Growth Factors Benefits In Skincare: Are They Safe?

Last Updated on December 4, 2025 by Giorgia Guazzarotti

I admit it. I’m late to jump on skincare trends. I don’t care about how well an ingredient works. I need to know it’s safe before I put it on my skin. Don’t you feel the same? That’s why I’m currently on the fence about growth factors. On the one hand, they’re said to repair skin, boost collagen and get rid of wrinkles (and who doesn’t want that?). On the other, no one bothered to study if they’re dangerous in the long run. Hmmm… Should you take the plunge? Here’s everything you need to know about growth factors in skincare and why I think it’s a little too premature to add them to your skincare routine yet:

Table Of Contents

What Are Growth Factors?

Growth factors are natural proteins in your body that support your skin’s natural signalling properties. In plain English, they tell your skin cells how to be behave. They tell some cells to produce more collagen to keep your skin firm. They order others to repair broken skin. You get the drill. Now, your skin can do this on its own. When it’s young and healthy. But as you grow old, the levels of growth factors start to decline. With less growth factors around, your skin can’t do the signalling job well and everything starts going south.

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How Do Growth Factors Work?

As a group, growth factors make aging and damaged skin look better. Individually, each growth factor has its own specific job to do. Here are a few examples:

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF1): Promotes cellular regeneration
Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF): It boosts collagen
Interleukins-10, -13, -15: They help skin heal faster and soothe inflammations
Keratinocyte growth factor 1: Stimulates epithelial cell growth
Platelet-derived growth factor: Regulates cell growth and division
Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ßI): Stimulates collagen production and speeds up wound healing

In other words, growth factors help skin repair itself, boost collagen and soothe inflammation. All things that help your skin fight wrinkles and stay younger for longer.

Can Growth Factors Penetrate Your Skin?

In skincare, size matters. As a rule, anything that is larger than 15,000 Daltons can’t penetrate skin. And if something can’t penetrate skin, how can it stimulate collagen production and do all the other things growth factors are said to do? Growth factors may just be the exceptions to this rule. Like peptides, growth factors work even when left on the surface of the skin. How?

Think of growth factors like messengers. They bind to receptors on the surface of the skin, telling them how cells should behave. This message is then carried all the way to those cells buried deep into your skin. Those are the cells that can boost collagen, produce elastin and do all the important antiaging jobs.

Are Growth Factors Safe?

We. Don’t. Know. A few years ago, a company selling skincare products with growth factors was sued for making something that can give people cancer. It was later dismissed because it’s really difficult to demonstrate that growth factors can cause cancer – especially when cancer is sadly a common disease that has many causes. Still, this leaves some questions unanswered.

Let’s be clear. I don’t believe growth factors cause cancer. I didn’t see any proof they do. But there’s a small chance that the way they work can encourage the formation of cancer. Let me explain. Growth factors encourage cellular regeneration and proliferation. In theory, it’s possible that if they signal pre-cancerous cells to multiply, the result may eventually be cancer indeed. BUT, there’s no proof that this happens in practice. There’s no proof it can’t happen either.

In other words, we have plenty of studies that prove growth factors boost collagen, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and keep your skin young but very few proving their safety (or lack of it). What does this mean? Well, for the time being I’m giving them a pass and stick to tried and tested antiaging powerhouses like retinol and vitamin C.

If you’re the type who prefers to avoid any ingredients with a bad rep even when science says they’re safe (parabens, anyone?), I encourage you to do the same. If you’re a bit more adventurous, I guess you’ve already given them a go. Just don’t forget to go to a derm for your annual checkup.

SHOP ANTI-AGING ALTERNATIVES TO GROWTH FACTORS

FAQs

How long does it take to see results from growth factors?

You might notice your skin feels more hydrated and smoother within 2-4 weeks, but the real anti-aging magic (like fewer fine lines and firmer skin_ takes about 8-12 weeks of consistent use. Waiting months for results isn’t exactly thrilling, but that’s how long your skin needs to respond to all that cellular signaling.

Do I need to refrigerate growth factor products?

Here’s where things get sketchy. In labs, scientists store growth factors at temperatures below -20°C to keep them stable. But obviously, you’re not going to do that at home. The problem? Research shows growth factors lose over 75% of their activity within 24 hours at room temperature when they’re in water-based products. Some companies use fancy airless packaging or tell you to refrigerate them, but most don’t actually test whether the growth factors in your bottle are still working. So yeah, what went into the bottle might not be what comes out. Not exactly reassuring.

Can I use growth factors with retinol or vitamin C?

Growth factors don’t play nice with acidic products, so keep them away from your vitamin C and AHAs. If you’re set on using both, use vitamin C in the morning and save growth factors for nighttime with your retinol. Some derms say to apply the growth factor serum first on clean skin, wait 5-10 minutes, then layer your retinol on top. Just heads up: combining a bunch of actives ups your chances of irritation, especially if your skin’s on the sensitive side.

Are growth factors better than retinol?

Nope. Retinol has decades of solid research backing it up, while growth factors are the new kid on the block with way less long-term data. Sure, growth factors might be gentler if you’ve got sensitive skin, but retinol and vitamin C are still the proven antiaging workhorses. Most dermatologists recommend nailing down a good routine with retinol and antioxidants before you even think about adding growth factors. Want results you can trust? Stick with what’s actually proven to work.

Should people with a history of skin cancer avoid growth factors?

Good question, and honestly, we don’t have a great answer. Some skin cancers have receptors for epidermal growth factor, and research suggests various growth factors might play sketchy roles in cancer development. Now, it’s extremely unlikely that growth factors in skincare actually cause cancer since they’ve probably lost most of their activity and can’t penetrate deep enough anyway Dermamedics. But still, if you’ve had skin cancer before, you might want to skip these products until we have more research West Lake Dermatology. When in doubt, talk to your derm.

What’s the difference between plant, animal, and human-derived growth factors?

Growth factors can come from human stem cells, animals (yep, snails are a thing), or plants. Human-derived ones cost more but might work better since they’re closer to what your own cells recognize. Plant and animal sources are options too: some vegan brands use barley seed DNA to create growth factors that mimic human ones. Honestly though, the source matters less than whether the company actually has stability testing and real research to back up their claims. And spoiler alert: most don’t.

The Bottom Line

Growth factors are some of the most intriguing ingredients in modern skincare. They boost collagen, soothe inflammation and fight wrinkles. I’m just not convinced we have enough proof of their safety yet.

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The Complete Guide To Growth Factors: Do They Work & Are They Safe?