At a glance
- Mechanism of action
- Growth-hormone secretagogues: not the hormone itself, but signals that prompt the pituitary to release the body's own HGH in natural pulses - CJC-1295 opens the valve, Ipamorelin ensures clean pulses without shutting down endogenous production.
- Benefits & use
- Deeper sleep, faster recovery, firmer skin (collagen) and slow fat loss - primarily anti-aging and recovery, hardly any massive muscle gain.
- Study status
- Level 2-3: clinically documented that HGH/IGF-1 rise safely. Important: no published RCTs exist for the specific CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin combination. No approved indication for healthy adults; off-label in anti-aging clinics. In the US, both substances are on the FDA 503A Category 2 Bulk Substances List - compounding under Section 503A is currently excluded.
- Dosing note
- CJC-1295 2/5/10 mg, Ipamorelin 5/10 mg; usually stacked, subcutaneous. No dosing instructions - information only.
Use in the injection calculator
CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin are growth-hormone secretagogues: they are not the hormone itself but signals that prompt the pituitary to release the body's own growth hormone in natural pulses. Evidence: level 2-3.
How is this different from real HGH?
If you inject real HGH, the body throttles its own production. The secretagogues instead "train" the body's own release: CJC-1295 opens the valve, Ipamorelin provides clean, pulse-like release - without switching off endogenous production.
What is the stack used for?
Primarily as an anti-aging and recovery tool (rarely for massive muscle gain). Typical effects: deeper sleep, faster recovery, firmer skin (collagen) and slow fat loss - to raise HGH levels without shutting down the pituitary axis.
Why combine them?
The two peptides act on different receptors: CJC-1295 is a GHRH analog (GHRH receptor), Ipamorelin is a selective ghrelin-receptor agonist (GHS-R1a). Veldhuis and Bowers showed in 2009 that simultaneous activation of both systems produces a synergistic GH pulse larger than either pathway alone. This is a pharmacological rationale - but not a clinically validated protocol, since human RCTs of the combination are still lacking.
Important: DAC vs. non-DAC
CJC-1295 comes in two variants:
- With DAC (DAC:GRF): binds covalently to albumin, half-life ~6-8 days, once-weekly dosing. Produces more continuous GHRH stimulation.
- Without DAC (Modified GRF 1-29): half-life ~30 minutes, multiple daily doses. Produces pulsatile GH release closer to the natural pattern.
The classic stack with Ipamorelin typically uses the non-DAC variant - only this produces the physiological pulse pattern that makes "training" endogenous release meaningful.
What does the evidence say?
That these peptides safely raise HGH/IGF-1 is clinically well documented. For healthy people, however, there is no approved indication; they are mostly prescribed off-label in anti-aging clinics. Note (US): both CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin are on the FDA 503A Category 2 Bulk Substances List - they cannot currently be legally compounded in US pharmacies under Section 503A.