Skin Care Education

Growth Factor Therapy

A category of skin treatments that use naturally occurring signalling proteins to encourage the skin to repair itself, produce more collagen, and improve its overall quality and resilience.

What Is Growth Factor Therapy?

Growth factors are naturally occurring proteins that act as messengers in the body, telling cells to carry out specific functions such as repairing damage, producing collagen, or generating new healthy cells. In the context of skin, they play a key role in the wound healing process and in maintaining the skin’s structural quality over time. As we age, the levels and activity of these signalling proteins in the skin decline, contributing to slower repair, reduced collagen production, and a gradual loss of skin quality.

Growth factor therapy in aesthetics uses formulations containing these proteins to deliver them directly to the skin, effectively resupplying the signals that encourage repair and regeneration. The growth factors used in aesthetic products and treatments come from several sources. Some are derived from human cell culture, where cells are grown in a laboratory and the growth factors they secrete are collected and purified. Others come from plant sources, stem cell extracts, or from the patient’s own blood in the case of PRP, which is itself a form of growth factor therapy.

Growth factors are most commonly delivered to the skin topically as a serum or treatment product, or through the skin via microneedling, where the tiny channels created by the needles allow the growth factors to penetrate more deeply than they could through intact skin alone. They can also be incorporated into post-treatment protocols after laser or energy-based treatments to support the healing process and enhance results.

What to Expect

The experience of growth factor therapy depends on how it is delivered. When applied topically as part of a professional facial or treatment protocol, it is a comfortable and straightforward step with no sensation beyond the application of the product itself. The skin is prepared and the growth factor serum is applied, often left on as a mask or infused into the skin using ultrasound or other penetration-enhancing technology.

When delivered via microneedling, the experience is that of a microneedling treatment, with numbing cream applied beforehand and a mild scratching sensation during the procedure. The growth factor serum is applied to the skin during or immediately after the microneedling session, entering the skin through the micro-channels created by the needles. Some redness and mild swelling after is normal and settles within 24 to 48 hours.

Results from growth factor therapy are gradual and cumulative rather than immediately dramatic. The treatment works by signalling the skin to improve its own processes over time, so the results build over weeks and months rather than being visible immediately. Most people notice an improvement in skin quality, hydration, resilience, and a subtle but genuine improvement in firmness and texture at four to eight weeks after a course of treatment.

Who It’s For and Results

Growth factor therapy is well suited to those who want to improve the overall quality, resilience, and health of their skin in a way that works with the skin’s own biology rather than through more aggressive external intervention. It is popular with those who prefer a more natural approach to skin improvement, those with sensitive skin who do not tolerate more intensive treatments well, and those looking to support and extend the results of other professional treatments.

It is particularly valued as a post-treatment support following laser, radiofrequency, or microneedling, where the growth factors actively support the healing and rebuilding process that those treatments initiate. In this context, growth factor therapy can enhance and extend the results of the primary treatment rather than acting as a standalone solution.

For general skin quality improvement, a course of three to four sessions over two to three months is typically recommended, followed by maintenance treatments. Results are subtle compared to more intensive interventions but are meaningful, particularly for those whose primary goal is healthier, more resilient skin rather than a dramatic structural change.

Frequently Asked Questions: Growth Factor Therapy

Growth factors used in aesthetic treatments come from several different sources depending on the product. Some are derived from human cell cultures, where laboratory-grown cells produce and secrete growth factors that are then harvested and purified for use in skincare. Some come from plant stem cell extracts, which contain plant-derived growth factors with properties relevant to skin repair. Some products use synthetic versions of specific growth factors produced in a laboratory. PRP, which uses the patient’s own blood, is a natural source of the body’s own growth factors. Providers will be able to explain the source of the growth factors in the specific product they use.

PRP is one form of growth factor therapy. When blood is centrifuged to concentrate the platelet-rich plasma, the result is a highly concentrated source of the growth factors naturally present in the blood. These growth factors are then delivered to the skin through injection or microneedling. Other forms of growth factor therapy use laboratory-derived or plant-derived growth factor products rather than the patient’s own blood. Both approaches aim to deliver growth factor signals to the skin, but through different sources and in different concentrations.

Growth factor therapy supports the skin’s own repair and maintenance processes, which do slow down with age. By resupplying the signals that encourage collagen production and cellular repair, it can help maintain better skin quality over time than would otherwise occur. It is more accurately described as supporting the skin’s ability to maintain and repair itself rather than reversing ageing directly. Used consistently as part of a broader skin health programme that includes sun protection and appropriate skincare, it contributes to slower visible ageing compared to no professional intervention at all.

Yes. Growth factor serums formulated for home use are available and can be a useful addition to a skincare routine. Home formulations contain lower concentrations of growth factors than professional products and are designed for regular use on intact skin rather than penetration-enhanced delivery. They can support the results of professional treatment and contribute to ongoing skin quality maintenance between sessions. For the best results, home growth factor products work most effectively when the skin barrier is healthy and when they are used as part of a consistent, appropriate skincare routine rather than as a standalone solution.