What Are Growth Factors and What Do They Do for Your Skin?

Among the latest advances in skin care ingredients, growth factors bring an exciting new dimension to ageless formulations. You are probably already familiar with ingredients like retinoids, vitamin C, peptides, and antioxidants for maintaining healthy skin. Growth factors don’t replace those essential players. They work alongside them to open a powerful new avenue for regenerating youthful skin faster and without irritation or harsh side effects.

Growth factors are critical molecules for tissue repair and regeneration that occur naturally in humans, animals, and plants. They act as chemical messengers between cells to activate essential cellular functions, including stimulation of amino acid transport, production and organization of collagen and elastin, DNA synthesis, and cell growth.

Because of their ability to stimulate epithelial cell growth in the skin, growth factors were initially developed to speed healing for burn victims. The scientists who discovered the science received the Nobel Prize in Physiology.

In recent years, growth factors have emerged as potent agents for decelerating aging with a particular affinity for countering photodamage, increasing elasticity and dermal thickness, and promoting even tone.

Young skin has a rich supply of growth factors that signal fibroblast cells to regenerate and maintain healthy skin. As we age, the skin produces fewer growth factors to urge fibroblasts to do their important work, resulting in less cell growth and slower regeneration.

Additionally, with less influence from growth factors, the activity of enzymes that cause collagen degradation (collagenase) and encourage melanocyte production (tyrosinase) begin to outpace the skin’s ability to repair. That’s when we start to see more fine lines, wrinkles, thinning skin, and pigment irregularity.

Growth factors essentially teach cells how to live again, reigniting cellular function, catalyzing repair, and outpacing damaging enzyme activity. 

Growth factors can be derived from human or animal cells grown in a laboratory or bioengineered from plant cells. The epidermal growth factor (EGF) used in Vivant products is phyto (plant-based) EGF, engineered for stability and optimal dermal penetration. The use of phyto-sourced EGF allows us to ensure consistency in concentration, performance, and purity. Growth factors are suitable for all skin types and tones. Despite their rapid effects, they have a very gentle activity and won’t cause irritation. 

We have harnessed the power of growth factors in our proprietary GFP Complex. The innovative ingredient is a novel joining of two apex cell-signaling agents—EGF with our patented vitamin A propionate—for maximum benefit.

Find GFP Complex in our FF3 Biointensive GF serum for radical repair and renewal in estrogen-depleted skin. The breakthrough formula reawakens youthful cell function to restore lost volume, increase moisture, plump thinning skin, smooth lines and rough texture, and rebuild the skin’s structural matrix. Because of its unique multi-active formulation, FF3 Biointensive GF functions as both toner and serum for dry, thinning skin. For optimal results, we recommend using FF3 Biointensive GF at night and Rejuv Rx peptide concentrate in the morning.