Epidermal growth factor is a signalling protein that supports the skin's own repair response, which is why it belongs in the protocol after any treatment that creates a controlled injury. Two strengths do two different jobs. In the treatment room the practitioner works with the 2% back bar. What goes home with the client is the 1% retail range. Both sit inside the same four-step sequence: Soothing Gel Mask, Barrier Balm, EGF, then SPF.
Key takeaways
- Microneedling does not produce the result. The repair response it starts produces the result.
- Two strengths, two places. Bio-Renew 2% EGF Drops are the professional back bar. The 1% range is what goes home.
- The sequence runs Soothing Gel Mask, Barrier Balm, EGF, SPF, in that order.
- Hold exfoliants, retinoids and active acids until the skin has fully recovered.
- Three retail products (Drops, Cream, Eye Cream) turn one appointment into a home protocol that is replenished rather than finished.
Microneedling is a controlled injury performed for the response it provokes. The needling is the input. The repair cascade that follows over the days afterwards is the output, and it is the part the client sees in the mirror three weeks later.
Which means the serum decision matters more after the treatment than before it. Pre-treatment preparation is a question of barrier integrity: is this skin in a fit state to be needled at all. Post-treatment is a different question. The skin has been given a signal to repair. What supports the phase that follows?
What EGF does, in the sentence you can use in consultation
Epidermal growth factor is a signalling protein. Skin repair runs on signalling, and the skin produces EGF itself, though production declines with age and is disrupted by cumulative UV exposure, heavy active use and post-procedure stress. Applied topically at an effective concentration, EGF supports the renewal mechanisms the skin is already running. It does not resurface, strip or force a response, which is what makes it appropriate at the point in the protocol where the skin needs no further challenge.
Glo's Bio-Renew range uses vegan epidermal growth factor, synthesised in a laboratory rather than derived from human or animal sources, formulated alongside peptides. It sits in the Firm + Repair category. The reference entry for the ingredient is in the Glo ingredient library, and the full range sits in the EGF collection.
One point of precision, because clients and their internet research will test it. The UK regulatory position on topical EGF was reviewed and the claims are approved for use as of June 2026. The accurate claim is vegan epidermal growth factor at the stated concentration. Not "bioidentical". Not "100% vegan". Not plant-derived, which is a different thing and not what this is. Use the correct form in consultation and in anything your clinic publishes.
Two strengths, and which one goes where
This is the distinction most often blurred, and it is worth being exact about with your team and with the client.
Bio-Renew 2% EGF Drops, 60ml, back bar. The professional strength. It stays in the clinic and it is what the practitioner works into the skin during the treatment, following your own device protocol. Professional-exclusive, and it does not appear in a retail conversation.
The 1% retail range. Bio-Renew EGF Drops, Bio-Renew EGF Cream and Bio-Renew EGF Eye Cream. This is the strength formulated for twice-daily unsupervised use, and it is what leaves with the client.
Say it out loud in the consultation rather than leaving it to be discovered. A client who knows the clinic used a professional-strength product in the room, and that their home bottle is the daily-use strength of the same range, understands why both exist. A client who works it out from the label afterwards tends to conclude they were sold the weaker one.
The four-step post-procedure sequence
1. Soothing Gel Mask. Immediately post-treatment, in the room. Calms the visible response and supports the skin's first recovery phase. First use should always be in-clinic so the client has seen how much to apply before they do it at home in a bathroom mirror.
2. Barrier Balm. Through the repair phase. Lipid support with nothing competing for the skin's attention: no actives, no fragrance, free of parabens and irritating sulphates. This is the product doing the unglamorous work while the client waits.
3. EGF. The 2% back bar in the room, the 1% range at home. The repair and regeneration support step. For home use, Drops under the cream for a client who will follow two steps, or the cream alone for a client who will not. The choice between them is about compliance, not efficacy, and you will know within a minute of talking to them which one they will use.
