Building an effective skincare routine used to mean applying sunscreen in the morning and maybe a retinol at night. Now? It can feel like you need to be a biotech major just to shop for an anti-aging serum. Ingredient lists sound more at home in medical journals than Sephora aisles as brands continually embrace science-heavy ingredients—think PDRN, copper peptides, and exosomes—and it’s on us to figure out which innovations are genuinely legitimate versus simply well marketed. Growth factors are the latest craze in this category, popping up in luxury-leaning serums and medical-grade moisturizers (often accompanied by eye-watering price tags). The promise? Brighter, smoother, more resilient skin. But do they actually deliver?
To see if growth factors are truly pulling their weight, I consulted dermatologists and a plastic surgeon to uncover everything there is to know about the buzzy ingredient. Ahead, you’ll discover what growth factors are exactly, their key benefits, and if they’re worth the investment.
