WHAT IS BAKUCHIOL

Bakuchiol, pronounced “back-oo-chiol”, and named after the Sanskrit work for the plant from which it is extracted, is native to Asia and has a long history of use in Indian and Chinese medicine. In the late 1960s bakuchiol was isolated from the seeds of the Psoralea Corylifolia plant and researched for its various beneficial properties.  It wasn’t until around 2007 that it was started to be used in topical cosmetics.  In 2018 a clinical study of bakuchiol versus retinol was started.  This is where it all began.

It was found that the benefits of bakuchiol is very similar to those of retinoids but without the redness, skin irritation and photochemical instability that retinol is associated with.  Unlike retinol which is generally synthetically made in a lab Bakuchiol is extracted from the seeds of the Babchi Plant.  Bakuchiol is known to stimulate collagen production which has the benefit of reducing wrinkles and hyperpigmentation while increasing the skin’s elasticity and resilience.

It can also be useful in products specifically formulated for acne prone skin as it prevents the process of lipid peroxidation in the skin’s sebum by keeping the acid mantel active.  This reduces the overproduction of bacteria on the skin’s surface and reduces the keratinization of cells.

In the research that was conducted in 2018 it concluded the following “…bakuchiol is comparable with retinol in its ability to improve photoageing and is better tolerated than retinol. Bakuchiol is promising as a more tolerable alternative to retinol”.  The other added benefit is that Bakuchiol does not have the same photo-sensitising effect on the skin as retinol and can be applied both in the morning and evening if one wishes.

So if you’re keen to try something relatively new but has proven scientific data to back it up why not try our new Eternal Beauty Serum, the new Retinol Alternative, suitable for all skin types.