Focus Factor Review & Test Results

What Is Focus Factor?

In this Focus Factor review, I look at what’s in the formula, how the claims stack up against the evidence, and what I noticed when I used it. The product is made by CHC Corp, and it’s marketed to support memory and overall brain function.

Focus Factor has been on shelves for years. In that time, the research around cognitive support supplements has moved on. The label does include a few familiar nootropic ingredients, but the mix and the amounts feel dated compared with stronger products available now. Several of the most reliable, well-dosed compounds you see in top formulas today are either missing or present in ways that are hard to evaluate.

So the question is simple: can Focus Factor still compete? Based on the formulation and my testing, it struggles to keep pace, and most people will get better value from a more modern, transparently dosed alternative.

How Does Focus Factor Work?

Focus Factor claims to work by using a blend of different vitamins and minerals as well a few nootropic ingredients. The brand refers to these ingredients in combination as "neuronutrients" - a fabricated marketing term, nice though it sounds [1]. These nutrients are claimed to nourish the brain and improve cognitive function, apparently both helping focus and memory as well as acting as a multi-vitamin [1].

It's fair to say that the inclusion of B vitamins makes some sense, they're essential for overall brain health, including neurotransmitter production [2]. B6 and B12 help in maintaining neural communication and Vitamin E can help in protecting the brain from oxidative stress [2],[3]. Whilst these effects are helpful, it's unlikely that you would notice any immediate or direct benefit. It's also worth being aware that how helpful they are will in large part depend on whether they're vitamins or minerals you're deficient in, if not they won't be of any meaningful help [4].

Focus Factor also includes some herbal extracts, most notably Gingko Biloba and Korean Ginseng, both of which have been shown to have worthwhile benefits for the brain, including improved cerebral blood flow and overall brain function support [5],[6]. Unfortunately both are just a small part of the brand's 'proprietary belnd' and are severely underdosed. Being present in comparatively small amounts, significantly reducing their effectiveness. L-Tyrosine, which is helpful for neurotransmitter synthesis (which in turn helps improve focus), is present, but again it's almost certainly present in an ineffective amount.

Whilst I'm less excited by the multi-vitamin part of Focus Factor's formulation, it's worth looking at whether the vitamin and minerals included are comparable to a regular multi-vitamin. Overall, it's fair to say that there's a useful range of multi-vitamin ingredients, by the range and amounts included are below the levels of most dedicated multi-vitamins. Focus Factor therefore falls between two stalls - it's neither a dedicated nootropic supplement, nor an effective substitute for a standard multi-vitamin.

Scientific Basis

Focus Factor is sold as both a brain supplement and a general multi-vitamin. It does contain some essential vitamins and minerals, as you'd expect to find in a standard multi-vitamin, including magnesium, selenium and others, but these aren't really particularly helpful for the brain specifically [7]. These is some positive news, in that Focus Factor includes Bacopa Monnieri, Phosphaidylserine and DHA, each of which are beneficial for brain health, but the actual amounts included are purposely hidden in a proprietary blend - almost certainly to mask the fact that they're all underdosed when compared with the amounts shown to be effective in clinical studies. 

To illustrate the issue with Focus Factor's proprietary blend, I'll quickly run you through the facts. The total blend is 641mg and includes numerous ingredients. To include the required amounts of just Bacopa Monnieri, Phosphatdylserine and L-Tyrosine is more that the amount in the entire blend [8]. The lack of transparency is deliberate and it's a practice that is used by many brands to sell a marketing story that the ingredients simply won't deliver on. Ingredients are included to bring credibility but by including trace amounts costs can be kept low and consumers left guessing whether the product will actually be effective in practice. My advise is to always go with a brand like ThinkEase that openly declares the amount of every ingredients included on its label - and a brand that uses amounts shown to be effective in clinical research.

I think it's also worth restating that Focus Factor simply misses many hugely beneficial nootropic ingredients such as Acetyl L-Carnitine, Lion's Mane and Rhodiola to name a few. If you're wanting an effective brain or memory supplement Focus Factor simply won't be the best choice.

In terms of its usefulness as a multi-vitamin, Focus Factor includes standard ingredients like Vitamin C, magnesium and folic acid, but it doesn't have a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals. It's therefore of limited benefit as a multi-vitamin. Focus Factor includes iron and zinc, but the amounts are low. Whilst it does contain DHA, one of the few ingredients with possible brain benefits, the amount included is minimal and it's sourced from a fish oil concentrate with an unspecified amount of DHA content [9].

