How To Try A ‘Secretome' Skincare Serum Made From Your Own Stem Cells

Forbes

2 days ago

A scientist cultures cells in a lab. getty
Regenerative aesthetics is an exciting frontier in the beauty industry, as buzz words like "exosomes," "biostimulants" and "stem cells" make their way through the marketing machine. A quick scroll through social media is all it takes to witness heated expert debates, or see brand marketing claims coming under fire, all in the midst of contradicting anecdotal reviews.
To be clear, discourse between experts plays an important role in holding the industry accountable and shaping its future. Aesthetic therapies and beauty brands should absolutely be scrutinized and come with caveats. But sometimes the noise of the hype drowns out the important questions to ask.
Does that popular serum actually contain exosomes, or do its results come from other ingredients in the formula? Will getting Sculptra injections now risk complicating a facelift surgery later? Do we really want to slather salmon sperm, or derivatives from a blood bank's expiring supply, onto our faces?
To the point of this article, how about whether a 'secretome' serum, made from your banked stem cells' secretions, can outperform your platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or platelet-rich fibrin (PRF)? What if this secretome is more bioavailable than exosomes, PDRN or stem cell-conditioned media from donor sources altogether?
The key is understanding that beauty is not one size fits all; no single source can decide what is right for you. Successfully traversing the evolving field of regenerative aesthetics is less about finding one 'holy grail' product to use until the end of time, and is more about grasping the industry's future trajectory. In this respect, stem cell banking and secretome serums are certainly worthy of closer inspection.
Three weeks after my microneedling appointment with Dr. Ben Talei where he applied my autologous stem cell secretome by Acorn Biolabs. Jessica Ourisman
Still, we are living in the era of Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos scandal, where boundary-pushing medical marvels should inspire at least some skepticism. This is precisely what ran through my mind when I became the first member of the U.S. media to try my personalized secretome serum, made by Acorn using stem cell-conditioned media from my banked stem cells. My secretome was applied at a microneedling appointment with double board-certified plastic surgeon Ben Talei in Beverly Hills, California.
Keep reading to find out about what makes this beauty offering news-worthy, plus my firsthand experience using the Acorn Biolabs Secretome. Meet The Personalized Secretome
Stem cell researcher Drew Taylor, MsC, PhD, believes that patient-derived biologics—biological materials used in medicine and aesthetics—are inherently more bioavailable than a donor's. Their use also bypasses concerns around 'immune rejection, inflammation, or incompatibility,' he writes to me in an e-mail.
Operating under the conviction that banking stem cells will unlock not just future aesthetic treatments, but an entire world of medical innovations, his Toronto-based, personalized regenerative medicine company Acorn Biolabs set to work non-invasively harvesting and banking patient stem cells from the hair follicle.
Vials of a patient's personalized 'secretome' serum by Acorn Bioabs, made from autologous stem cells derived from the hair follicle for use in an aesthetic treatment. Jessica Ourisman
In November 2024, Acorn soft-launched patients' own 'secretome' serums for topical application during microneedling or laser treatments. Similar to the beauty industry's existing serums made from stem cell-conditioned media, secretomes contain banked stem cells' natural secretions of growth factors, cytokines, exosomes and more.
The difference is that Acorn's secretome uses the patient's own autologous stem cells and is purported to be more effective than popular patient-derived biologics like PRP or PRF. Preliminary clinical data is promising, showing a batch of the secretome's regenerative concentrations to be several folds higher than in the same patient's sample of PRP.
Creative image of stem cells. getty Why Stem Cells?
Grasping the novelty of the personalized secretome begins with understanding what makes stem cell therapies so promising. As you know, their applications certainly did not originate with anti-aging skincare; regenerative medicine's first cell transplantation was via a bone marrow transplant in 1968.
As the San Diego-based, double board-certified plastic surgeon Steven Cohen explained to me over the phone, his own work with stem cells began decades ago in cardiothoracics. Now a major proponent of regenerative aesthetics' uses of stem cells, he described how plastic surgeons first took note of the 'Benjamin Button-like,' anti-aging effects to the skin following fat transfer procedures, which are frequently performed during facelifts and oculoplastic procedures.
Before-and-after results of oculoplastic surgeon Kami Parsa's nanofat treatment, Nanostem. Kami Parsa MD
Surgeons then narrowed it down to human fat's supply of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs), whose effect he compares to 'cellular medicine.' Board-certified plastic surgeon Marc Mani further delineated the theory to me at his office in Beverly Hills. Once transferred fat cells take up a blood supply, these ASCs begin repairing the skin and tissues around it to an unprecedented degree with their regenerative secretions.
