Meet Bakuchiol! It's the buzzy, natural skincare ingredient that's being compared to retinol. And because we're in the middle of the summer this powerful plant based ingredient will absolutely help minimize sensitivity to the sun's harmful rays and breakouts. Now what's not to love about that!

What is Bakuchiol? (Pronounced: back ou che all)

Bakuchiol is an ingredient derived from the psoralea corylifolia plant aka the ""babchi"" plant. The plant has a long and impressive skin-care resume, starting with its use in traditional Ayurveda medicine.

What are the benefits of Bakuchiol for the skin?

The beautiful thing about Bakuchiol is that it's just as effective as retinol at targeting fine lines, wrinkles, and uneven skin tone. The best part is that it's also a lot less irritating.

1. Evens skin tone: Bakuchiol deeply penetrates the skin to help lessen the appearance of dark spots or areas of hyperpigmentation.
2. Minimize fine lines: Like retinol, Bakuchiol tells your cells to make collagen, ""plumping"" your skin and reducing the look of lines and wrinkles.
3. Non-drying, non-irritant: While retinol and other skincare ingredients may dry out skin or cause irritation, Bakuchiol is gentler and isn't known to cause any irritation.
4. Speeds up skin cell regeneration: Bakuchiol sends signals to your cells that it's time to ramp up collagen production and cell turnover.
5. Safe to use twice a day: Since Bakuchiol isn't as drying or irritating as retinol; you can use it both during your morning and nighttime skincare routines.
6. Suitable for all skin types: Being gentle on skin, most anyone can use Bakuchiol.
7. Soothes and heals skin: By promoting cell turnover and healthy cell regeneration, Bakuchiol helps soothe and heal your skin from the inside out.
8. Safe to use with other products: Other hydrating ingredients, like squalane and PHAs.
9. Anti-acne: reduces the appearance of pores, and eventually reduces breakouts.
10. Anti-inflammatory: has already been used for years to treat inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. When applied topically Bakuchiol can calm redness, swelling and itching, resulting in calmer and soothed skin.

What are the side effects of Bakuchiol?

There are currently ""no known studies"" that reflect any unwanted or negative side effects. Because it is not retinol, it has the potential to be safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding. It's always better to be safe than sorry, so it is recommended to wait for more studies to come out to ensure Bakuchiol' s safe use while pregnant or breastfeeding.

How to add Bakuchiol to your natural skin care routine

While studies have shown that Bakuchiol is fairly gentle, it's still best to use caution when testing a new ingredient. Naturally, if you already have sensitive skin or dry or eczema-prone skin it's best to start to use it every other day, about three days per week.

If you don't experience any irritation after a few weeks, you can start using Bakuchiol daily.

It's always smart to do a spot test, either on your wrist or behind your ears, for a week before applying it all over your face in order to determine tolerability.

Bakuchiol can be used morning or night, and it can be found in an array of products, from serums and face oils to face masks. Unlike retinol, which is typically used in a stand-alone product, products that contain Bakuchiol are gentle enough to be layered.

Since it's less harsh than retinol, you can also use it in the morning and at night for maximum effectiveness. Even though it likely won't make your skin more sensitive to the sun, always remember to apply sunscreen afterward if you use Bakuchiol in the morning.

Recommend Bakuchiol Products

Kakadu Super Vitamin C Brightening Oil with Bakuchiol and Moringa

Brighten and smooth your skin with this super concentrated Vitamin C oil powered by Kakadu plum, Bakuchiol and Moringa Oil. This lightweight yet intense formula delivers an instant radiance boost leaving skin looking luminous while smoothing fine lines, wrinkles, boosting collagen and balancing skin tone.

How to use:

• Apply 2-3 drops on face and neck morning and night after cleansing and toning.
• If using with your favorite day/night crème apply as a second step over the moisturizer, this will allow for better absorption and protection.

Kakadu Super Vitamin C Brightening Serum with Hyaluronate and Bakuchiol

Infuse your skin with this potent Vitamin C serum, supercharged with Kakadu plum, Bakuchiol and Hyaluronate. This powerful blend will dramatically improve radiance and luminosity while delivering an instant moisture surge to your skin and visibly reducing the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation - rapid results for glowing skin.

How to use:

• Apply 2-3 drops on the face and neck morning and night after cleansing and toning.
• Follow with your favorite day/night cream.
• We recommend gradually building to daily use as tolerated. Begin by using 2-3 drops of this Kakadu Super Vitamin C Brightening Serum every second day for the first 2-4 weeks. After this time you can begin incorporating this product into your daily regimen using morning and night after cleansing and toning.
• Follow with your favorite day/night cream.
• Always apply SPF30+ during the day when using this product.

Summary

What truly makes Bakuchiol worth its weight in gold is the fact that it comes with none of the baggage that retinol does. So if you were thinking about using retinoids you should definitely consider trying Bakuchiol first. After all this vegan ingredient is natural, and safe to use.