4. SPF. Mandatory, reapplied through the day. Oil Free SPF 40+ for a clean invisible finish, or C-Shield Anti-Pollution Moisture Tint SPF30+ (Cosmopolitan Holy Grail Beauty Award) for the client who wants antioxidant defence and light coverage while the skin settles. Offer both and let them choose. The reasoning is set out in full in the post-treatment SPF piece.
And the omission that matters as much as the four inclusions: no exfoliants, no retinoids, no active acids until the skin has fully recovered. A client who reintroduces their retinol early undoes the protocol and then reports that the treatment "didn't work".
The intervals between steps follow your own device protocol and your reading of the skin in front of you, not a fixed clock. A 0.5mm pass and a 2.0mm pass are not the same recovery.
The treatments this follows, not only microneedling
The same repair logic applies wherever a treatment creates a controlled wound or a high-intensity response.
Ablative laser. Post-protocol focus. Soothing Gel Mask, Barrier Balm, EGF, SPF, exactly as above.
Non-ablative laser. Antioxidant serums before, EGF and SPF after.
Radiofrequency and microcurrent. Full protocol. Firming and peptide-rich serums with the EGF range through recovery.
Galvanic iontophoresis. EGF Drops are conductor-friendly, so they can be driven rather than layered. This is a use of the product most clinics stocking it have not been shown.
LED. Compatible with most of the range, and LED after a peel is generally well tolerated, which makes it one of the few combinations worth running in a single appointment.
On sequencing between modalities: device first, peel at a follow-up appointment. Peeling and then working a device over a compromised barrier in the same session is not good practice. LED is the exception.
What goes home
A three-product minimum is realistic after any treatment of this kind: a calming or barrier product, an active serum aligned to the outcome you were working toward, and an SPF. After microneedling, the 1% EGF range answers the middle slot and completes the other two alongside it.
Bio-Renew EGF Drops are the entry point and the product to lead with. Bio-Renew EGF Cream either completes the protocol over the Drops or stands alone for the client who will follow one step, and its Phyto-Retinol Complex makes it suitable for sensitive skin where a conventional retinol would not be. Bio-Renew EGF Eye Cream extends it to the periorbital area, which is worth raising with any client whose treatment included a pass around the eyes and who will otherwise leave that zone unsupported.
Repair is a continuous requirement rather than a one-off correction, so these products are replenished rather than finished. The commercial case for the category, and why it behaves differently from the rest of a clinic's retail shelf, is set out in recovery is the new results.
The treatment is forty minutes. The result is built over the fortnight that follows it, in a bathroom you will never see. The protocol is how you stay in the room.
FAQs
What does EGF do after microneedling?
Microneedling works by creating a controlled injury that starts the skin's repair cascade, and epidermal growth factor is a signalling protein that supports the renewal processes in that cascade. Applied at an effective concentration once the skin has been calmed and its barrier supported, EGF adds to a signal the skin is already using rather than challenging it further, which is why it suits the post-procedure phase.
What is the difference between the 2% and 1% Bio-Renew EGF products?
Strength and setting. Bio-Renew 2% EGF Drops are the 60ml professional back bar, used by the practitioner in the treatment room and never sold as home care. The 1% range, comprising EGF Drops, EGF Cream and EGF Eye Cream, is formulated for twice-daily unsupervised use and is what the client takes home. Explaining the distinction in consultation prevents the client concluding they were given the weaker product.
Can clients use EGF alongside retinol or acids?
Not during recovery. Exfoliants, retinoids and active acids should be held until the skin has fully recovered, whatever else is in the routine. Once the clinic is satisfied the skin has recovered, actives can be reintroduced on the clinic's own schedule while the EGF protocol continues underneath, since EGF supports renewal rather than exfoliating and is not competing for the same tolerance.
The full post-procedure protocols are in the Glo Pro protocol library, and the application walkthroughs are in Training Videos. Questions on protocol, call 01636 402521 or email pro@gloskin.beauty.