Qualitative Review of Focus Factor's Efficacy

Having taken Focus Factor every day for 6 months, I can only say I was disappointed with the results I experienced. Having seen the shortcomings with the product's ingredient list, I was admittedly fairly skeptical, but I always like to remain optimistic, particularly when there's a degree of uncertainty from the use of a proprietary blend, as there is with Focus Factor. There's no skirting around the issue, I simply didn't experience any noteworthy improvements to my ability to recall information, to my ability to focus or any general cognitive improvements. As someone who's very well attuned to the effects of different nootropic ingredients and different supplements, I can say with some confidence, that Focus Factor simply doesn't seem to contain enough of the right ingredients to make a noticeable difference to any aspect of cognitive function. There weren't any days where I felt any more productive or mentally engaged than usual, even after taking the product for a number of weeks.

I had hoped that at least of of the main ingredients in the proprietary blend would be dosed correctly, in theory Gingko Biloba, Korean Ginseng or Phosphatidylserine could have been present in a sufficient amount, but the obvious lack of results suggests to me that's it's very unlikely.

It's far harder to assess any direct benefits from the multi-vitamin ingredients in Focus Factor, but when compared with a standard multi-vitamin it doesn't cover all bases. Personally, I found myself deciding to continue with my regular multi-vitamin alongside Focus Factor after a few weeks.

Estimate of Efficacy Relative To Similar Products

Dosage:

Focus Factor includes 180 tablets and the brand recommends taking 4 every day. Somewhat confusingly the bottle claims it will last 37.5 days, which doesn't match my own calculations. To me it's unclear why Focus Factor requires 4 capsules for a fairly modest total daily serving size, it perhaps suggests that the product is comprised of a substantial amount of filler material.

Quality:

The combination of underdosed ingredients (hidden in the proprietary blend) and a large number of 'other ingredients' - most of which are fillers suggests a low quality product overall. Most concerningly from my perspective is the inclusion of Dicalcium Sulphate, Microcrystalline Cellulose and Silcon Dioxide - all of which seem to be present as fillers. In other words unnatural material included to bulk out Focus Factor and make it seem as though a larger quantity of active ingredients are present than is actually the case. 

Efficacy:

Focus Factor is a poor substitute for dedicated brain supplements like ThinkEase. It didn't deliver any tangible cognitive improvements during my testing and my scientific analysis explains why. Whilst Focus Factor does include multi-vitamin ingredients, these don't really compare to the ingredients found in most standard multi-vitamins. It's therefore a poor brain supplement and a very basic multi-vitamin, unfortunately doing neither job well.

Cost:

Focus Factor typically retails for $29.99, but can be found below $28 if you shop around or $24.99 when on sale (Walmart). Whilst the price point is bellow more premium brain supplements, the lack of results makes it poor value for money by comparison.

Safety Considerations and Potential Side Effects

Focus Factor isn't likely to cause any significant side effects for most people. I didn't experience any adverse reactions during my trial period. However, it's worth being aware that it contains both fish and soy.

Overall Assessment

After fully assessing Focus Factor's formulation and testing the product myself for an extended period, I can confidently state that it's not effective in any perceivable way as a brain supplement. That's not to say that it provides no value at all, but its effects are very modest at best. The main issue in my view is the absence of worthwhile nootropic ingredients such as Acetyl L-Carnitine and Lion's Mane. Whilst some nootropic ingredients are present, they're almost certainly not present in the amounts needed to provide any meaningful benefits. 

I particularly dislike Focus Factor's use of a proprietary blend. It's a shady practice that subverts consumers' ability to understand exactly what they're putting in their bodies - and more to the point it purposely makes it harder to scrutinize ineffectively formulated products. I would recommend choosing a dedicated nootropic supplement like ThinkEase, currently my top-rated brain supplement. Not only are products like ThinkEase transparently formulated, they use clinically proven amounts of each ingredient and use a wide range of cutting edge nootropics.

References and Further Reading

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8000838/
2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4772032/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24381967/
4. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Tyrosine-improves-cognitive-performance-and-reduces-Deijen-Wientjes/8ddbe0272c023d0d1240b62339ea04107c045481
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12519586/
6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7369567_Effects_of_Panax_ginseng_consumed_with_and_without_glucose_on_blood_glucose_levels_and_cognitive_performance_during_sustained_'mentally_demanding'_tasks
7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17593855/
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11445136/
9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20088810/