What is skin care using growth factors?

Photo illustration: by The Cut; Photo: Getty Images

Dear Jen

What do you think about anti-aging serums containing growth factors? Is there a risk of cancer? –Anon

Anyone who knows enough about skin care to be asked about the potential cancer risks of growth factors has ignored Skin Care 101 and gone deep into the 300 level. So, I’ll give you a simple answer to a graduate level question. There is no evidence that applying growth factors in the form of topical cosmetics increases the risk of cancer. However, I think it’s worth revisiting undergraduate cosmetic chemistry to explain why people are concerned about using cosmetics and to help you decide whether cosmetics are right for you.

Growth factors are basically proteins in the human body that act as messengers, telling cells to do their job (whatever that specific thing is). Over the past 30 years or so, researchers have developed several cosmetic ingredients that act as, or similar to, growth factors when applied topically. “I compare the solutions used to formulate growth factor skin care products to soups with perfectly balanced ingredients. No single ingredient can overwhelm the others. It contains just the right amount of each ingredient to ensure that your skin is dry,” explains board-certified dermatologist Dr. Vivian Bukai. These “soups” are typically listed as human fibroblast conditioned media (HFCM) on the product ingredient list. There are also other growth factors that can be found on cosmetic ingredient lists, such as oligopeptide-1 and oligopeptide-2.

How do growth factors work in skin care?

In theory, skin care products containing growth factors instruct skin cells (such as fibroblasts) to become more active (in the case of fibroblasts, they secrete collagen to keep the skin firm and smooth). ). Bukai said researchers don’t really understand how growth factors work in cosmetics because their large molecules prevent them from penetrating deep into the skin, where cells such as fibroblasts live. . However, some researchers believe that growth factors can trigger a chain reaction at the surface level, sending messages to the layers below to “act young!” and “do better!”, activating the rejuvenation process. I think I will.

An interesting point emerges when it comes to using growth factors in skin care: When someone applies a product containing growth factors, it instructs rogue cells in the body to do their job, which happens to grow mutationally in the form of cancer. I can see the logic in that, but so does Bukai. She began looking into growth factor skin care after she was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. “I dug deep into the medical literature and spoke to a lot of scientists,” she says. “It took me a few years to gain confidence that products with balanced growth factors would not increase the risk of skin cancer or any other cancer.”

Bukai further explains that cancer concerns may stem from the fact that certain growth factors are more prevalent in patients with certain types of cancer. “As an example, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) [some] Over-the-counter topical growth factor skin care,” Bukai says. “We found that circulating VEGF levels in people with melanoma are 10 times higher than in people without melanoma.” That’s because a single growth factor applied topically, he says. This does not prove that VEGF causes melanoma. “The reality is that growth factor skin care products contain a mixture of growth factors and other compounds secreted by the cells used to produce the products,” says Bukai. “This means that the ratio of growth factors used in these skin care products mirrors the ratio of growth factors that cells naturally secrete.” What about other types of cancer? “The factors are very large molecules and do not penetrate the epidermis. In other words, they are not absorbed into the bloodstream, so there is no risk of developing other types of cancer,” Bukai says.

There are many ways to make growth factors for skin care. For example, some types of HFCM are derived from cell lines grown in the lab (cell lines are created from many different types of cells provided by humans, and some of the proteins they produce include human (Contains no cells) These compounds have been used in skin care for years and have never had any safety issues (all tissues or cells used to create growth factors are “screened for disease and to rule out abnormalities”). will be tested,” Bukai said). But there’s still a troubling factor: the fact that these ingredients are relatively new to skin care and are still being researched. To get around the human part of the equation, some companies have figured out how to manufacture growth factor compounds in the lab using bioengineered plants. The companies making these claim that they are as effective as human-derived growth factors, but there are “no controlled, head-to-head, double-blind studies to prove this.” Bukai says. Any other possible concerns? Growth factor serums are usually quite expensive because the raw materials are expensive to manufacture.

I can’t tell you what to do, but if the science I’ve described bothers you at all, there are plenty of other anti-aging skin care ingredients you can use instead (for example, retinol also works with collagen). ). However, I have been using SkinMedica TNS Advanced+ Serum and its predecessor, SkinMedica TNS Recovery Complex, for over 10 years (both of which feature a unique type of HFCM). After giving up on prescription and cosmetic retinoids in my early 30s (because they were too harsh for me), I tried a ton of serums in search of an alternative that would keep my skin smooth. Many of them were great, but the serums with growth factors seemed to be the most effective (tightening the skin, improving tone and texture) and the least irritating. I’ve also tried Neocutis Bio Serum Firm Rejuvenating Growth Factor & Peptide Treatment and other serums containing plant-based growth factors, such as the discontinued version of Bioeffect EGF Plumping and Firming Serum and DNA EGF Renewal. We got the results. But that’s my personal opinion. You really won’t be missing out if you don’t jump on the growth factor bandwagon. This is absolutely the best anti-aging product, especially if you wear sunscreen.