The short version: I'm giving JP Beauty 9 out of 10 for what it writes. Its journal is the most self-critical I've read from any SA seller: all 8 posts cite sources, and every one of 21 PubMed links opens the right paper. In one day it fixed its patch-test advice, its powder maths, its returns policy and every false line I flagged. But the score is for the writing. The checks are where it falls down: no lab report and no full ingredient list for 7 of 8 products, two injectable vials sold to anyone, and no company named behind the site.
What I looked at: jpbeauty.co.za, all 8 products, all 8 journal posts, the FAQ, wholesale page and all 5 policies. All on 15 October 2026, after that day's fixes went live.
The score, broken down
| What I marked | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Is it clear? | 2 / 2 | Short, plain and well organised. The new risk boxes and “key actives” wording make the product pages clearer. |
| Is it useful? | 2 / 2 | The journal genuinely helps: what to mix GHK-Cu with and what not to, a correct way to weigh small amounts, and a proper patch test. The collagen and NAD+ pages say very little, so it's close to a 1. |
| Are the facts right? | 2 / 2 | Every false or unsupported line from that morning is fixed, and every fact I checked holds. A few slips remain: the terms call everything “cosmetics for external use only” while two products are injectables, and three different payment lists. Close to a 1. |
| Does it show the evidence? | 2 / 2 | 8 of 8 posts sourced, 21 of 21 PubMed and PMC links correct, “Sources checked” dates on changed posts, and an editorial policy with evidence labels and a corrections address. |
| Is it honest about downsides? | 1 / 2 | The journal says plainly when a study is small, funded by the maker or only in cells. But the Lemon Bottle risk box leaves out the one regulator finding about that exact product, and the gummies don't say there's no human evidence for taking GHK-Cu by mouth. |
| Total | 9 / 10 | Excellent writing about products it can't yet prove. |
The supplier checks
| Check | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Proof | Red | No test results, no batch numbers and no maker or country of origin for any of 8 products. A full ingredient list for 1 of 8. The strengths it states (0.1% copper peptide, 100 mcg per gummy, 1200 mg) aren't backed by anything published. Credit: the pages say plainly that the lists and tests are missing. |
| Claims & directions | Red | The skincare and supplements are clean, and the directions are now good. The red is down to Lemon Bottle and Glutathione: two injectable vials anyone can add to a basket, with no maker, ingredients or test, on a site whose terms call its products “cosmetics for external use only”. Unlabelled supply of them is offered to any wholesale applicant. Without those two, this would be green or amber. |
| Basics | Amber | Fixed that day: the 7-day cooling-off right, a privacy policy naming every service, and an editorial policy. Still missing: the company name, registration number, directors and address, which SA's online-selling law requires. UK phone numbers only, and policy pages changed on 15 October still say “Last updated 9 October”. |
What they got right
Writing that marks itself down. The GHK-Cu explainer says of its own serum: “Our serum is a different formula, and it hasn't had a clinical study of its own.” Posts point out when a study was funded by the ingredient maker or only done in cells. Every post now lists its sources and when they were checked.
Directions that are actually right. The patch test now follows the American Academy of Dermatology: a little on the inner arm twice a day for 7 to 10 days. The powder page explains why weighing 30 mg on a kitchen-grade scale is out by a third, and gives a stock-solution method that fixes it. I checked the maths.
Your rights, spelled out. The returns page now explains the 7-day cooling-off right for online orders, and the privacy page names every service your details go to.
What dragged it down
No proof behind the products. The serum page says “The full ingredient list (INCI) is going up here shortly.” So do 6 others. There's no lab report for any product, no batch number and no maker. Its sister shop JP Supplements publishes 34 lab reports. JP Beauty publishes none.
