You may have heard of the latest thing in natural beauty and be wondering: what is Bakuchiol?
Peronsally I love it when a new natural ingredient emerges onto the scene – I immediately have to to lots of reasearch and reading up so I understand exactly what’s going on and feel informed enough to share my knowledge.
Now I’m sure you have all heard of retinol – also known as vitamin A₁, it helps to reduce all the signs of ageing; it speeds up healing, prevent breakouts, support the skin’s immune system and it promotes natural moisturising – which means it helps to hydrate the skin. It assists in promoting and maintaining a healthy dermis and epidermis; the top two layers of your skin (taken from wikipedia). This all sounds great, however, it can irritate skin and cause redness and dryness, particularly in sensitive skin and it is nearly always synthetically produced. Personally I never use retinol because it’s not a natural ingredient.
And basically bakuchiol is being described as the ‘natural version’ or alternative of retinol – but obviously it’s better because it is more gentle and more natural. And it also potentially gives better results.
So here’s more details about this magical natural ingredient: bakuchiol is a plant-based ingredient and is extracted from the seeds of the Babchi or Psoralea corylifolia plant, which is often used in Chinese and Indian medicine for it’s healing and regenerating properties. It only started being used in skincare in the last 10 years or so, which is why you might not have heard of it.
Why is Bakuchiol better than retinol?
- it’s antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant which means it helps many skincare issues from eczema, to acne, reducing redness, infection and general skin irritation
- it stimulates collagen production which gives skin a lovely bounce
- it is proven to reduce wrinkles and hyperpigmentation (skin discolouration and dark spots)
- it increases the skin’s elasticity and resilience
- it’s vegan (as it comes from plants)
- it basically does the things retinol does but without the redness and skin irritation
So in summary, it’s a good think to have in your skincare and to look out for. I will be working on doing something with it this summer. If you are looking out for it as an ingredient in skincare, please make sure you are also aware of the other ingredients within the products. For example, it may not be a great product if it contains bakuchiol but also contains harsh preservatives and artificial fragrance. Make sure you do all your usual ingredient checks and understand what you are putting on your beautiful face. See my blog here for more info.
