GHK-Cu Copper Peptide for Androgenetic Alopecia
There is no sound clinical evidence that GHK-Cu copper peptide treats androgenetic alopecia. No controlled trial has ever tested copper peptide on its own for hair loss, and regulators class it as a cosmetic ingredient, not an approved hair-loss treatment.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
This earns a Counter-Evidence (Tier D) grade because the human data collapse on close inspection. The single randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Lee 2016, n=45; PMID 27489425) did show more hair, but it tested a GHK peptide combined with 5-aminolevulinic acid — copper is never mentioned, and the co-agent makes any peptide-specific effect impossible to isolate. The only other human report (PMID 40225275, n=7, uncontrolled) tattooed a minoxidil + dutasteride + copper-peptide mixture into the scalp; minoxidil and dutasteride are the proven actives, and there is no control arm.
The remaining support is preclinical: cultured cells and ex-vivo follicles (PMID 17703734), C3H mice (PMID 1809108), and two mechanistic reviews by the molecule's discoverer, which carry an intellectual conflict of interest (PMID 29986520, PMID 18644225). Plausible biology — stimulating dermal papilla cells, suppressing TGF-β1 — is not the same as a clinical effect in patients.
Regulators and clinics reinforce this. The FDA treats copper peptides as cosmetic ingredients and approves only minoxidil and finasteride for hair loss; EFSA's copper claims concern the dietary mineral and pigmentation, not topical GHK-Cu; and the NHS lists only finasteride and minoxidil for male pattern baldness without mentioning copper peptide. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements covers dietary copper only and does not address this use.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.462
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — | C→D 因 scope.conflation_risk=true 且 L11 獨評較低 (B7-2 tier cap)
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 0 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status