If retinol has ever made you feel like skincare is a contact sport, complete with skin purging, flaking and stinging, you’re not alone. And once you’ve been burned (sometimes literally), you start looking for an active that doesn’t come with a warning label.
That’s probably why bakuchiol has been having a moment. Positioned as the gentler pick for anyone who can’t tolerate retinol, it’s become skincare’s favourite “retinol-adjacent” active, praised by dermats, creators and ingredient nerds alike for promising similar benefits with less repelling downsides.
What is bakuchiol?
“Bakuchiol is not a retinoid,” says Dr Chytra Anand, founder and CEO of Kosmoderma Clinics. What makes it compelling, she adds, is that “it appears to behave like one.” The Ayurvedic ingredient is derived from the seeds and leaves of Psoralea corylifolia (bakuchi in Ayurveda), a plant traditionally used for concerns like pigmentation, inflammation and vitiligo. Today, it’s extracted, stabilised and formulated into oils, creams and serums, often marketed as a dependable, early anti-ageing option.
Dr Kiran Sethi, founder of ISYA Derm, sees it as “a safe alternative for those sensitive to retinols”, but notes that truly effective products are harder to find and it often needs twice-daily use. Retinol, she points out, still wins on depth of evidence for ageing and collagen support. Dr Madhuri Agarwal, founder of Yavana Skin and Hair Clinic, agrees, “The comparison can be misleading; there isn’t enough evidence yet that bakuchiol consistently matches retinol’s results. Retinol remains my first choice given its track record.”
Why I signed up for this
The funny thing about being in your early 30s is that you barely feel any different from your late 20s. And if you haven’t been too lax about diet and skincare, your skin won’t tell on you. That’s exactly why I started using retinol; not for instant results, but for the kind of long-game payoff you only notice years later. Add to it my years in beauty writing and constant chats with dermats and the line about retinol “working at a cellular level” and helping with elasticity piqued my curiosity.
But retinol also comes with dryness, sensitivity and the occasional sting that makes you second-guess your entire routine. Since I didn’t have a persistent skin woe to fix, I found myself gravitating towards something that promised similar intent with a gentler experience. The skincare enthusiast in me pinned my hopes on this plant-based alternative, fully aware that natural ingredients take time. But I was willing to wait it out.
How to use bakuchiol
I did a month-long trial and bakuchiol fared decently well on my normal-to-dry skin, but it wasn’t without its limitations. Typically recommended to use twice a day once your skin gets accustomed to it, bakuchiol formulas are usually applied post-cleansing and toning.
As a staunch believer in rose water, I religiously spritzed it onto my face every morning before dabbing on some bakuchiol cream. But because a slight dryness came along within the week, I realised my routine was missing a proper hydrating layer; like a serum with humectants to seal in moisture before the cream went on.
