Whether you’re a skin care expert or a novice, chances are you’ve heard something about copper peptides. Although copper peptide skin care products have existed for over a decade, they’ve only recently gained notable popularity — especially among those interested in “clean” and/or “green” beauty products (i.e., those that are nontoxic, have simple ingredients, are cruelty-free, vegan, sustainable, etc.). But they’ve also stepped into the spotlight due to their numerous potential applications.
Copper peptide serum manufacturers promote a wide range of skin health benefits — from reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles to improving skin firmness, fading hyperpigmentation, boosting elasticity, and more — but does the existing research back up their claims?
In our guide to the best copper peptide serums, we’ll break down the science behind this popular ingredient and give you all the details on our top picks to help you choose the right serum for your unique needs. If you’re in a hurry, check out our summary of recommendations below.
When it comes to safety, effectiveness, and anti-aging effects, Allies of Skin rises above the competition at this time.
This copper peptide serum is not inexpensive, but research suggests it is your best option. Not only does it contain ectoin, which appears to improve the efficacy of GKH-Cu, but it also has received the Seal of Acceptance from the National Eczema Association (NEA), which means a lot when it comes to your safety. You can buy it directly from Allies of Skin or find it at the company's storefront on Amazon, where one-time pricing is the same but free shipping is generally faster.
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For our guide to the best copper peptide serums, we dedicated 60+ hours to researching and testing different products across the market. This time spent was in addition to the thousands of hours our team has already devoted to researching therapeutic peptides over the last year or so. In addition to reviewing numerous scientific studies, we also consulted with experienced clinicians knowledgeable about peptides to gain further insight. When it comes to copper peptide serums, specifically, our testers interacted with customer service representatives, purchased the products, and tried them out — all of which helps us to provide you with product information that could only be gained from hands-on experience.
Additionally, like all health-related content on this website, this review was thoroughly vetted by one or more members of our Medical Review Board for accuracy.
When evaluating copper peptide serums, we kept four key criteria in mind: safety, effectiveness, cost, and convenience. These are some of the most important details consumers tend to care about, and they can make or break someone’s decision to purchase a product. Thankfully, all of our top picks performed fairly well across the board, but each category still had a standout performer.
Let’s see how our recommended products fared.
Advantage: Allies of Skin
As mentioned above, all of our top copper peptide serum picks performed well during evaluation, including in terms of safety. In general, researchers consider copper peptides safe for most healthy adults to use. For example, the authors of a 2018 study state that they “have an excellent safety record.”
When it comes to our individual product recommendations, the chart below breaks down some important safety details about each.
While all of our picks go to commendable lengths to provide a safe product, the Allies of Skin Copper Tripeptide & Ectoin Advanced Repair Serum stands above the rest by being the only one in this guide to be accepted by the National Eczema Association (NEA). Though this may sound like it only matters to those with eczema or sensitive skin, that isn’t the case. Obtaining the NEA’s Seal of Acceptance requires products to not only exclude certain known irritants and allergens (e.g., formaldehyde, shellac, citrus ingredients, etc.) but also meet specific clinical safety testing requirements. This means the product needs to be successfully tested for safety using human subjects; animal testing results aren’t accepted.
The NEA requires three types of safety testing: the Human Repeat Insult Patch Test (HRIPT), Safety in Use (SIU), and the Cumulative Irritation Test (CIT). And each test must be performed on people of varying ages (18+), sexes, and skin types.
In contrast, our picks from The Ordinary, INNBEAUTY Project, and NIOD may have gone through clinical testing, but the safety results are unknown. This certainly doesn’t mean those products are unsafe — we wouldn’t recommend them if that were the case. But they do lack Allies of Skin’s “stamp of approval,” so to speak, from a respected third-party with strict testing requirements.
Though all of our recommendations in this guide contain research-supported, potentially effective ingredients, our pick from Allies of Skin includes ectoine (most often spelled “ectoin” in cosmetics). This compound is a well-known extremolyte — a type of small organic molecule that can “protect cells under extreme, virtually [un]inhabitable conditions.”
In addition to protecting the skin from intense stress, ectoine also appears to improve the stability of various peptides by strengthening their “hydration shell.” Some research suggests that GHK-Cu (the copper peptide used in most copper peptide products) may have insufficient stability and could “be prone to decomposition by skin proteases.” Theoretically, then, the inclusion of ectoine in Allies of Skin Copper Tripeptide & Ectoin Advanced Repair Serum might be able to promote better stability — and efficacy — of the peptide. Of course, more studies are needed to confirm or deny this possibility, but current research is encouraging.
Another one of our recommendations, INNBEAUTY Project Elastic Skin is our pick for people with dry or acne-prone skin. One of the star ingredients in this product is wild yam extract (or “vegan phytomucin,” as the company calls it). According to a 2023 review, a compound in wild yams called gracillin possesses anti-inflammatory properties and “significantly” improved the skin barrier and hydration of mice with atopic dermatitis. Additionally, a 2017 study noted that several species of wild yams have demonstrated antimicrobial activity, leading to their use in different forms of traditional medicine as a way to treat skin infections.
To learn more about the potentially beneficial ingredients in our picks, see each product’s dedicated section later on.
Advantage: The Ordinary
Like many other skin care products, copper peptide serums come in a wide range of prices. Our winner for cost (and our best budget pick) is The Ordinary Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum, which includes a nice assortment of promising ingredients at a lower price than most other quality options on the market. Here’s how the pricing of our top picks compares:
As you can see, The Ordinary offers its product at a much lower price than our other top picks, especially if you subscribe for 10% off. Interestingly, both The Ordinary and NIOD are owned by the same parent company — this is likely why they have the same return policy and free-shipping threshold — but NIOD removed the option for customers to subscribe, and any discount that goes along with it. This is particularly disappointing because, despite being a copper peptide isolate serum with the fewest key ingredients, NIOD’s product comes in second for the highest cost per mL (Allies of Skin’s serum comes in first, but closes the gap a bit when the subscription price is lowered after the fifth order).
If NIOD decides to bring back its subscriptions, we’ll update this information accordingly. For now, it’s the only one of our picks not to offer the option.
Since none of our copper peptide serum picks are particularly inconvenient or difficult for most people to use, we based our choice for convenience on the ordering process and company policies.
Due to its flexible subscription option and generous year-long return policy, The Ordinary is our winner in this category. NIOD comes close by offering the same 365-day return policy, but it doesn’t offer subscriptions. Allies of Skin, on the other hand, has a shorter 30-day money-back guarantee, but does allow customers to subscribe for recurring deliveries. So, between NIOD and Allies of Skin, whichever matters more to you as a customer (subscriptions or a lengthy return policy) ultimately determines their convenience.
INNBEAUTY Project comes in last in our convenience rankings. Though subscriptions are offered, the company only accepts returns on products that are unused or damaged. This means that, unlike the others, you can’t try out its serum to see if you like it or not — once it’s open, it’s final sale.
In the chart below, we break down some of the most important information on our copper peptide serum recommendations, including their pricing, subscription discounts, additional star ingredients, return policies, and more.