This led to aesthetics' use of nanofat treatments, a technique development by Belgian plastic surgeons Patrick Tonnard and Alex Verpaele in 2013. Nanofat procedures filter out the ASC's and regenerative components of the fat's stromal vascular fraction (SVF), providing a patient-derived, biological concentrate of ingredients for skin repair and regeneration without adding volume.
A before-and-after of a patient's melasma and skin quality following a stem cell-rich nanofat treatment performed by board-certified plastic surgeon Marc Mani. Dr. Marc Mani
This use of patients' 'autologous' stem cells is now offered in several prominent surgeons' practices, including oculoplastic surgeon Kami Parsa's Nanostem offering, Dr. Mani's MIST procedure and Dr. Talei's PHAT treatment, which combines nanofat and PRP, to name a few.
But while the use of autologous stem cells sounds great in theory, there are several hurdles to overcome in practice. High cost, FDA-regulations around banking and the sheer invasiveness of liposuction make ASCs' and their aesthetic applications inaccessible to most. So while the ideal scenario uses a patient's own stem cells, practicality has called for donor sources.
Hence the countless serums from donor-derived stem cell-conditioned media; namely, a human donor's 'allogenic' stem cells, or an animal or plant donor's 'xenogeneic' stem cells, as Jordan Plews, PhD, of JP Bioconsulting LLC, told me over the phone.
From there, there is debate around the ethics, safety and efficacy of various plant, animal and human stem cell sources, from donor age, to medical screening, respective bioavailability, shelf stability and marketing claims. Consider, for instance, how exosomes have become the trendiest regenerative secretion du jour. But some experts, like Thomas Hitchcock, PhD, Chief Innovations Officer at Revance, still consider it 'premature" and 'unfounded' to bottle and market exosomes touted by certain beauty brands at this phase of the research—not that this has stopped a wave of companies rushing to launch exosome serums at virtually every price point...
**might add in a note about the scientist from Anteage leaving because he disagrees with their company-wide adoption of "exosome" in all formulas
Acorn Biolabs harvests autologous stem cell from patient's plucked hair follicles. Acorn Biolabs Stem Cells In The Hair Follicle
Getting back to stem cells, Dr. Plews is adamant that an age zero, umbilical stem cell is the gold standard. But supposing you want to use your own stem cells, that ship has clearly sailed. Meanwhile, harvesting stem cells from fat or bone marrow is invasive and costly, which brings us back to Dr. Taylor's work at Acorn. Dr. Taylor set his sights on the hair follicle, the small bulb at the base of the hair, determined to make access to autologous stem cell therapies as painless as plucking a hair.
'The presence of mesenchymal and epithelial stem cells in hair follicles was first established in peer-reviewed literature over 20 years ago,' Dr. Taylor says. He describes the hair follicle's desirability as a source due to its accessibility, regenerative potential and abundance. 'Acorn's innovation lies in developing a non-invasive method to isolate, test and preserve these cells without discomfort or downtime, broadening access to stem cell-based interventions.' Acorn's Method For Harvesting, Banking Stem Cells
For the cost of roughly $945 USD and fifty hairs from your scalp, your hair follicles will be transported to one of Acorn's secure labs in Canada and Southern California. There, your stem cells are extracted, cryogenically preserved and banked for an annual fee that comes to less than $150 USD. It then takes roughly six-to-eight weeks for Acorn to collect sufficient secretions to create the personalized secretome serum, at which point you can schedule a microneedling or laser appointment with your aesthetic provider.
The banking and culturing processing of stem cells was first explained to me on a video call with a scientist that works at the lab supplying the stem cell-conditioned media used in the award-winning Angela Caglia Cell Forté serum. She explained to me that culturing stem cells essentially means setting them up in a dish, 'feeding' them and ensuring they do not differentiate into an unintended cell type. It's kind of like taking care of a plant, but instead of growing fruit or flowers, it releases a medley of regenerative ingredients that can be collected and used in skincare formulas.
An image of journalist Jessica Ourisman's Cell Viability Report from Acorn Biolabs. Jessica Ourisman
As Dr. Hitchcock explained to me, stem cells are sometimes cultured with bovine fetal serum—but this is an example of the type of donor biologic material that Dr. Taylor explicitly avoids at Acorn. The media your stem cells are grown in at Acorn contains only 'a proprietary balance of sugars, salts, antioxidants, and simple proteins [manufactured in] sterile, cGMP conditions rated for cell therapies,' he assures me.
