- - Why Peptide Injections Are the New Status Symbol in High-End Wellness

Kathleen HouDecember 18, 2025 at 12:00 AM

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Inside New York’s Peptide Boom skynesher

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Amanda Kahn, MD, is New York’s “Peptide Princess”: She has her nickname on a cashmere Lingua Franca sweater—and her hotshot clients on a personalized regimen of hot shots. Of course, GLP-1s are sometimes part of their peptide “stack” (a term for their wellness regimen), but their fridge might also contain GHK-Cu, a copper peptide for collagen; BPC-157, for tissue repair; or NR, a stable version of NAD+, said to have some antiaging effects. “I hear it all day, every day: ‘This changed my life,’ ” Kahn says. The fridge is the new medicine cabinet.

Every morning, your favorite actor prepping for a potentially Oscar-winning role could be jabbing himself in what remains of his fatty tissue. A Silicon Valley tech bro is WhatsApp-ing his “Chinese peptide guy” and offering the injections as a perk to startup employees called “Peptide Fridays.” Georgia Louise (stack: thymosin alpha, SS-31), a facialist in New York who opened her eponymous Longevity Atelier in September, offers peptide shots at her clinic, under the supervision of dermatologist Jennifer Herrmann, MD. Louise went on them after hearing firsthand accounts from clients like Matt Damon and Jennifer Aniston. “This is a flex, to have a refrigerator with your peptide injections,” says Cassandra Grey, founder of Violet Grey and creator of the Substack, Please Note (stack: GHK, NR, thymosin beta-4). Grey recently stayed at a luxury hotel in Paris and noticed that there was a refrigerator in the bathroom—perhaps a nod to the new wellness routines of its clientele.

Peptides are tiny links of fewer than 20 amino acids, a “sequence [that] gives [them] a certain shape [so that] they can bind to receptors in the body and increase some functions that could have decreased with age,” explains Dominique Fradin-Read, MD, a physician in Los Angeles. (Fans call the combination of BPC-157 with thymosin beta, or TB-500, the “Wolverine” stack for its self-healing powers, a name that doctors object to because it is used by illegal pharmacies.) Peptides can act as hormones, neurotransmitters, antimicrobial agents, or even signaling molecules. New York plastic surgeon David Shafer, MD (stack: testosterone, human chorionic gonadotropin, semaglutide, BPC-157), describes peptides as keys that bind to certain locks, like protein receptors, to trigger responses in the body. Compared with supplements, he says, injections are more bioavailable. But there aren’t extensive human studies on some of them yet, and longevity doctors like Kahn are well aware of the possibility of the placebo effect—though, she says, “I feel strongly that it’s not fully that, because I don’t think that would account for all the benefits I’m seeing, even in skeptical patients.”

Kahn describes the typical peptide user as someone who wants to go beyond common-sense advice like eating healthy and exercising. “My patients want to be optimized, be their best selves, and maybe they don’t have illness, but we want to invest in their wellness and help them age better. I have a lot of very healthy, high-functioning patients, but they are exhausted,” she says. Ivan Pol (stack: GHK-cu, BP-157, among others), a facialist in New York whose own product Amuse Bouche contains peptides, says that the injections have helped him with energy, burnout fatigue, skin vitality, and workout motivation. Tests showed that his cholesterol levels, stress, and body fat percentage all went down after using them. “My muscle mass increased, my hormone levels became balanced, and my overall wellness improved,” he says. Stylist Micaela Erlanger (stack: NAD+, CJC, tirzepatide), a client of Kahn’s, says peptides were essential to her recovery from a horseback-riding accident: “It became part of my routine, almost like an act of self-care during a time when I really needed my body to heal and get strong again.”

Nicolas Travis (stack: NAD+, glutathione, BPC-157, GHK-Cu, FOX04-DRI), founder of the skin care line Allies of Skin, started peptide injections in 2023. He says he’s noticed “better sleep, skin, and function both on the road and in the gym. I definitely have more energy and vitality. I’m able to withstand more stress and also excel with less. Not having balance is not the healthiest thing, but I’m at a stage in my life and career where it calls for it.” Still, Travis adds, “the best and cheapest treatment is honestly great sleep, self-love, and spiritual healing of past traumas. I would recommend trying those out first before biohacking.”

Point taken: It can be a few days to weeks before you start feeling the full results, and the shots can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars a month. Some people try to cut corners by sourcing shots on the web, which doctors do not recommend. “They have become available online through providers that use ‘research-grade’ level of peptides, which are not safe,” Fradin-Read says. Some of her patients have brought her peptides they bought on the internet, containing impurities. “These misbranded peptides are dangerous. It’s a public health issue right now.”

Though some, but not all, have been FDA-approved, peptides must be dispensed by prescription and filled through a certified and inspected pharmacy, Kahn says. Patients should consult with a doctor and undergo cancer screenings to see if they are a candidate. “Theoretically, since we’re boosting cells, we’d want to make sure we’re not boosting any aberrant cells or cells that shouldn’t be there,” Kahn explains. “‘Don’t do this on your own,’ is the bottom line that I want every patient to take away.”

A version of this story appears in the December 2025/January 2026 issue of ELLE.

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