Sometimes the most important scientific discoveries happen by accident. In 1960, a biochemist named Stanley Cohen at Vanderbilt University was researching something entirely different when he stumbled upon a finding that would transform our understanding of skin biology—and eventually earn him the Nobel Prize.
Cohen wasn't looking for a skincare ingredient. He was isolating nerve growth factor from mouse salivary glands when he noticed something unexpected: newborn mice injected with the extract opened their eyes and erupted their teeth days earlier than normal. Something in that extract was accelerating development—specifically, the growth of epithelial cells like those in skin.
He called this something "epidermal growth factor," and it changed everything.
The Discovery That Launched a Field
Cohen's path to this discovery was anything but direct. After completing his PhD at the University of Michigan studying the metabolism of premature babies, he joined Rita Levi-Montalcini's research group at Washington University in St. Louis in 1952. Together, they were investigating nerve growth factor—a protein that stimulates nerve cell development.
When Cohen injected crude salivary gland extract containing nerve growth factor into newborn mice, the nerve effects were expected. But the "side effects"—precocious eyelid opening and tooth eruption—suggested something else entirely was happening. Cohen recognized that the salivary extract must contain an additional factor affecting epithelial tissue.
By 1962, Cohen had isolated and purified this new growth factor. By 1972, he had determined its complete amino acid sequence—a 53-residue polypeptide with three internal disulfide bonds. His rigorous characterization established EGF as a distinct molecular entity with specific, measurable effects on cell growth.
In 1986, Cohen and Levi-Montalcini shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of growth factors." The Nobel committee recognized that their work had opened "new fields of widespread importance to basic science" with direct implications for wound healing, developmental disorders, and cancer research.
How EGF Works in Skin
The mechanism Cohen uncovered operates at the cellular level with remarkable elegance. EGF binds to specific receptors (EGFR) on the surface of skin cells, triggering a cascade of intracellular signaling events. This cascade activates pathways including Ras/MAPK and PI3K/Akt, which control cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation.
In practical terms, EGF tells skin cells to divide, migrate, and produce structural proteins like collagen. It accelerates the replacement of damaged cells with new, healthy ones. It supports the complex wound healing process that maintains skin integrity.
This isn't theoretical. Clinical research has demonstrated that EGF application can improve brown spotting, skin texture, pore size, and wrinkles. A study examining twice-daily EGF serum application over three months found significant improvements across all measured parameters compared to baseline.
The implications for skincare were profound: here was scientific proof that specific proteins could directly stimulate skin renewal.
The Colostrum Connection
Here's what makes Cohen's discovery so relevant to colostrum: colostrum naturally contains epidermal growth factor along with multiple other growth factors that support skin health.
Bovine colostrum contains insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)—each playing distinct roles in skin cell proliferation, collagen synthesis, and tissue repair. The EGF that earned Cohen a Nobel Prize is present in the same natural matrix that Ayurvedic physicians recommended thousands of years ago.
Research published in the journal Applied Sciences in 2024 confirmed that colostrum-derived growth factors stimulate fibroblast activity and increase collagen production when applied to skin. A randomized, placebo-controlled study found that sheep colostrum cream increased skin moisture, reduced transepidermal water loss, and improved skin firmness over eight weeks of use.
This convergence—ancient wisdom meeting Nobel Prize-level science—is what makes colostrum so compelling as a skincare ingredient. We're not dealing with trendy compounds invented in a lab. We're working with naturally occurring growth factors whose mechanisms are well-characterized and whose effects are clinically documented.
Beyond EGF: The Complete Growth Factor Matrix
What makes colostrum unique isn't just the presence of EGF—it's the complete matrix of growth factors working in natural ratios.
IGF-1 stimulates fibroblast proliferation, the cells responsible for producing collagen and other components of the extracellular matrix. TGF-β regulates cell differentiation and plays a crucial role in wound healing and scar formation. PDGF promotes angiogenesis and tissue remodeling. FGF supports blood vessel formation and cell survival.
Research from the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2024) noted that these growth factors don't work in isolation—they interact synergistically, each supporting and modulating the others' effects. The natural ratios found in colostrum may be more effective than isolated, synthetic growth factors precisely because of these synergies.
This is something that can't be easily replicated in a laboratory. You can synthesize individual growth factors, but recreating the complex matrix of hundreds of bioactive compounds in their natural proportions is beyond current technology.
From Nobel Prize to Your Nightstand
Stanley Cohen's accidental discovery opened our eyes to the molecular mechanisms underlying skin health. His rigorous scientific approach transformed growth factors from mysterious folk remedy components into well-characterized proteins with known functions and clinical applications.
But Cohen didn't create EGF. He discovered what nature had already put in colostrum, breast milk, and salivary glands. His contribution was understanding—providing the scientific framework to explain why traditional practices worked.
On our Washington State farm, we collect colostrum within 24 hours of birth, when growth factor concentrations peak. We formulate products that preserve these bioactive compounds in forms the skin can use. We're not inventing new science—we're applying Nobel Prize-validated science to an ingredient that's been helping skin for millennia.
When someone asks why colostrum works for skin health, the answer now includes a Nobel laureate's life work. That's a level of scientific validation few skincare ingredients can claim.
