What is the "HUMAN FIBROBLAST CONDITIONED MEDIA" and what does it do?

Role: HUMECTANT

Family: EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR

Comedogenic index: 0

A cocktail of Skin Growth Factors

Human Fibroblast Conditioned Media (HFCM) is essentially a "growth factor cocktail" for the skin. A Growth Factor is a medium-length amino acid sequence (= small protein = large peptide) that acts as a cell-signaling molecule to stimulate cell growth, proliferation, healing and/or differentiation.

A Blend of Growth Factors

Ingredients known as "packaged media" cover not one, but a mixture of growth factors derived from certain laboratory-grown cells. In Europe, ingredients derived from human cells are illegal, so products containing growth factors generally use a plant source (e.g. barley). In the USA, human-derived growth factors are accepted, and HFCM is derived, as its name suggests, from human fibroblasts (VIP cells for collagen production).

Benefits and controversies

Although growth factors have demonstrated significant anti-aging benefits, their use in cosmetics is somewhat controversial. As powerful mitogenic molecules (= that stimulate cell proliferation), you shouldn't use them if you have high risk factors for skin cancer or suffer from psoriasis.

Find out more about "Inci" cosmetic ingredients