Peptide therapy is booming on social media. Here’s everything you need to know

Experimental peptides are attracting biohackers, celebrities and wellness enthusiasts alike in pursuit of ageing better, boosting energy, losing weight or healing injuries. Here’s everything you need to know about what peptides are and why they’re flooding your social media feed.

If you’ve scrolled social media lately, you may have heard people talking about GHK-CU, BPC-157, TB-500 and “stacks” on podcasts and TikTok feeds.

These futuristic codenames point to peptide therapy, one of the fastest-growing categories in wellness, and which claims to boost everything from energy and quality of sleep to muscle growth and libido.

Despite many of these therapies not being approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), their popularity is surging - including in New Zealand, where the legalities around peptides remain unclear.

A quick scroll on TikTok can produce countless clips of people who swear by peptides’ transformative effects, but the platform also doubles as a grey market for suppliers.

US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is an advocate for BPC-157 to accelerate the healing of tendons and tissues. Jennifer Aniston told the Wall Street Journal in 2023: “Peptides are the future.”

So what are peptides? Who’s using them? And are they legal? Here’s everything you need to know.

What are peptides?

Peptides are chains of naturally occurring amino acids that support the body’s essential functions.

Think of them like the body’s messengers, deploying molecules where they’re needed most, supporting immune function, physical growth, blood oxygenation, metabolism, muscle contraction, sexual function and more.

Peptide therapy is delivered via subcutaneous injection, into the fatty tissue layer between the skin and muscle, to target these messenger cells and send signals to the body to stimulate specific processes such as tissue repair, weight loss and muscle recovery.

Many people on social media talk about taking multiple peptides at once (known as “stacking”) or of blends like the “Wolverine” or “Fountain of Youth”, which are combinations of peptides mixed in the same vial. These vials are then mixed with sterile bacteriostatic water before being injected into the body.

It’s common for people to cycle their peptides, injecting once or twice a day for 12 weeks, followed by a one-month break.

Are peptides legal in New Zealand?

Many people are getting peptides on prescription, including for the use of GLP-1s like Wegovy for weight loss, yet the buzz overseas has given rise to local sellers who source products from China to sell on digital platforms like TikTok, WhatsApp and Reddit.

The loophole for most suppliers to sell peptides without prescription? Three words: research purposes only. The legal and regulatory caveat dictates that particular peptides can be sold without the pharmaceutical oversight required for human medications.

An FDA-approved or regulated peptide must be manufactured in a compliant facility, approved for human use, and tested for sterility. Peptides intended for research purposes only do not. In short, it distinguishes a substance from a drug.

While Medsafe is the final authority for selling medical products in New Zealand, medicines and devices already approved by the FDA (or TGA in Australia) typically follow a faster approval pathway in New Zealand, as these don’t require local clinical trials to ensure safety and efficacy.

In December 2025, 10 groups of peptides available in New Zealand were classified as prescription medicines (including MOTS-C, a peptide used to regulate metabolism) after a recommendation issued by Medsafe’s Medicine Classification Committee in mid-July.

However, Medsafe has repeated its warning against buying and importing peptides without a prescription for personal use.

“There are a wide range of peptides now available internationally, some of which are regularly used to treat serious conditions and should only be taken if prescribed by a healthcare professional,” it says.

“Other newer peptides are experimental products that have not been approved as medicines by any overseas trusted regulatory authority. There is very little known about any potential benefits or harms from their use.”

The sale of peptides intended for therapeutic purposes is a breach of section 20 of the Medicines Act 1981, and Medsafe says any peptides imported without a prescription are being seized and destroyed at the border.

It cautions against ordering medicines online as there is no assurance that they are safe, effective or free from contamination.

Potential harmful side-effects of non-prescribed peptides can be serious and sometimes irreversible, ranging from infections and allergic reactions to heart palpitations, high blood pressure, thyroid dysfunction, and more.

Talking to RNZ’s Checkpoint in February, Emeritus professor in sports medicine Dr David Gerrard from the University of Otago, called the use of unapproved drugs “dangerous” and that it “carries a significant risk”.

