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Bryan Johnson's peptide protocol, explained
Last updated August 24, 2026 · public statements only
This is an educational explainer, not an endorsement of Bryan Johnson, his Blueprint protocol, or any compound named here. Every item is drawn from a dated public statement or reputable report, and where his routine is only claimed by third parties, we say so instead of repeating it as fact.
Bryan Johnson is the most-searched name in longevity, and his protocol is constantly described as a peptide stack. The honest picture is narrower and more interesting than the myth. Most of his headline longevity interventions are not peptides at all: rapamycin, which he took for nearly five years and then publicly stopped, is a macrolide drug, and his follistatin experiment was gene therapy, not a peptide injection. What is genuinely peptide in his documented protocol is mostly topical hair products his company sells and dietary collagen. The injectable research peptides people attribute to him come largely from third-party trackers, not from his own dated statements. This page keeps those apart. It is not an endorsement of him or of any compound, and every item below is tied to a dated public source.
What is actually a peptide in his protocol
Cosmetic and dietary peptides, documented - not the injectable research peptides people usually picture.
Topical peptide hair products (Blueprint Peptide Serum and Shampoo)
Johnson's own company, Blueprint, markets topical haircare products built around biomimetic peptides, including a Peptide Serum and a Peptide Shampoo applied to the scalp. These are cosmetic, topical peptides for hair, not the injectable research peptides the internet usually means when it talks about his 'peptide stack'. They are products he sells, which is a different fact from a personal injectable protocol.
Source: [1]
Dietary collagen peptides (in the Longevity Mix)
His widely published Blueprint protocol includes collagen peptides taken by mouth as a food ingredient, reported around 20 to 30 grams daily as part of his 'Longevity Mix' and diet. Collagen peptides are a common nutritional supplement for skin, hair, and joints; this is a dietary peptide, not an injected drug.
Source: [3]
What gets called his "peptides" but is not one
His two most famous longevity interventions are not peptides at all, and he has publicly stepped back from one of them.
Rapamycin - a macrolide he publicly stopped
Rapamycin was the centerpiece longevity drug people most associate with him, and it is not a peptide; it is a macrolide compound. He took it for nearly five years and then announced on his own blog that he stopped on September 28, 2024, citing side effects (intermittent skin and soft-tissue infections, lipid and glucose changes, higher resting heart rate) and an October 2024 preprint suggesting rapamycin accelerated markers across 16 epigenetic aging clocks. A famous longevity intervention, publicly walked back, and never a peptide to begin with.
Source: [1]
Follistatin - gene therapy, not a peptide injection
His follistatin experiment is frequently lumped in as a 'peptide', but it was gene therapy: a roughly 25,000-dollar follistatin gene-therapy injection he received on September 10, 2023 at a clinic on Roatan, Honduras, through the company Minicircle. He later reported a 160 percent rise in follistatin. Independent coverage stressed the therapy was unapproved and unproven, with no published clinical trial data and serious safety questions from outside experts. Follistatin is a protein, but what he did was edit gene expression, not inject a peptide.
Source: [2]
The injectable peptides attributed to him
Third-party trackers and peptide-vendor blogs also attribute various injectable research peptides to him over the years, names like Epitalon, thymalin, and CJC-1295, sometimes stacked with a GLP-1. We do not repeat these as facts, because we could not tie them to a dated public statement from him, and his protocol is reported to change frequently. Whoever is or is not using them, the question that actually matters is what the evidence shows, and for these compounds that evidence is thin. Follow the links to see it graded honestly rather than taking any one person's routine as proof.
The better question than "what does he take?"
Following any one person's protocol, however carefully he measures himself, is not the same as following the evidence. He runs a single uncontrolled experiment on one body, changes many things at once, and has walked back interventions before. The more useful move is to look at what each compound has actually been shown to do in people. That is exactly what our evidence guide grades.
Sources
- [1]I stopped taking rapamycinBryan Johnson (blueprint.bryanjohnson.com) · October 2024
- [2]This tech millionaire is spending millions to reprogram his genes on a remote islandFortune · December 21, 2023
- [3]Bryan Johnson's Supplement List (unofficial protocol tracker)FastLifeHacks · 2026
Pepteca is for education and information only. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and its calculators perform unit math only. Always verify with a licensed provider before starting, changing, or stopping any protocol. Many peptides are not approved for human use and may be regulated differently where you live.