All Skincare is NOT created equal
What are Growth Factors?
Have you ever wondered why your skin just doesn’t have the “umph” it did in your younger days? Have you lost that glow and plumpness you had in your glory days? Unfortunately, this is a natural part of the aging process, and it happens to all of us. It is in large part due to the loss of our skin’s communicators called GROWTH FACTORS (GF). GF’s are proteins that are manufactured by cells. They are responsible for sending signals to other cells, commanding them to reproduce and repair.
In our younger years, our bodies produce large quantities of growth factors, keeping the skin thick and healthy. Production of elastin fibers are also at their best. This is the reason our skin can maintain a healthy elasticity and glow when we are in our 20’s. By our late 20’s/early 30’s, the growth factor process greatly slows down. The skin starts producing smaller amounts of these growth factors, resulting in slower cell growth and skin becomes thinner and less supple. This breakdown in cell function along with environmental factors such as sun exposure and pollution can really wreak havoc on the integrity of our skin health, causing wrinkles and sagging. Helping our cells out by adding a growth factor to our skin care regimen can a lot of times be the game changer our skin has been searching for.
Growth Factor Types
There are many types of growth factors that can be derived from many sources. Typically, they are divided into two groups…human derived and plant derived. Human derived GF’s can have many sources, such as your own blood (also known as platelet rich plasma or PRP), and other human tissues such as skin cells. Skincare companies have really risen to the challenge in creating the fountain of youth by developing some amazing products containing GF’s. These companies tend to have different sources and methods to creating their own growth factors products.
PRP
PRP (platelet rich plasma) is one of the most effective ways to utilize your own growth factors. The plasma containing platelets is separated from the red blood cells by a simple blood draw in office. The blood is spun in a centrifuge to make this separation process happen. This is easy and only takes a few minutes! The plasma containing your PRP is utilized in different ways to stimulate collagen and promote cell growth. It can be injected underneath the skin to help improve elasticity and thickness, making the cells healthier in general. It is also used as the glide component in microneedling.
With this method, the PRP is driven into the skin through the channels created by the needles. PRP is known to speed the healing process when used in post care for just about any skin treatment such as laser skin resurfacing or RF microneedling just to name a couple. An awesome benefit to using PRP is that it comes from your own body, so there is zero chance of having an adverse reaction to it, making it a WIN WIN!
Read about our PRP enriched skincare, SoME here https://ashleymcfarlandaesthetics.com/some-the-future-of-skin/
Plant derived Growth Factors vs Human derived
Plant derived GF are engineered in a lab to mimic human derived GF’s. Sources for these include barley and corn.
Both types have been shown in research to be effective for reducing wrinkles, improving firmness and elasticity, and boosting cell turnover.
We love our skin care products here at AMA that provide great growth factor benefits!
Skin Medica is renowned for their golden child, TNS (which stands for Tissue Nutrient Solution). They incorporate a high concentration of patented growth factors, over 380 to be more specific. It is a great human-based growth factor solution and is found in several of their products such as TNS Advanced Serum, TNS Recovery Complex and TNS Eye Repair.
Another favorite growth factor product line here is the ZO skincare line created by Dr. Zein Obagi. This is a great example of a plant-based growth factor! ZO has a GF serum and a GF eye serum. Both are big hits with AMA clients! Feel free to talk to your aesthetician about which one is best for you and your skin!
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