Two injectable vials, open to anyone. Lemon Bottle and Glutathione are labelled for trained professionals, and both now carry a risk box: “Any injected product can cause pain, swelling, bruising, lumps or infection where it goes in”. That's an improvement. But anyone can still add them to a basket, Lemon Bottle has no ingredient list or test, and the risk box leaves out that Switzerland's medicines regulator found that samples sold under that name didn't contain what their labels declared (March 2024). Meanwhile the terms say all JP Beauty products are cosmetics for external use only.
Unlabelled supply. The wholesale page offers to supply products unlabelled, “so you can put your own label on them”, without excluding the two injectables.
The basics. The terms say “JP Beauty is a skincare brand of JP Supplements, South Africa” (B17), but name no company, registration number, address or director, which SA's online-selling law requires. The only phone numbers are UK ones (B22). Product pages list one set of payment options and the footer another (B19). The returns page was updated on 15 October but still says “Last updated 9 October 2026” (B20).
What would get them a better grade
- Publish full ingredient lists, and a lab report for at least the GHK-Cu powder and serum.
- Sell Lemon Bottle and Glutathione to approved professionals only, or stop selling them. Publish their ingredients, name the maker, and mention the Swissmedic finding.
- Publish the company name, registration number, address and directors.
- Fix the terms, one payment list, and the “Last updated” dates.
Do the first two and the checks go from red to amber or green. The writing is already there.
Their side
JP Beauty is our own shop, so there's no separate reply. If you think I went easy on it, tell me and I'll answer in public on this page.
Spotted something I got wrong? Tell me. I fix facts fast and say what changed. I don't change a grade because someone complains, only when I've got a fact wrong or the supplier changes what they publish.
Evidence log
| Ref | What they said | Where | Seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| B01 | “Our serum is a different formula, and it hasn’t had a clinical study of its own.” | /journal/what-is-ghk-cu/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B02 | “A 0.01 g scale can be out by 10 mg either way, and on a 30 mg batch that’s a third of it.” | /journal/how-to-mix-ghk-cu-powder/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B03 | “dissolve 100 mg (0.10 g) in 10 ml of distilled water” | /product/ghk-cu-powder/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B04 | “Put a little on your inner arm twice a day for 7 to 10 days, the way the American Academy of Dermatology suggests.” | /faq/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B05 | “Under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act” | /returns/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B06 | “PayPal and SnapScan process payments made with them.” | /privacy/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B07 | “If Carl ever reviews one of our shops, the review says so at the top.” | /editorial-policy/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B08 | “Updated 15 October 2026 · Sources checked 15 October 2026” | /journal/copper-peptide-1973-story/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B09 | “Two key actives, each doing one job.” | /product/ghk-cu-serum/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B10 | “The full ingredient list (INCI) is going up here shortly.” | /product/ghk-cu-serum/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B11 | “A ready-mixed solution in a 10 ml vial, under the JP Beauty label.” | /product/lemon-bottle/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B12 | “Any injected product can cause pain, swelling, bruising, lumps or infection where it goes in” | /product/lemon-bottle/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B13 | “We don't publish a full ingredient list or a lab report for this product yet” | /product/lemon-bottle/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B14 | “It is the same JP Beauty vial on both sites” | /product/lemon-bottle/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B15 | “Its safety and effect on skin haven't been shown in good human trials.” | /product/glutathione/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B16 | “JP Beauty skincare products are cosmetics for external use only.” | /terms/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B17 | “JP Beauty is a skincare brand of JP Supplements, South Africa.” | /terms/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B18 | “We can supply the products unlabelled, so you can put your own label on them.” | /wholesale/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B19 | “Pay by EFT, on WhatsApp or with card/PayPal.” | /product/ghk-cu-serum/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B20 | “Last updated 9 October 2026.” | /returns/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B21 | “contact our information officer at hello@jpbeauty.co.za” | /privacy/ · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
| B22 | “+44 7482 700217” | / · saved | 15 Oct 2026 |
Update log
- 15 Oct 2026: First published. Graded after JP Beauty's same-day fixes. Morning score, before the fixes: 8/10.
