I used retinol for about two years before I started questioning it. It felt like every dermatologist recommended it. Every "best of" list included it. I figured that was the end of the conversation.
Then I got sick, and I started looking at everything in my cabinet differently. When I checked my retinol serum on EWG Skin Deep, it scored higher on their hazard scale than I expected. That wasn't proof it was unsafe, but it was enough to make me dig deeper. (If you're curious about how I evaluate ingredients now, I break down my whole process in the five ingredients dermatologists keep coming back to.)
What actually pushed me to switch was the irritation. Every retinol product I tried came with weeks of peeling, redness, tight skin. Dermatologists have a word for it: "retinization." They tell you your skin is adapting. Maybe. But I was already dealing with enough at that point, and I started wondering whether there was something that worked without all of that.
That's what sent me looking into bakuchiol.
Retinol does work
I want to be clear about this. Retinol is one of the most studied anti-aging ingredients in skincare. OTC retinol can help with texture and discoloration, and prescription retinoids like tretinoin have the strongest evidence for collagen support. The research goes back to the 1980s. Dermatologists recommend it for good reason.
But it comes with tradeoffs that nobody really talks about until you're in the middle of them. The irritation is the big one. Redness, dryness, peeling, stinging, sometimes for weeks. It's usually formulated for nighttime use because light and air can affect stability, and it can be irritating enough that daytime use isn't ideal. If you have rosacea, eczema, or generally reactive skin, retinol can make things worse. The EU has also placed concentration limits on certain vitamin A compounds in cosmetics, which was another reason I paid closer attention.
None of that means retinol is dangerous. Millions of people use it fine. But for me, the combination of the irritation and the questions it raised was enough to look for something else.
What bakuchiol is
Bakuchiol (pronounced bah-KOO-chee-all) comes from the seeds of the babchi plant. It's been used in Ayurvedic medicine for a long time, but modern clinical research on it is newer, maybe the last ten years or so.
The interesting part: it's not a retinoid. It's not chemically related to retinol at all. But it seems to activate some of the same pathways in skin, boosting collagen and evening out tone through a different, gentler mechanism. At least that's what the research so far suggests.
The study that convinced me
In 2019, the British Journal of Dermatology published a 12-week clinical trial that tested bakuchiol against retinol. Randomized, double-blind. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who got which product.
The short version: both groups saw similar improvements in wrinkles and pigmentation. But the retinol group had significantly more peeling, stinging, and scaling. The bakuchiol group tolerated their product much better. The researchers described bakuchiol as "a more tolerable alternative to retinol."
There's a caveat I want to be honest about. The bakuchiol group applied their product twice daily (morning and night), while the retinol group applied once (night only, because retinol isn't stable in sunlight). So bakuchiol got twice the application frequency. The comparison isn't perfectly apples-to-apples. But even accounting for that, the tolerability difference was clear.
| What they measured | Bakuchiol | Retinol |
|---|---|---|
| Wrinkles | Reduced | Reduced (similar) |
| Dark spots | Improved | Improved (similar) |
| Peeling and flaking | Minimal | Significantly more |
| Stinging and burning | Minimal | Significantly more |
| Sun stability | Generally considered photostable | Less photostable |
| When to apply | Morning or night | Usually used at night |
A couple other studies have pointed in the same direction. Research in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science suggests bakuchiol may influence some of the same collagen-related pathways as retinol. A 2020 study in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology found it was well tolerated even on sensitive and rosacea-prone skin, which often has a harder time tolerating retinoids.
What I don't want to oversell
Retinol has decades of research behind it. Bakuchiol has about ten years, and really only one well-designed head-to-head trial. We need more studies, larger ones, across more skin types. I chose to switch based on the evidence that exists, but I don't want to pretend the case is as airtight as retinol's. It isn't yet.
What I can say is that bakuchiol looks promising, tends to be better tolerated in the studies we have, and may be a good alternative for people who don't do well with retinoids. That was enough for me.
What I use
True Botanicals Phyto-Retinol Vitamin A Booster
This is the product I ended up on. EWG Verified, MADE SAFE certified, Leaping Bunny, B-Corp. It uses botanical vitamin A sources (rosehip, buriti oil, sea buckthorn) rather than synthetic retinol.
The capsule format is actually what sold me. Each dose stays sealed until you use it, which can help limit repeated air exposure and keep the formula simpler. The ingredient list is very short, which I like.
It's not cheap. But it lasts a while, and I feel good about what's in it.
I want to be upfront: True Botanicals uses botanical vitamin A sources (rosehip, buriti oil, sea buckthorn), not bakuchiol specifically. So it's not the exact compound from the trial I described above. For me, the bakuchiol research was what opened the door to gentler alternatives in general, and this is the product I felt best about after looking at the full ingredient list and certifications. If you specifically want bakuchiol, look for products that list it by name in the ingredients. And if you're looking at clean beauty brands more broadly, I go deep on one of them in my OSEA ingredient review.
When you're shopping for any bakuchiol product, read the ingredient list carefully. Some products that market themselves as bakuchiol also contain retinol. If you're trying to avoid retinoids entirely, make sure "retinol" or "retinal" doesn't appear anywhere on the label.
A few things people ask me
Is bakuchiol as effective as retinol?
Based on the one solid head-to-head trial we have, the results for wrinkles and pigmentation were similar. But I want to be careful saying "as effective" when we still need more research. What I can say is that the early evidence is encouraging, and the tolerability is clearly better.
Can I use bakuchiol while pregnant?
Pregnancy data on bakuchiol are limited, so I wouldn't treat it as proven safe just because it isn't a retinoid. If you're pregnant or trying to conceive, talk to your OB-GYN or dermatologist before using it. Topical retinoids are usually avoided during pregnancy out of caution.
Can I use it in the morning?
Bakuchiol is generally considered more photostable than retinol, which is why many products can be used morning or night. I use it at night, but either works. I'd still wear sunscreen daily either way.
Does bakuchiol cause purging?
I didn't experience the peeling or adjustment period I had with retinol, and that seems consistent with the studies we have so far.
How do you pronounce it?
Bah-KOO-chee-all. I had to look it up too.
Where I landed
I'm not here to tell anyone that retinol is bad. It works, it's well-studied, and a lot of people are happy with it. If that's you, keep using it.
For me, the irritation plus the concerns it raised were enough to make me look for something gentler. Bakuchiol was what first made me take retinol alternatives seriously. The product I ultimately landed on isn't bakuchiol specifically, but the research around bakuchiol helped change how I thought about what was possible. It's one reason bakuchiol shows up in so many clean beauty brands right now.
If you're dealing with similar frustrations, or you just want something gentler, it might be worth looking into. That's all I'm saying.