I was first introduced to FACTORFIVE Skin Care at the New Beauty Report Live 2018 Event in New York a few months ago. FACTORFIVE is what you would call a medical grade brand. It combines human derived stem cell growth factors, peptides and cytokines for a potent anti-aging cocktail. I’ve talked a lot about how I love the radiant glowing skin effect you get from growth factors and cytokines. Growth factor serums are one of my favorite types of skincare to test out. You’ve all heard of stem cells at this point in skincare. Whether its plant or human derived stem cells. Stem cells are cells that have the ability to divide rapidly and become either more stem cells or specialized cells. Stem cells are full of amino acids, peptides and antioxidants so they help rejuvenate the skin. They help promote cellular turnover and collagen production. Hence the glowing or youthful effect you get from these types of serums. I like to have some kind of growth factor serum in my nightly routine all the time.
My experience with stem cells is that you need to use them regularly to see results. Once a day at night when your body regenerates is the perfect time. Just be consistent. Expect to wait a full six weeks before you really notice that youthful glow start to appear. Hopefully it goes without needing to say (but I will anyway) these types of serums aren’t a replacement for Botox or other cosmetic treatments and the results aren’t as dramatic as dermatological procedures. I say that just so you won’t expect a miracle when you use a growth factor serum as you need to stick it out and be consistent. These are the products that gives your skin more elasticity, firmness and resilience, increases hydration and decreases inflammation and redness. They’re a type of product that really targets overall skin health, rejuvenation and radiance. They just need time to have an effect on your skin. We have cytokines and growth factors naturally in the skin and as we age the levels decrease. Aren’t you tired of hearing that stuff yet? So adding a stem cell serum helps replenish the loss and continue to promote skin health.
While I do like plant stem cells for a rejuvenating factor I have never found them as effective as the human derived stem cells. FACTORFIVE stem cells come from human adipose tissue (fat cells). Human stem cells can come from a variety of sources. There’s adipose, bone marrow and fibroblast conditioned cell media (aka the Penis facial kind of thing you’ve seen on social media recently) or you can get stem cells from fetal cord blood and the placenta. Fibroblast conditioned cell media comes from fetal foreskin during circumcision, adipose comes from fat tissue and bone marrow comes from donors. Is there a difference? In some aspects. Adipose stem cell serums have been shown to have a good effect on reducing inflammation because they have more than just the fibroblast cells. I will note none of these types of serums contain the cells at all, only the proteins derived from the cells. There are three products in the FACTORFIVE line.
Borrowing from silicon valley biotechnology, Stanford trained scientists have developed FACTORFIVE to nourish the skin and help promote healthy cellular activity. Composed of concentrated human stem cell growth factors and copper peptides, the effective formula deviates from traditional methods of anti-aging skincare and targets the 5 signs of aging: wrinkles, sun spots, tightness, thickness, texture, and more.
Ingredients
Human Stem Cell Conditioned Media, Water (Aqua), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Sodium, Ascorbyl Phosphate, PEG-8/SMDI Copolymer, Bis (Tripeptide-1) Copper Acetate, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, Acmella Oleracea Extract, Lecithin, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Xanthan Gum, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-37, Citric Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Disodium EDTA, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polysorbate 20, Fragrance, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin
FACTORFIVE anti-aging cream combines powerful human stem cell factors with a comprehensive array of moisturizing ingredients. Suitable for all skin tones, the hydrating formula visibly improves the 5 signs of aging.
Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Human Stem Cell Conditioned Media, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, C14-22 Alcohols, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Niacinamide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate, PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer, Bis (Tripeptide-1) Copper Acetate, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Polyacrylamide, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-37, Acmella Oleracea Extract, Acetyl Octapeptide-3, PEG-100 Stearate, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Laureth-7, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexyglycerin, Fragrance, Tocopheryl Acetate
FACTORFIVE eye/lash cream combines human derived stem cell growth factors with biotin and redensyl. Growth factors help replenish a more youthful-looking eye area, where biotin and redensyl work together to quickly and safely enhance your lashes and brows.
Note: unlike some other lash enhancing products, FACTORFIVE will NOT change the color of your eyes and is formulated to absorb quickly, leaving your eyes free of unnecessary irritation.
Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Human Stem Cell Conditioned Media, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Squalane, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Sodium Polyacrylate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Larix Europaea Wood Extract, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Glycine, Zinc Chloride, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Panthenol, Caffeine, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Biotin, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Metabisulfite, Disodium EDTA
The serum has a nice light texture that is hydrating & sinks in quickly. It smells fantastic. That’s worth noting as most of these types of serums don’t have a great scent. It’s light and almost fruit like. Besides the stem cell media it’s got aloe, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, niacinimide, vitamin c, green tea & acmella, copper tri-peptide and peptides Acetyl Octapeptide-3 & Palmitoyl Tripeptide-37. This is the star of the brand for me. The texture is fantastic, it comes in an airless pump, it smells great and it gives the skin that healthy rejuvenated look I love from stem cell serums. If you grab one thing from the line grab this one. I’ve gone through two bottles so far myself.
The Anti-Aging Cream is nice. It’s not a heavy cream nor a lotion really. It’s like a heavy lotion or really light cream. I would use this on summer nights or winter days. It feels fragrance free I don’t remember a scent. It’s not heavy or greasy and has a nice texture. It’s also got the stem cell media and everything the serum has plus shea butter, coconut triglycerides and dimethicone. It has the stuff like emollients that makes it a cream.
The Eye and Lash Cream is a medium weight eye cream that’s actually quite moisturizing. I liked it more as a night eye cream. This eye cream does have the same stem cell media but it has things more targeted towards the eye like biotin, caffeine and redensyl. It’s got a few more hydrators like squalane, jojoba and coconut oils and the peptides are taken out in lieu of biotin and redensyl. Biotin is vitamin B7 which is necessary to the growth and formation of new cells. So a deficiency of this vitamin can lead to hair loss which means taking it or using it topically might increase hair growth. Redensyl is a newer ingredient that has potentially better effects on hair growth than Minoxidil does.
So I rubbed this all around my eye area especially on the brows, because of the hair growth effects, which I normally don’t do with eye creams. I had to make this night only because it was too heavy for day use on the brows. I couldn’t get my brow pencils to work well the area was too hydrated. It worked great as a night eye cream. I had a hard time rubbing it near my lashline as I don’t put heavier products there in general. I wear contacts and when my eye cream gets too close I get blurry eyes. When I did wear this close to the lash line I noticed no stinging in case anyone is wondering. I think I would really love this more as a serum style product versus and eye cream. Then I could actually slather it on morning and night and not worry about those things I mentioned. I ultimately didn’t test the eye cream long enough to see if I had hair growth effects because I was done with the blurry eye part. I did like it as a hydrating eye cream it was very pleasant. Again would LOVE this in a serum format.
Overall the star of the show is the serum as I mentioned above. Hands down my favorite followed by the Anti-Aging Cream. Stem cell serums can be very personal in their effect on your skin. Some people swear all types of cells (fibroblast, adipose or bone marrow) are the same and give the same results as the proteins are the same. Some say there’s a big difference in the effects based on the type of stem cell. I think some people make more concentrated or better quality human stem cell serums. Maybe their methods of extraction are better or more refined. I haven’t found that one cell does better than another with the youthful rejuvenation effects it gives my skin. However, some brands are definitely better at it than others so that makes some serums seem better than others. So if you try a human stem cell serum and find it didn’t work for you (even after longevity and consistent daily use) it might be that brand and I wouldn’t give up on stem cells. Try another brand, you might find that you really like them. If you’ve ever been pregnant and remember that ‘glow’, that’s the effect human stem cell serums give your skin. A radiant, glowing rejuvenated look to the skin.
FACTORFIVE is giving you 25% off of their products when you use code Michelle25 so it’s a perfect time to try a stem cell serum. If you have any questions about their products or technology email marketing@factorfiveskin.com
*Products were gifted by brand but all thoughts are my own
I am using factor five serum and really like the results. However can i be assured no aborted fetus have been used in processing?
That’s a good question to ask them in detail. I’ve never heard of a brand doing that but I would reach out to them if you’re wondering, they’ll have first hand information