Though the banking process poses some obstacles, including tricky FDA-regulations and added time (as opposed to creating PRP or PRF in the same office visit as a blood draw), it will potentially allow for an important quality assurance measure down the line: batch-testing. This refers to a lab's testing to document the potency and composition of a product, similar to what is done for the Chronos ExoCR line of exosomes sold by Cartessa Aesthetics. Except in this case, you would be getting a glimpse of your own stem cells' performance—pretty compelling data for beauty nerds and biohackers.
Acorn Biolabs is creating Personalized Secretome Treatments made from stem cells harvested from patients' hair follicles. Jessica Ourisman What Is In Acorn's Secretome?
Generally speaking, Dr. Plews describes a secretome as 'a special filtration of [stem cell] conditioned media.' (Exosome serums, by contrast, refer to a specific isolation of one of the ingredients.) As for what the Acorn Secretome contains, Dr. Taylor identifies 'a range of bio-identical growth factors (i.e., VEGF, FGF, EGF, IGF), cytokines and chemokines, exosomes and structural proteins from the extracellular matrix such as hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin.'
Initial data that compared a patient's secretome with their PRP revealed significantly greater concentrations of growth factors in the secretome versus the PRP. For instance, the growth factor VEGF was found at a 20x higher concentration in the secretome, Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) was present at 10x the concentration, with FGF and IGF also present at 15x and 8x higher concentrations respectively.
If you are an exosome fan, Dr. Taylor explains that the naturally-released exosomes found in the secretome remain stable and bioavailable for up to one month when refrigerated. In fact the entire secretome is lyophilized, or freeze-dried, to be reconstituted at the medical provider's office. Acorn has confirmed its monthlong shelf-life through 'staining and reimaging in the lab after lyophilization and resuspension.'
The process of creating my secretome began with harvesting my hair follicles at Dripology in Santa Monica back in 2023. Having your hair plucked is not particularly pleasant, but it was certainly not painful or invasive. Throughout the process I drank coffee and chatted with members of the team.
The follicle was trimmed off of each strand of hair and stored in a vial, then placed on ice and couriered to the lab. I received e-mail updates every step of the way, including how many of the follicles had been viable. At the lab, my stem cells were extracted and cryogenically preserved for banking and culturing, as described above.
Because I was an early patient of Acorn's, I waited much longer for my secretome than the average patient. The moment I received the e-mail that it was ready, I booked an appointment to have microneedling performed by Dr. Talei, who had previously taught me about nanofat and performed his PHAT treatment on me.
Immediately following microneedling with the Acorn Biolabs Secretome and the results after one week. Jessica Ourisman Using My Stem-Cell-Based Secretome
While Dr. Talei has an exclusive plastic surgery practice, he also has a separate practice devoted entirely to hair restoration and regenerative modalities called the Beverly Hills Hair Group that carries Acorn. (Although I typically focus on the skin of my face, it is important to note that these therapies are also considered remarkably effective for hair growth.) All I had to do was book a microneedling appointment where he would apply my regenerative secretome topically. I would also be allowed to take some home with me to apply while healing.
While many skincare enthusiasts opt for laser treatments or radiofrequency microneedling, I intentionally chose conventional microneedling without any added thermal energy. First, I personally dislike RF microneedling devices like SylfirmX or Morpheus because I have experienced adverse effects from them, including breakouts and rebound pigmentation from melasma.
But there was another important reason I did so, which is that I wanted to protect the viability of the proteins in my secretome by avoiding excess heat exposure. Dr. Taylor assured me this was an over-abundance of caution, but does recommend avoiding heat after application in order to "preserve protein structure and maximize bioactivity."
A treatment room at the Beverly Hills Hair Group. Beverly Hills Hair Group
At the office, I was numbed with a topical gel before Dr. Talei got started with microneedling. As he needled the skin of my face and portions of my scalp, the serum was administered as a topical, reaching greater depths of my skin through the micro-channels being created where its ingredients could support my body's healing process rebuilding healthy tissue.
He adjusted the depth of the needles' penetration according to the needs of my skin, with areas of textural concerns from past breakouts getting the deeper treatment. At times I needed to take breaths of ProNox (i.e., laughing gas) to cope with discomfort. Afterwards, I was given a vial of my secretome to take home with me to expedite healing and maximize results as my skin got to work repairing itself.
Imagery of downtime following microneedling with the Acorn Biolabs secretome from the day of the treatment, day two of healing and day ten. Jessica Ourisman
Because Dr. Talei microneedled with such vigor, I had about five days of downtime, during which time my face looked and felt as if I had scraped it with sandpaper to the point of being bloodied. For the first three nights, I applied the oxygenating CO2 Lift Carboxy Gel Mask, $270 for 3, to help soothe and heal. I also applied my secretome morning and night until I ran out, at which point I switched to my usual serums: Epicutis Lipid Serum, $250, in the morning and Biojuve Living Biome Essentials Duo, $225, in the evening.
