Medik8 Bakuchiol Peptides 30ml

Bakuchiol: does the "natural retinol" claim hold up?

If a label said "natural retinol" and you want to know whether that is true, here is the short version. Bakuchiol is not a retinoid. It is not vitamin A and it has no structural resemblance to it. We could find one published trial that compares it directly with retinol on real faces. It ran 12 weeks with 44 people, and it could not measure a difference between the two on the appearance of wrinkles and uneven skin colour. That is an interesting result. It is a long way from proof that the two are interchangeable.

What bakuchiol actually is

Bakuchiol is a plant compound found in the seeds and leaves of Psoralea corylifolia, the babchi plant (Chaudhuri and Bojanowski, 2014). The idea that it behaves like retinol came from that same 2014 paper. It profiled gene activity in a laboratory skin model, found bakuchiol and retinol switched broadly similar genes on and off, and measured more type I, III and IV collagen in laboratory skin and fibroblast models. The paper states plainly that bakuchiol has no structural resemblance to retinoids. A later systematic review repeats the point (Puyana et al., 2022). Researchers call it a functional analogue, meaning it appears to do some similar things, not that it is a similar molecule. "Natural retinol" describes a resemblance in behaviour, not in chemistry.

Three things about that paper are worth knowing. All of the gene and collagen work was done in cell and skin models, not on people. The human part was an uncontrolled 12 week case study with no comparison group, even though the paper's title says "clinically proven". And the lead author was employed by Sytheon Ltd, an ingredient supplier that sells bakuchiol to the cosmetics industry. None of that makes the findings wrong. It does mean the paper that created the phrase came from someone with a commercial stake in the ingredient.

The one head-to-head trial

The trial everyone quotes is a randomised, double-blind comparison of bakuchiol 0.5% cream twice daily against retinol 0.5% cream once daily, in 44 people over 12 weeks (Dhaliwal et al., 2019). On photographic analysis, both groups showed a significant decrease in wrinkle surface area and in hyperpigmentation, with no statistical difference between the two creams. Those are measures of appearance taken from photographs. The retinol users reported more facial skin scaling and stinging. The listed funder is the University of California, and every author is based at a university or medical school rather than an ingredient company, which makes it one of the more independent pieces of work in this area.

Now the limits, because they matter. Forty-four people. One centre. Twelve weeks. The two creams were used at different frequencies, bakuchiol twice a day against retinol once. The study was not designed or statistically powered as a formal non-inferiority trial. In a group that small, "we could not detect a difference" is not the same as "there is no difference". The authors concluded that bakuchiol is comparable with retinol and better tolerated. That is their reading of one small study, and anyone quoting it as proof that bakuchiol equals retinol is asking it to carry more weight than it was built for.

The wider evidence is thinner than the marketing suggests

A 2024 systematic review of human trials of topical bakuchiol is the most useful thing to read here (Fanning et al., 2024). Of 15 human trials, 12 were unblinded, open-label trials with no control group. Ten used a combination formula containing bakuchiol rather than bakuchiol on its own. Four did not state the dose or concentration at all. The reviewers concluded that the studies were too varied to pool, that the trials lack methodological rigour and carry a high risk of bias, and that the combination formulas limit any comparison of bakuchiol against retinoids.

The shape of the research is lopsided in another way. Of the 30 articles the 2022 review found, 16 were pre-clinical studies and only seven were clinical (Puyana et al., 2022). A lot of what gets quoted about bakuchiol comes from cells in a dish. Similar gene activity in a skin model is a reason to run a proper trial. It is not a result in itself. A dermatologist writing in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology made much the same point, appraising the manufacturer-supplied trial data behind the marketing claims and arguing that clinicians need to look at it critically (Spierings, 2020).

Laboratory work does suggest the two ingredients are not doing identical jobs. One comparison found bakuchiol had high antioxidative capacity where retinol did not, that both lowered the markers PGE2 and MIF, and that bakuchiol but not retinol raised FGF7 (Bluemke et al., 2022). They overlap in some pathways and diverge in others. That work was done almost entirely in cells and tissue rather than on faces, and every listed author works in research and development at Beiersdorf, a cosmetics company. A more recent 28 day study in 34 people with sensitive skin reported reductions in water loss, redness and lactic acid sting test scores (Shi et al., 2025). Read that one carefully. The serum combined bakuchiol with Terminalia chebula extract, so it cannot tell you what bakuchiol did on its own. All four authors work in the research and development centre of a cosmetics company. And while the title calls it randomised and double-blind, the method described is a single group of 34 people using one serum, with no comparison group reported.

The scale gap

For comparison, researchers looking at tretinoin were able to pool eight vehicle-controlled randomised trials covering 1,361 people, with average follow-up running from 16 weeks out to two years, and found significant improvement in both fine and coarse facial wrinkles from photodamage (Huang and Lee, 2025). For bakuchiol, one 44 person 12 week trial is the only direct comparison with retinol we could find, and a systematic review could not pool the human data at all. Those are not the same standard of evidence.

Worth saying clearly: tretinoin is a prescription medicine in New Zealand. We do not sell it and we are not suggesting it. Whether it is appropriate for anyone is a conversation with a doctor. We mention it only to show the size of the evidence gap. And on the evidence we have, nobody can tell you how bakuchiol compares with a prescription retinoid, because the review above found the combination formulas make that comparison impossible.

What none of this can do

We are a cosmetics shop in Parnell, so let us be direct about the boundaries.

