than topical, as it works systemically and bypasses the top layer of the skin.

“On average, probably 5 to 10 percent of the product which you apply to the surface of the skin goes into the skin,” Reszko notes. “So whenever you can inject something into the skin and break the barrier function, that increases the absorption dramatically.”

So what’s not to love?

There are anecdotal horror stories from those who purchase gray market GHK-Cu (which can cost about $50 for a month’s supply) and inject at home only to experience what’s been dubbed the “copper uglies,” where your skin suddenly looks dramatically worse, as if rapidly aging instead of looking younger, like the villain who “choose poorly” at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

“I’ve been [injecting] GHK-Cu at 2-3mg per day for 12 weeks now and honestly, my skin has never looked worse,” wrote one user on Reddit. “My skin, which has always been plump with a natural radiant glow, is now kind of dull and lackluster. I feel like I’m seeing an increase in sagging.” While another wrote, “The best way I can describe it is that my skin looks kind of like a leather handbag — stiff, textured, and just different. Not wrinkled exactly, but almost like when someone has very sun-damaged skin or overly smooth Botox skin that doesn’t look natural.”

Whether “copper uglies” is a real phenomenon or merely an Internet myth is unclear. What science exists for GHK-Cu is all rather positive (a 2018 analysis of the science concluded the peptide’s actions “appear to be health positive,” saying it boosts collagen, improves tissue repair and has powerful cell-protective actions, including multiple anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory actions).

The conclusion seems to be the same for any peptide use: Don’t experiment on yourself. Going through a med spa or dermatologist might be more expensive, but you’re going to get a safer product and proper guidance. Gray market peptides have been found to contain toxic heavy metals (like arsenic and lead). Users are also advised to cycle GHK-Cu rather than staying on it year-round.

“What else is in the [online] formulation that they’re getting?” asks Reszko, who says she’s never experienced a “copper uglies” case in her practice. “You don’t know what’s in the formulation. And if you overdose on copper, you can actually get toxicity from it. So knowing the source is crucial. It actually took us a while to find compounding pharmacies that are good. I wish there was a little bit more oversight. Not all copper peptides are created equal.”

This story appears in The Hollywood Reporter’s July 2026 issue “The New Face of Hollywood.” Click here to read more.