mineral · for hair thinning
Copper
Copper helps cross-link the structural proteins in hair, and is needed for pigment.
Say that in clinical terms
Essential cofactor for lysyl oxidase in collagen and elastin cross-linking. Required for tyrosinase in melanin synthesis.
How strong is the research?
1 paper read.
Tested as: topical copper peptides (GHK-Cu, AHK-Cu) — a different chemical form and a different route of administration (topical, not oral)
Who was studied: Adults on long-term tube feeding who had become copper-deficient — an extreme situation.
A proper search found trials of this compound, but not in the form named here — topical copper peptides (GHK-Cu, AHK-Cu) — a different chemical form and a different route of administration (topical, not oral). Evidence for one form is not evidence for another.
How much to take
daily
1–2 mg
Upper limit 10 mg/day. Balance with zinc (10:1 zinc:copper ratio recommended).
Before you take it
- NIH ODS Tolerable Upper Intake Level for adults 19 and older is 10 mg/day (10,000 mcg) elemental copper.
- Wilson's disease is a contraindication: individuals with Wilson's disease or hereditary hepatic copper metabolism disorders should not take supplemental copper except under specialist supervision, due to risk of copper accumulation causing hepatic cirrhosis and neurological damage.
- Sustained high-dose zinc supplementation (typically above 50 mg/day) can deplete copper by inducing intestinal metallothionein, which sequesters copper and prevents absorption; this is the most common drug/nutrient interaction for copper.
- Toxicity at excessive doses presents as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea; chronic severe toxicity can cause hepatotoxicity and renal dysfunction.
- NIH ODS states copper has no known clinically relevant interactions with medications.
What we make of it
The biology is real but only bites in extreme deficiency.
The detail
Copper is genuinely required to cross-link the structural proteins in hair and to make pigment. But copper deficiency causes hair changes only in extreme clinical situations, which is a long way from ordinary thinning.