How Much Copper Peptide Is Actually in The Ordinary's Serum?
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We sell a competing product, so read this knowing that. Everything below was taken from The Ordinary's own product page on 24 August 2026 and re-checked by a second pass. Where something is ambiguous we say so rather than guessing in the direction that suits us.
The short answer
The Ordinary states 1% in the product name. The product is Multi-Peptide + Copper Peptides 1% Serum, previously sold as Buffet + Copper Peptides 1%.
What their page does not make unambiguous is whether that 1% refers specifically to GHK-Cu, or to a broader copper peptide complex. We looked and could not resolve it from the page, so we score this as a partial disclosure rather than a yes or a no.
That is a genuinely narrower criticism than the internet usually makes. The Ordinary is not hiding a number. They put one on the label. The question is what it attaches to.
What is definitely disclosed
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Stated concentration | 1%, referent ambiguous |
| Formulation pH | 6.0 to 7.0, disclosed |
| Full INCI published | Yes, 49 ingredients |
| Copper Tripeptide-1 position | 4th of 49 |
| Price | $32 for 30ml |
| Price per ml | About $1.07 |
The pH disclosure deserves credit. Only 4 of the 23 products we checked publish a formulation pH at all, and pH is the variable that decides whether copper stays bound to the peptide. The Ordinary publishes it. Most brands charging three times as much do not.
What the INCI position tells you
Copper Tripeptide-1 sits 4th of 49 ingredients. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight down to 1%, below which order is arbitrary.
Fourth position is consistent with a concentration at or around 1%. It does not prove it, because anything at or under 1% can be placed anywhere, but it is not the profile of a token inclusion. For contrast, some products in this category list their copper peptide 15th or 40th, which tells a very different story.
The honest comparison
At roughly $1.07 per ml with a published pH in the correct range and the copper peptide high in the list, this is a reasonable product on the specs that matter. Our serum is $60 for 30ml, which is $2.00 per ml, roughly double.
What you get for the difference: an unambiguous 1% GHK-Cu specifically, a single stated pH of 6.0 rather than a range spanning up to 7.0, and an aqueous silicone-free base. Whether that is worth double is a judgement we are obviously not neutral on.
What you do not get from us that you might want: The Ordinary's formula carries a large multi-peptide complex alongside the copper, which is a different product philosophy rather than a worse one.
Why this question is hard to answer at all
Concentration is not part of the INCI standard. Ingredient lists give order, not amounts. So unless a brand volunteers the number, there is no way to extract it from the packaging, and no third-party database carries it either. We checked, and none of them do.
That is why we built a public index of what 23 brands actually disclose, with our own products scored the same way.
Related
- What percentage of GHK-Cu actually matters, and why 4% is not four times better than 1%.
- GHK-Cu vs The Ordinary vs NIOD, a fuller comparison.
- Our audit of the clinical evidence, which found three trials for the entire molecule.
If we have anything here wrong, email support@amide.skin and we will correct it and note the change.