Ingredient Library
Bakuchiol
Psoralea corylifolia
Bakuchiol is a plant-derived alternative to retinol that smooths fine lines and firms without the irritation. It suits mature and sensitive skin looking for gentle slow-aging results.
A natural history
The babchi plant has been used in India and across South and Southeast Asia for many centuries, above all for the skin. Its seeds were a classic remedy for the pale patches of vitiligo: a paste was applied and the skin exposed to sunlight, a practice that, remarkably, foreshadowed modern light-based skin therapy by hundreds of years. The plant's very names in old texts point to this gift, describing it as the seed that brings color and luster back to the skin.
What today's skincare uses is not the whole seed but bakuchiol, a single compound carefully isolated from it. That distinction matters: the raw seed carries other substances that make skin sensitive to light, while purified bakuchiol does not, which is what lets it stand in for retinol so gently. For that reason we use the refined compound, never the raw seed.
What it does for your skin
Bakuchiol is best known as a gentler stand-in for retinol. In a 2019 randomized, double-blind study in the British Journal of Dermatology, a bakuchiol cream improved the look of wrinkles and pigmentation about as well as retinol over twelve weeks, while the retinol users reported more stinging and flaking.[1] Earlier work in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science found that, although bakuchiol looks nothing like a retinoid, it switches on a similar pattern of skin-renewal activity, with a facial study reporting smoother, firmer, more even-looking skin and none of the usual retinol irritation.[2]
References
[1] Dhaliwal S, Rybak I, Ellis SR, et al. Prospective, randomized, double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing. Br J Dermatol. 2019;180(2):289-296. doi.org/10.1111/bjd.16918
[2] Chaudhuri RK, Bojanowski K. Bakuchiol: a retinol-like functional compound revealed by gene expression profiling and clinically proven to have anti-aging effects. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2014;36(3):221-230. doi.org/10.1111/ics.12117
Found in these formulas
Questions, answered
It is the closest natural alternative. In a head-to-head study it improved the look of wrinkles and pigmentation about as well as retinol, with less irritation.
For most people, yes. It is not a retinoid and tends to cause less stinging, flaking, and dryness, which is why it suits sensitive and retinol-shy skin.
No. The purified compound we use does not carry the light-sensitizing substances found in the raw seed.
Our 2% Bakuchiol with CoQ10 and Black Seed Overnight Oil.