Bakuchiol (Psoralea corylifolia) is 100% natural and a true alternative to Retinol.
Bakuchiol is like the effortlessly cool friend at the skincare braai—natural, effective, and everyone’s talking about it. So, where does it come from? We like it because is plant-based, has no known negative side effects, and is safe to use day and night.
Origins of Bakuchiol
Bakuchiol is derived from the seeds of the Babchi plant, which has its roots in India. This annual wild plant has small purple flowers and grows to around 50-90 cm tall. The Babchi plant (officially called Psoralea corylifolia) has been a staple in traditional medicine for ages. And when I say ages, I mean way before smartphones and avo on toast were a thing.
Now, this Babchi plant isn’t from any random garden. It’s native to parts of Eastern Asia, including China and India. Folks over there have been using it for all sorts of skin conditions and as an anti-inflammatory agent. Imagine ancient healers brewing potions and concoctions, sharing secrets about youthful skin under the stars. Okay, maybe not quite like that, but you get the gist!
Bakuchiol vs. Retinol
Bakuchiol is like the chilled-out cousin of retinol. It gives you those anti-ageing benefits without the drama—no redness, no peeling, just pure skin-loving goodness. Bakuchiol is plant-based, has no known negative side effects, and is safe to use day and night. Equally effective as retinol in addressing ageing skin and is devoid of safety issues. It is photostable, which means it is safe to use in daylight.
You may say, “Don’t mess with my retinol“, but you may not know that some versions of retinol come from animal sources. It has negative side effects, including skin irritation, skin sensitisation, and teratogenicity. Photochemically and hydrolytically unstable and its use is restricted to night-time only. You’ll also need to wear a high-level SPF sunscreen during the day. This is because retinol can cause dark marks (sun spots) to form on your skin – even when applied only at night.
Benefits of Bakuchiol
Bakuchiol can help:
- Reverse ageing skin and reduce fine lines
- Improve overall skin texture and tone
- Stimulate collagen production
- Defend skin against oxidative and inflammatory stress
- Improve acne-prone skin
- Is suitable for sensitive skin
Clinical Trials
Clinical studies showed that using Bakuchiol for 12 weeks had an improvement in smoothness and moisture of skin, reduced fine lines and wrinkle depth, better skin tone, improved skin elasticity and firmness, radiance and brightening, and better eye area appearance.
The results from pre-application to 12 weeks after can be seen in the three sets of comparative photos in Figures 2 to 4 below.
Bakuchiol is also effective against 4 factors involved in acne including squalene peroxidization that promotes acne, roughening of skin, wrinkling & pigmentation.
Bakuchiol is a radical & non-radical quencher. It is 60-fold more effective than Tocopherol to protect skin against lipid peroxidation. It has broad-action antibacterial and antifungal properties. And, it reduces comedones and spots in only 2 weeks and improves the quality of the sebum.
Sourcing & Sustainability
- Our Bakuchiol is REACH approved.
Our products that contain this ingredient
Below is a list of our products that contain this ingredient:
References
Sytheon Ltd., 2022. Sytenol® A – The true alternative to retinol. s.l., s.n.
Conversation with Google Gemini on 09 Aug 2024
Photo credit – Canva.com
Remember, skincare is like a love affair between you and your skin.
And Bakuchiol? Well, it’s penning some pretty epic chapters in that story.