Who’s taking peptides?

To understand more, I spoke to two New Zealand women who use peptides.

The phrase “research purposes only” was stressed by both , who agreed to share with Viva their personal experience of using peptides, while not issuing medical advice.

For Celine Wallace, an Ayurvedic medicine practitioner and founder of supplement brand Sattva Soul, peptides have been a fascinating development in health and wellness.

Her introduction to them was during a trip to Bali in November last year, when she caught up with a friend in her 50s who had been taking them. At first glance, Wallace thought she’d had a ton of Botox or a facelift.

“Turns out she’d just started a specific peptide.”

Curiosity piqued, Wallace contacted a functional medicine doctor who was importing peptides from the US. Functional medicine involves working holistically to identify the root causes of illness through means such as lifestyle intervention.

A week later, after a consultation with the doctor and a full blood panel test, Wallace was preparing to inject herself for the first time.

She started with NAD+ for energy, adopting a slowly-slowly approach as she learned how to mix the vial of reconstituted powder with bacteriostatic water before injecting it into her belly.

NAD+ isn’t strictly a peptide (it’s a coenzyme not an amino acid) but is often used in conjunction with them.

Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Gwyneth Paltrow swear by NAD+ for cellular regeneration and energy.

Over time, Wallace built her own stack, adding in GHK-CU for hair, skin and nails and the Wolverine stack (a blend of BPC-157, TB-500 and GHK-CU) for tissue repair and cellular regeneration.

Wallace, 37, says she noticed changes in her body within a week. GHK-CU made her skin look more radiant, and her pigmentation began to fade: “I had a subtle glow.”

NAD+ saw her energy levels soar, she says. “NAD+ is amazing. I think I will use it for the rest of my life. I have the energy of a 21-year-old.

“I’m working out the hardest I ever have, running the fastest I’ve ever run. I feel so vibrant.”

Peptides are now part of her daily wellness ritual.

“It becomes part of your routine, like having a coffee in the morning. You inject your peptides, you go to the gym, and then you don’t start thinking about it. And I actually miss when I don’t do it, because I feel so amazing on it.”

Sarah Smith*, a registered nurse, has been using peptides for the past six weeks.

A friend told her about trying BPC-157 after an injury, and before long Smith’s social media was flooded with talk of peptides.

“I was fascinated,” she says. “I’m passionate about the wellness industry, about the trends and about ways that I can support my mind, body, longevity, and as preventative care.”

She’s currently on BPC-157 and TB-500, to support a sports injury. A regular in the gym and on the football field, Smith says she’s already seen improvements in her performance.

Add to that GHK-CU, which Smith says has resulted in “a significant improvement in the glow of skin, hair and overall radiance”, plus CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin, which send messages to the pituitary gland to release growth hormones and increase muscle mass. “I have abs for the first time.”

The newest peptide she has added to her stack is MOTS-C to support mitochondrial function, which helps power cells. She says she feels “sharper” on it.

“I’ve been under an incredible amount of extra stress, physically and emotionally, and I find that I’m able to process life a bit better.”

However, it hasn’t all been glowing skin and speed on the football field. She says she took four doses of Melanotan II before deciding it wasn’t for her.

“It increases the melanin production in your skin, but I grew a whole bunch of freckles and moles on my face overnight, and I was terrified. I had to stop taking it immediately.”

How are people buying peptides?

It does not take much searching on TikTok and other platforms to find accounts offering to deliver peptides for “research purposes only”. Vials of 5mg or 10mg are available for as little as $50 a pop.

Wallace and Smith did not disclose how they sourced their peptides, but Smith believes it would be beneficial for their sales to be regulated.

“Right now, people are just ordering whatever they want off the internet. And what really scares me are these side effects and contra-indications of who should and shouldn’t be taking what peptides,” Smith says.

“Just because you want to take CJC-1295, is there something going on in your body that would mean it’s not right for you? We’re all self-diagnosing, self-prescribing, and it’s really scary.”

*Name has been changed for privacy reasons.

This article has been amended to clarify the definition of NAD+.

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