Brilliant bakuchiol a natural alternative to retinol

Bakuchiol is the natural alternative to retinol that produces great looking skin without the adverse side effects. 

Artificial retinol has been the hot thing in skincare for some time with a proven ability to reduce wrinkles, boost collagen and reduce pigmentation. But it comes waving all sorts of red flags.

Retinol is an artificial version of Vitamin A and while it does good work the cost is often not worth it. It can make things worse for some people, causing redness, stinging, acne and flaky skin. Retinol also makes your skin super-sensitive to the sun so you have to wear a potent SPF all the time, properly. Retinol also comes with a warning to pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding.

Of course, we’d never use retinol at Agnes & Me because it’s not a natural ingredient.

What is bakuchiol?

The “discovery” of bakuchiol is a blessing for those of us who want a natural retinol  with no side effects. That’s right, bakichiol (bah-koo-chee-all) does everything that artificial retinol does but you don’t get the negatives – including the sun-sensitivity.

While bakuchiol is new to the skincare industry it’s actually an ancient “active” found in the seeds and leaves of the babchi plant from eastern Asia.

It’s been used in ayurvedic medicine for centuries and Indians have a word for it: kushtanashini – destroyer of skin disease.

Modern research is showing what ancient practitioners have known for hundreds of years with bakuchiol performing extremely well in clinically trials.

An article in the British Journal of Dermatology showed bakuchiol delivered a similar anti-ageing effect to retinol without the side-effects, including reduction in wrinkles and pigmentation.

The researchers wrote: “Bakuchiol and retinol both significantly decreased wrinkle surface area and hyperpigmentation, with no statistical difference between the compounds. The retinol users reported more facial skin scaling and stinging.

“Our study demonstrates that bakuchiol is comparable with retinol in its ability to improve photo-aging and is better tolerated than retinol. Bakuchiol is promising as a more tolerable alternative to retinol.”

Here's the link to that research.

In short, why wouldn’t you use something natural that did the same job as a synthetic? Especially when it comes without the nasty side effects?

What does bakuchiol do?

Bakuchiol is also a powerful antioxidant, fighting visible signs of aging caused by environmental stressors. 

It helps collagen-depleted skin by visibly promoting a firmer-looking complexion.

It’s antibacterial so works well on acne.

One thing is that while retinol is fast-acting, bakuchiol does takes a bit longer to bring the same results – so expect to see changes after using for four weeks but the most dramatic improvements in fine lines, wrinkles, skin tone and elasticity come after 12 weeks of use according to research. You also need to use it twice daily

Most of that research into bakuchiol used it at a rate of just 0.5% as it is such a potent ingredient. We use it at 1% in our serum – which is the industry standard – but we’ve also added some other amazing ingredients such as Kiwi Seed Oil, squalene and meadowfoam oil.