Is a Growth Factor Serum in Skincare Hype or Helpful?

Serums that contain growth factors have become a new popular skincare product over the last two years. With the increase in products available containing growth factors, it seems like products currently on the market are having success. The increased popularity of a growth factor serum in a skincare regimen is not surprising because of the benefits that companies claim. These benefits hit a lot of the major skincare concerns that many consumers have.

Many of the marketing claims are around the product being “anti-aging,” improving skin elasticity by jumpstarting collagen production, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and promoting cell turnover, all to give users youthful, radiant skin. Many brands advertise their growth factor-containing products as “skin rejuvenation” holy grail products. So let’s break down the role of growth factors in the body, their efficacy in skin care to promote skin rejuvenation as a topical serum, and if these topical serums that contain growth factors are hype or helpful.

What are the claimed benefits of a growth factor serum in topical skincare formulations?

• Addressing the signs of aging/ photoaging
• Enhanced collagen production
• Reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles,
• Improve skin tone and texture
• Reducing hyperpigmentation and discoloration
• Improve radiance/ brightness

What are growth factors?

Growth factors are proteins produced by cells in the body. The primary function of growth factors in the body is to coordinate biological processes. Growth factors can recruit cells to different areas of the body, instructing cells to produce other molecules, and telling cells when to divide to heal or grow new tissues. All of these benefits make it understandable why scientists have been trying to understand them and leverage their benefits in medicine since they were discovered in the 1950s. Since the first growth factor, nerve growth factor was found in the 1950s, over 40 growth factors have been discovered, and many of them are widely used and studied in biomedical science and tissue engineering.

This transition of growth factors primary use in biomedical sciences and tissue engineering to the skincare industry is not unique. So many skincare actives start as components of biomedical implants. After scientists study them extensively in the body they also investigate them in topical applications. So the jump from implant to injectable to topical is not new. Hyaluronic acid and vitamin a derivatives like retinoids and tretinoin are two of the most popular. This is important because, like hyaluronic acid and vitamin a, growth factors have been widely studied. Although their exact mechanisms are not fully understood, many of their benefits and abilities can be read in scientific literature.

How do growth factors function in the skin versus in skin care?

Growth factors in the body, specifically in skin tissue, can interact with fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and melanocytes.  They can recruit cells to areas that have been wounded and damaged and instruct new cells to be produced. As well as lead the cells that are there to produce structural proteins like collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid. Growth factor’s biological function is well studied, so it makes sense for the skincare industry to leverage these benefits to address signs of aging.

When a growth factor serum is used with injectables like fillers or after a treatment that alters the skin barrier to allow permeation of ingredients like micro-needling, a fresh growth factor serum could effectively promote collagen production and cell turnover. However, assistance to enable permeation through the skin barrier is critical to make growth factors serums effective. Likewise, some other challenges with using growth factors in skincare serums make their efficacy questionable.

So why are growth factors serums probably more hype than helpful?

Effectiveness of Growth Factors Applied Topically

While there is much evidence of growth factors’ effectiveness when they are implanted or injected into the body, there is limited to no evidence that growth factors can be applied topically and be effective. There are some clinical studies that evaluate the effectiveness of topical growth factor serums to address all of the benefits mentioned above. However, many of the studies did not have proper controls. Additionally, they did not compare the performance to other known well-studied ingredients that have similar benefits. Proper controls are essential to any good clinical study because they validate the benefits of the ingredient being investigated.

Additionally, some of the benefits that companies claim can be temporarily addressed by ensuring the skin is hydrated. Due to the size of growth factors, there are some hypotheses that they function similarly to collagen when applied topically. Collagen is a common ingredient in skincare formulations despite it being well established when it is applied topically; it is too large to travel through the skin barrier and give users the same benefits that can be achieved when it is injected or implanted directly into the body. However, due to the size of collagen, it can hold on to a lot of water and ultimately help the skin stay hydrated, reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles and improving skin texture. It is likely that growth factors are similar and hold on to water that keeps the skin hydrated.

Cost of a Growth Factor Serum

Growth factors are expensive. Suppose they are being included in a skincare formulation. In that case, they will be one of the most costly items on the ingredients list., and the concentration in the formulation will probably be minimal. As a result of making a product that is not the size of a pea, many formulators and companies will put other well-studied actives in their formulations. The benefits a consumer sees from a product would probably come from these other actives. So the markup that you are paying for the inclusion of the growth factors is not worth it.

Additionally, suppose you compare the cost of growth factor serums to the “benefits” companies claim they can achieve. In that case, it is substantially more costly to incorporate a growth factor serum into your skincare regimen than a vitamin c, retinoid, or peptide serums. Still, you see the same results in the same time frame.

Growth Factor Stability

At room temperature, most growth factors are only stable for 3-5 days maximum. This means that over the lifetime of the supply chain, it is unlikely the growth factor will be biologically active. Growth factor stability is essential because most growth factors are recognized by cells through their shape. When growth factors become unstable they start to unfold and change shape. Many growth factors are recognized by their shape so changing shape means they will no longer be biologically active. So any benefits that a biologically active growth factor may have had the product that has been in shipment for weeks and sitting on a shelf in a store before you purchase it will not still function in the way it is intended.

Potential Risk of Applying a Growth Factor

The purpose of growth factors is to encourage cells to grow and produce new tissues. Unfortunately, their functionality is not specific to good cells versus precancerous cells. This means if there are precancerous cells on the skin, and the growth factors remain biologically active (which is doubtful) it could encourage tumor growth. The likelihood the growth factors remain biologically active is rare, but this is a risk in the event they do.

What is a growth factor serum actually doing?

Most likely, growth factors applied topically to the skin are just inactive molecules holding onto water and moisturizing the skin. More studies with proper controls need to be completed to determine the efficacy of a growth factor serum. Not only should studies include participants that use a placebo cream, but also creams with alternate well-studied actives. These studies are critical because in addition to proving efficacy a cost-benefit comparison would be helpful for consumers. If an expensive growth factor serum, ~$150 does the same thing as a $20 product in the same amount of time consumers shouldn’t spend the money. Additionally, in my opinion, the associated potential risk of growth factors accelerating cancerous cell growth needs to be disproven to ensure product and consumer safety.

Overall, growth factor serums in skin care can have benefits when used with the proper treatment; however, as an off-the-shelf topical product, it’s a lot of hype and probably not very helpful.