What is a growth-factor? Why use it on your skin?

by Liz Janowski, VP

Growth factor serums and creams are the newest superstar product in the medical-grade skin care world. Their superstar status is well-deserved with thousands of pages of research documenting their efficacy. When applied to the skin, growth factors promote skin tissue repair. They help regenerate your skin cells, with the ultimate result being stronger, healthier skin.

Growth factors are derived from human fetal tissue. This doesn’t mean you are applying baby tissue to your skin – what it means is that the original batch of skin cells used to grow the growth factors in a laboratory was derived from those very important fetal cells. When you are a fetus, your skin has the ability to heal at an amazing rate. In fact, surgeons can even do surgery on infants in the womb (up to a certain gestational age), and the baby can be born without any scarring.

Skin care labs, like Skin Medica, Suneva, and Neo-cutis, are harnessing the power of these growth factors to create serums that can heal and regenerate your skin. What you want to look for in a growth factor serum is concentration. You want human derived growth factors to be at the top of the ingredient list. If a growth factor is mixed with too many other ingredients, its potency diminishes.

In our office, we carry three growth factor products.

From Skin Medica, we offer the TNS Essential Serum, which is a big hit with our patients, and the only skin care product Dr. Janowski uses (see video below). The TNS Essential Serum combines a growth factor serum and antioxidants in a dual pump. This makes it a sort of all-in-one product – giving your skin both the growth factors and the antioxidants it needs.

For Suneva, we carry Regenica, which was originally offered through Obagi. Regenica is a smooth, creamy product with both a day and a night formulation. The day formulation has sunscreen in it, making it a convenient treatment option.

For Neo-Cutis, we carry a couple of their Bio-Cream products, which contain growth factors. Neo-Cutis is a Swiss company known for their pure formulations. Our favorite product is the Journe, which is a day cream with growth factors and a flattering tinted moisturizer.

Only medical-grade growth factor serums (i.e. the one’s sold in a physician’s office) have high concentrations of growth factors. Without the high concentration, you won’t get great results.

The effect of long-term use of growth factors, as proven in clinical studies, is stronger skin, reduced appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and improved skin elasticity. Who doesn’t want all of those benefits?! Combine a product like the TNS Essential Serum with Retin-A and a good quality sunscreen, and you have a fantastic anti-aging skin care toolkit!

Learn more about Growth Factors:

Hear about why Dr. Janowski loves and uses the TNS Growth Factor serum:

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