  • We make no claim that bakuchiol treats acne, melasma, eczema, rosacea or any other skin condition. Those are medical conditions and they need a doctor or a dermatologist. Nothing on our shelves is a substitute for medical care.
  • The evidence does not support bakuchiol as a safe choice in pregnancy or breastfeeding, which is one of the most common reasons people reach for it. We could find no published human safety study of topical bakuchiol in pregnancy. The absence of a warning is not evidence of safety. Please talk to your midwife or GP before adding anything new.
  • There is no long-term data. The longest human bakuchiol studies run a few months. Nobody has published on what years of use looks like.
  • Bakuchiol is not hypoallergenic and we will not describe it that way. Allergic contact dermatitis to bakuchiol has been documented in a published case report (Sánchez-Arjona et al., 2026), and the 2022 review also noted one reported case of contact dermatitis in the literature. Single case reports do not tell you how common a reaction is. They do tell you that plant-derived is not the same as reaction-free.
  • We can only speak to formulated cosmetic products. Raw babchi seed oil sold loose online is a different thing, and we do not stock it or make any comment on it.

Sun protection is not optional

Photoageing is the name researchers give to the skin changes linked to sun exposure. It is the thing nearly every study above is measuring. No serum of any kind is a substitute for staying out of the sun and covering up, and UV levels here get very high over summer.

So, whichever of these you use, wear a broad spectrum sunscreen every day and reapply it. Vitamin A products are usually applied at night, and the standard advice with any vitamin A product is daily sunscreen alongside it. Follow the directions on whatever you buy rather than ours. And if you have a mole or a skin spot that is changing, see your doctor, not a beauty counter.

Where bakuchiol might genuinely suit you

Comfort is the clearest thing bakuchiol has going for it, and it is the honest reason to consider it. In the one comparative trial, it was the retinol users who reported the flaking and stinging.

Before you switch, it is worth trying the boring fix first. If vitamin A has irritated you, the usual next step is less of it, less often, rather than none of it. Crystal Retinal 1 is the lowest strength in the Crystal Retinal range we stock, and starting there a couple of nights a week is a gentler way in than the strength most people jump to.

If you have done that and your skin still says no, bakuchiol is a reasonable thing to try instead. Bakuchiol Peptides is the one we carry. Note that it is a blended formula, which is exactly the problem the systematic reviews raise, so read any result you get as the formula's result rather than bakuchiol's alone. It is the more comfortable option to try. Nothing in the research makes it the stronger one.

If you do try it

  • Patch test on your inner forearm for a few days before putting anything new on your face.
  • Give it a fair run. The comparative trial took 12 weeks to reach its results. Judging a product after a fortnight is not judging it at all.
  • Change one thing at a time, and do not start two new actives in the same week, or you will not know what caused what.
  • Keep it away from your eyes, and stop using it if stinging or redness does not settle down.
  • The word "bakuchiol" on a label tells you little on its own. Concentration and formulation vary a lot, and four of the 15 published human trials never stated the dose.

Bakuchiol is a real ingredient with a real, small, imperfect body of evidence behind it. That is a more useful thing to know than either of the stories you usually hear about it. If you want to talk it through, come and see us in Parnell.

The Verdo team

Frequently asked questions

Is bakuchiol as good as retinol?
The honest answer is that nobody knows yet. One randomised trial of 44 people over 12 weeks found no measurable difference between bakuchiol 0.5% and retinol 0.5% on the appearance of wrinkles and pigmentation (Dhaliwal et al., 2019). That trial was small, ran at one centre, used the two creams at different frequencies, and was not designed or powered to prove the two are equivalent. A 2024 systematic review of 15 human bakuchiol trials found most had no control group and that the results could not be pooled at all (Fanning et al., 2024). Bakuchiol looks promising, but calling it equal to retinol goes further than the evidence allows.
Is bakuchiol safe to use in pregnancy?
We cannot tell you that, and we would be wary of anyone who does. Pregnancy is one of the most common reasons people look for a retinol alternative, but we could find no published human safety study of topical bakuchiol in pregnancy or breastfeeding. The absence of a warning is not the same as evidence of safety. Please talk to your midwife or GP before adding anything new to your routine while pregnant or feeding.
Why is bakuchiol called natural retinol if it is not a retinoid?
The phrase describes what it appears to do, not what it is. A 2014 laboratory study found bakuchiol and retinol produced broadly similar gene expression patterns in a skin model, and researchers began describing bakuchiol as a functional analogue of retinol (Chaudhuri and Bojanowski, 2014). That paper states that bakuchiol has no structural resemblance to retinoids, and a later systematic review repeats the point (Puyana et al., 2022). It is a completely different molecule, from the seeds and leaves of the babchi plant. It is worth knowing that the lead author of the 2014 paper worked for an ingredient supplier that sells bakuchiol.
Can bakuchiol cause a reaction, and how should I patch test?
Yes, it can. Allergic contact dermatitis to bakuchiol has been documented in a published case report (Sánchez-Arjona et al., 2026), and a 2022 review noted another reported case of contact dermatitis. Case reports do not tell you how common a reaction is, but plant-derived never means reaction-free. Apply a small amount to your inner forearm once a day for a few days and watch for redness, itching or bumps before you use it on your face. If your skin reacts to something, stop using it, and see your GP or a dermatologist if it does not settle.
Do I still need sunscreen if I use bakuchiol instead of retinol?
Yes. Photoageing is the name researchers give to the skin changes linked to sun exposure, and it is what nearly every study in this area is measuring. No serum replaces sun protection. Wear a broad spectrum sunscreen daily and reapply it, whether you are using bakuchiol, retinol or neither. Vitamin A products are usually applied at night, and daily sunscreen is the standard advice alongside any of them. Always follow the directions on the product you buy.
Back to blog

Keep reading