Any cleanser I used was extremely gentle; Dr. Talei also provided me with an anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory colloidal silver spray. For moments of additional soothing, I reached for the Velez Intense Hydration Face Mask, $34, which does not contain any active ingredients, but is cooling and supremely soothing. On one occasion, I applied the Epicutis Lipid Recovery Mask, $125 for 5. After my skin had returned to a relatively normal state, I resumed red light therapy with my favorite devices, the Shark Beauty TK in the morning and the Lyma Pro in the evening.
In the week after my downtime, I was impressed by my results—although I wished I had taken home more vials of my secretome. But my skin was glowing, plump and had an extra 'bounce' to it that my facialist, Amaju Amoruwa, DNP, MBA, felt and commented on, attributing it to the structure and quality of the tissue. I did experience three small pustule-like breakouts, but this is common for me following micro-needling appointments.
Three weeks after microneedling by Dr. Ben Talei with the Acorn Biolabs Secretome at the Beverly Hills Hair Group. Jessica Ourisman My Conclusions Post-Microneedling With My Secretome
Can I prove that it was better than another regenerative ingredient of this ilk? No. But would I do this again? Yes, and I plan to complete a series of three sessions. Anecdotally speaking, I have tried the gamut of aesthetic add-ons, from PRP to PRF to PDRN, and I would opt for my secretome in lieu of almost any other non-invasive boosters I have tried.
The only exception would be nanofat. In an ideal world of infinite funds and fat supply, I would have my nanofat applied at my microneedling appointments, with unlimited access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and my trusty Biojuve and Epicutis serums to heal. Alas, this is physically impossible—which is precisely why banking my stem cells with Acorn felt like such a worthy investment for me.
I am not alone in my enthusiasm, either. As Fabien Beretta, Executive Director and Founder of the Beverly Hills Hair Group put it over the phone, there has been 'tremendous interest' in Acorn among patients. He believes offering this 'personalized variation [of] a patient's own growth factors marks a powerful evolution in care.' He also finds that patients seem reassured knowing that their secretome will be an exact biological match, without the uncertainty associated with donor-derived boosters, whether from salmon, porcine, bovine or human sources.
But before you book your appointment with a local Acorn provider, remember that experts disagree all the time. Some question whether banked stem cells' secretions can ever be as effective as those that are harvested directly from the patient. Others do not deem it worth it to offer nanofat. It all speaks to the fact that in an emerging field like regenerative medicine, there are still a lot of unknowns. This can make banking your stem cells feel like an expensive investment—and Dr. Taylor readily admits this.
The Beverly Hills Hair Group is one of the Los Angeles-based practices to offers Acorn Biolabs. Beverly Hills Hair Group Regenerative Aesthetics And The Future Of Medicine
For now, Acorn is focusing on beauty and aesthetics—a smart move for acquiring funding while navigating legal regulations to do with human-derived biologics. Plus, as a 'regenerative' dermatologist once explained to me, the short timeline for skin regeneration makes dermatology an appealing arena for assessing this class of interventions.
But it is also undeniable that regenerative medicine has a rich future ahead. In time, as research continues and regulations permit, the potential in what Acorn has set out to accomplish could become as vast as stem cells' unlocked capabilities. Undifferentiated stem cells are the foundation for every cell, tissue or organ in the body—and Acorn has already demonstrated that follicle-harvested stem cells can be turned into 'fat, bone, cartilage, pancreas, neuronal and even NK cells on demand,' Dr. Taylor says.
As a beauty reporter, I will admit that the robust results of stem cell-derived therapies all seem incredibly promising in their aesthetic uses thus far. I also personally prefer human versus animal donors, with the ability to harness my own stem cells the most appealing of all. Beyond that, my hope is that banking my stem cells with Acorn will prove itself valuable in ways that go far beyond beauty; in the best case scenario, a futuristic form of health insurance. Every investment comes with a degree of risk, but what I am betting on is the expansion of regenerative medicine. In the best case scenario, its potential payoff is unquantifiable. More From Forbes Forbes Plastic Surgeons Predict The Top Aesthetic Procedures For 2025 By Jessica Ourisman Forbes The Firsthand Results Of A Nanofat Treatment Using Stem Cells And PRP By Jessica Ourisman Forbes Got Dark Circles? Consider A Safer Alternative To Under-Eye Filler By Jessica Ourisman Forbes Meet The 'Tip Stitch,' Plastic Surgery's Non-Invasive Nose Job By Jessica Ourisman Forbes Nina Dobrev Reveals Her Favorite Red Light Mask And Skincare Secrets By Jessica Ourisman