Method for treating damage in intact skin comprising administering a composition comprising basic milk growth factors in amounts higher than those in milk

A method for treating skin damage, the method comprising:

• topically administering to an area of substantially intact skin of a mammal in need thereof an effective amount of a composition for increasing dermal cellularity and/or stimulating collagen production, and/or inhibiting matrix-metalloproteinase 1 production in the skin, the composition comprising a plurality of basic milk factors having basic to approximately neutral isoelectric points, the milk factors being present at concentrations greater than that found in the lactational secretion from which they were derived and separated from the lactational secretion from which they were derived, the plurality of basic milk factors comprising at least one basic milk factor that is insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) or transforming growth factor β2 (TGF-β2), the basic milk factors having a molecular weight of at least approximately 5,000 Da, wherein upon administration of the composition the at least one basic milk factor having a molecular weight of at least approximately 5000 Da passes through the uppermost layers of skin having barrier function to exert a biological effect on an underlying competent cell.