I’m sitting in my small New York City apartment while a representative from Acorn Biolabs explains the (honestly crazy) process of getting my own stem cells to make a one-of-a-kind topical serum that I made myself. We started the first step of getting those cells by plucking about 100 hairs from my head.
As someone who calls themselves a “I’ll try anything once” skincare junkie, I have to say that this was probably one of the strangest things I’ve ever done to look better. Yes, I’ve had my blood drawn and had PRP (platelet-rich plasma) taken out for vampire facials and injections under my eyes. I tried salmon sperm long before it became popular in skincare. And I’ve had painful trendy tightening procedures that ended with a kerplop that wasn’t very impressive.
But pulling out my hairs to make an autologous “secretome” serum is one of the most interesting and unusual things I’ve ever done in my beauty routine. And I’m sure you’ll hear a lot about this subject in the next few months and years.
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- Jamie Comstock is a physician assistant and the founder of The Comstock in Scottsdale, Arizona.
- Mariana Vergara, MD, FAAD, is a cosmetic dermatologist who works in Beverly Hills.
What is a serum for secretomes?
“Secretome” is the name for the huge number of helpful molecules that cells release. Growth factors cytokines, peptides, proteins, and sometimes exosomes are all part of these secretions. They all help the skin communicate heal, and grow back.
Jamie Comstock, a physician assistant and founder of The Comstock in Scottsdale, Arizona, says, “Beauty has changed from cosmetics that only work on the surface to bio-active regenerative methods. Secretome serums are a great example of this.” “Secretomes are the set of signalling proteins and growth factors that cells naturally make. They are like ‘communication molecules’ that help control healing, collagen production, and tissue regeneration.”
Two labelled vials on a counter with a box and other things in the background that are hard to see
My personalised secretome serum from Acorn Biolabs.
Thanks to Wendy Rose Gould
She says that the fact that Acorn Biolabs’ secretome serum is personalised and comes from your own body is especially interesting. It uses your own cells to make a unique set of factors that are perfect for your body.
Dr. Mariana Vergara, FAAD, a cosmetic dermatologist in Beverly Hills, agrees that secretomes are one of the most exciting new things in aesthetic medicine. She says, “It is a game changer in the beauty space because, unlike treatments that rely on volume or inflammation to trigger change, regenerative treatments like secretomes support the skin’s own regenerative intelligence, leading to improved quality, resilience, and long-term skin health.”
Benefits for skin and hair
So, why should you use a fancy serum like this instead of your snail mucin or expensive hyaluronic acid mix? You can still use your products, but adding a secretome serum to the mix has some specific benefits for hair and skin.
“What gets me excited is that secretomes help the skin communicate with itself better.” Comstock says, “Instead of giving a set of ingredients, we’re sending a biologically relevant signal that tells the skin to speed up its own repair processes.” “The ability to selectively activate cellular communication and healing pathways without the trauma of more invasive procedures is truly a paradigm shift.”
Dr. Vergara says that in her clinic, she is focusing on technology like this because it “shifts from masking ageing to restoring healthy cellular function and supporting longevity of the skin.”
Autologous secretome serum is good for hair health and growth, in addition to being good for the skin when applied topically. The same signalling molecules that help the skin heal can also help the hair follicle environment, which can lead to healthier growth cycles. Acorn says that the serum has up to 34 times more growth factor than PRP and that it has shown visible improvement in three months.
How to Make Serum
Back to my flat in New York City. To make your own personalised secretome serum, you have to pull hair out of your head. This isn’t very fun, but it’s a lot less invasive than taking bone marrow or even blood. The hair plucking is really smart; the little bulb at the base of each hair has living cells that can be grown to make the signalling molecules that go into the serum.
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The little plucking party I went to wasn’t that bad. The Acorn Biolabs team picked up all the hairs in less than ten minutes and then sent them back to their lab in Canada the next day. I got an email within a week saying that my sample had been processed successfully. Out of 100 hairs that were plucked, 20 passed the “viability assessment,” which led to the collection of more than 80,000 live cells.
Now that I had the green light it was time to start making my serum and using it.
The neckline pattern on the clothes makes the person’s neck and upper chest look red.
Right after a treatment with microneedling and secretome serum.
Thanks to Wendy Rose Gould
How I’ve Been Using My Secretome Serum
I went to The Comstock, a nearby aesthetic clinic that uses autologous secretome serums (more and more clinics are joining every day), and decided to have a series of microneedling treatments on my face, neck, and chest. After everything was set up, a set of my serums was sent straight to the med spa so I could start my treatments. I don’t have to worry about carrying them back and forth because the spa keeps them there.
I’ve had four of the six SkinPen Microneedling + Acorn Biolabs Secretome Serum treatments over the course of four months and the results have been great. I wanted to work on the overall tone and texture of my skin, including the redness on my chest, and just make it healthier and more vibrant in general.
There are small changes, but my skin does look brighter and more even, and it also feels a little stronger. Another thing I’ve noticed is that my pores are smaller, which is probably because of the microneedling and serum working together.
Also, the microneedling and serum work well together, which is another good thing to note. The serum actually speeds up the healing process after microneedling. I look pretty red for the first 12 hours, but by hour 24, my skin looks more normal, and in a few days, I look like I’m glowing.
What Personalised Secretome Could Be Used For in the Future
You don’t have to do anything else to make more serum once you’ve made it. The original cell sample is kept and grown again for all future treatments This means that more batches of your personalised secretome serum can be made without having to collect new cells each time.
That being said, you do have to pay for “cell banking” storage at Acorn Biolabs. That’s about $200 a year for each person, or you can pay for five to ten years in advance. This is good for future hair and skin treatments, but the company has some big plans for the long term. It is still working on projects and research in oncology, organic modelling, orthopaedics, cartilage repair, and general regenerative science.
You might have problems with your knee cartilage in 20 years. But if you have some stored secretome, a “made for you” fix might be the easiest way to go. It all sounds very futuristic, and we’ll see what happens, but it’s hard not to be excited about this new technology.
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