Dear Dr. Pickart,

I have been using GHK Serum + squalene in the evening (sometimes mixed with Super CP Serum) for almost 2 years and I can see my skin gets firmer and no sagging compared with my peers.

In the past, I just used sunscreen and then hit the road.

Now, I wanna use l-ascorbic acid serum before sunscreen but find it a bit drying.

I find one moisturizer quite nice but it contains copper gluconate.

Pardon my ignorance. Is copper gluconate like GHK copper peptide that we should not use with L-ascorbic acid serum the same time?

Dear carrot:

Thanks for posting your question! We are sure Dr. Pickart will reply back as soon as he can.

Copper gluconate is a type of copper salt. But your l-ascorbic acid serum will probably be fine to use.

Dr. Pickart has mentioned before that in order to reap the skin healthy benefits of vitamin C, your system requires "adequate amounts of both copper(II) and vitamin C." But the efficacy of topical vitamin C products depends on its formulation. Dr. Pickart says, "Vitamin C is hard to get into the skin except at a very low pH."

However, we do have many clients who use copper peptides along with their topical vitamin C products and have reported nothing but great results. So it should be fine to use the two together.

Best Wishes,
-Skin Biology

Skin Biology,

Thanks for your comment.


Dr. Pickart,

This cream is for sensitive skin.

I should have listed the ingredients in my post.

Aqua, Uriage Thermal Spring Water, Paraffinum Liquidum, Propylheptyl Caprylate, Sodium Chloride, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Butylene Glycol, Octyldodecanol, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Zinc Oxide, Ozokerite, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, Octyldodecyl Xyloside, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Magnesium Sulfate, Brassica Campestris Sterols, Propylene Carbonate, Copper Gluconate, Phytosphingosine, Xanthan Gum, Manganese Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Asiaticoside, Citric Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract.

Copper gluconate does not work very well. Use copper glycinate.

Am J Clin Nutr. 1985 Oct;42(4):681-2.
Lack of effects of copper gluconate supplementation.
Pratt WB, Omdahl JL, Sorenson JR.
Abstract
A double-blind study was done giving 10 mg of copper/day as copper gluconate or placebo capsules for 12 wk. The seven subjects receiving copper gluconate had no change in the level of copper in the serum, urine, or hair. There was also no change in the levels of zinc or magnesium. There was also no significant change in levels of hematocrit, triglyceride, SGOT, GGT, LDH, cholesterol, or alkaline phosphatase. The side effects of nausea, diarrhea, and heartburn were the same in the subjects receiving copper gluconate and subjects receiving placebo capsules.