What is Bakuchiol?

Radical Skincare is always on the lookout for new, natural, scientifically proven ingredients to put into our award-winning skincare ingredients because we want to give you the best skin you’ve ever had!

We strive to bring you new products that work, which is why we clinically test all of our skincare products to make sure that our customers will be content with their results. We’re constantly reading feedback and reviews of our products to make things better, which is why we want to introduce to you a new ground-breaking skincare ingredient: bakuchiol!

What the Heck is That?

You’ve most likely never heard of bakuchiol, but it’s an ingredient that has existed since 1966 but hasn’t implemented into many products because it’s harder to find than its alternatives. Bakuchiol was first discovered from the babchi seeds of the bakuchi (Psoralea Corylifolia) plant (which is where it gets its name). It’s a type of meroterpene that helps purge and heal your skin.

Bakuchiol can either be found in the babchi seeds, but sometimes can be found in other vegetables and in the livers of various animals, such as fish.

Bakuchiol is notorious for being a safe alternative to retinol and retinoids. Bakuchiol is vegan (ours is, at least) and does exactly what retinol does, without all the side effects. If you’re sensitive to retinol but still want a powerful punch of an anti-aging active ingredient, bakuchiol is the way to go.

What does Bakuchiol Do?

As stated previously, bakuchiol is basically a safer and just as effective alternative to retinol. Retinol has been known to cause extreme irritation, peeling, and other not-so-fun side effects. Bakuchiol has no reported side effects; yup, you read that right! NO SIDE EFFECTS*! No more dermatitis, scaling, peeling, or irritation from your retinol.

If you’re not familiar with the usages of retinol, bakuchiol is used most famously for decreasing the surface area of wrinkles as well as the overall texture of the skin. It stimulates the production of collagen in the skin cells on a cellular level as well as stimulating the production of new blood vessels (venules, capillaries, and arterioles) that even the pigment of the skin without any harsh treatments. 

Bakuchiol is clinically proven to reduce wrinkles and fine lines, as well as increasing the plumpness and elasticity of mature skin that normally hangs loosely across the face. Bakuchiol is ideal for those with sensitive skin or allergies to retinol, as well as those who just don’t want to risk the gross side effects of using dangerous retinol. 

Bakuchiol has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties that help heal your skin’s natural microbiome. 

What’s an antioxidant? Antioxidants are materials that prevent your skin from oxidizing (hence the name ANTIoxidant) and keep your skin safe from pollution, UV rays, and other environmental factors. Think about an apple; it browns after sitting in the air for a while, right? Those fruit powders that you put on your fruit to keep it from browning are full of antioxidants.

What does antibacterial mean? An antibacterial ingredient is any sort of active ingredient that either kills bacteria or makes it harder for bacteria to grow. Bakuchiol does both. Antibiotics are a type of antibacterial, for example.

What does anti-inflammatory mean? Inflammation is the 2nd line of defense of your immune system, characterized by heat, swelling, and maybe some pain. Inflammation occurs when a foreign pathogen is in your body or you put something on your skin that you are allergic to. Bakuchiol helps cool and calm the skin cells, reducing rosacea and swelling of the skin and its capillaries.

How Can I Implement Bakuchiol Into my Skincare Routine?

We currently have a product underway (hint… it’s a serum!) that has one of its main ingredients as bakuchiol, so stay tuned and join our newsletter to be the first to know about it when we release it! All we can tell you is that 95% of our clinical trial participants loved their results after 3 weeks.

You can get bakuchiol oil to put directly onto your face as a serum, or there are a few lotions out there that contain trace amounts of it. However, we really just recommend waiting for our product launch, because we know you’ll love it!

What Can I Expect After Starting Bakuchiol?

Unlike retinol, you can use bakuchiol up to twice a day for maximum results, where retinol can only be used a few times a week. You can expect to see visible differences in your skin’s texture (wrinkles, pore size, etc.) about 3 weeks into the regimen. 

Everybody is different, and it might take you a longer or shorter period to see visible results. Just keep at it and you won’t be disappointed in the long run!

Purging can happen due to bakuchiol’s cleansing properties. If you don’t know what skin purging is, it’s basically your skin cells emptying out all the toxins that they’ve been holding on to that cause acne and other skin imperfections. Purging looks like a breakout, but this is a good thing! It means it’s working. Click here [insert the link to the purging blog] to learn more about skin purging and why it happens.

Want More Radical Skincare?

If you want to incorporate Bakuchiol into your skincare routine, try our NEW Rejuvafirm CBD Resurfacing Serum!

You can also click here to see our complete product list, and here for our blog where we post our most-asked questions that you’re dying to know the answers to.

*Purging can happen due to the use of bakuchiol, but this is a good thing and isn’t considered a side effect.