What’s The Difference Between Bakuchiol & Retinol?
Not only is bakuchiol nature’s hottest alternative to retinol, but it’s way more stable, super effective and gentler on the skin. Here’s everything you need to know.
Some skincare ingredients come and go, while others are never far from the top of every dermatologist’s recommended hit list. And if you’re into the former, we have one question for you: why? We’re not being rude but why would you even bother with flighty ingredients that, sure, might be all over TikTok for three seconds, but have zero evidence that they really work?
No, the ingredients you really need to know about are the ones that stand the test of time and are backed by proof. Clinical studies, trials, research, evidence, you know the drill. The ingredients that have been around for decades and are the stalwarts of every skincare afficionado’s beauty cabinet – think retinol, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid.
Retinol, in particular, is a real powerhouse for skin. With years of research to its name, it’s been proven time and again as one of the best ingredients for polishing up the quality of your complexion. By ‘communicating’ with your skin at a cellular level it works hard to enhance collagen production and encourage cell turnover, therefore doing its best to improve acne breakouts, wrinkles, dark spots, sagging skin, enlarged pores, the lot.
But here’s the thing, retinol doesn’t suit everyone. It’s super effective, for sure, but it’s also pretty hardcore and can be, let’s just say, too much for some skin types. So, while we would never diss the unarguable powers of retinol – it does take center stage with a fair amount of our formulations, after all! – it’s nice to know there are some alternatives out there.
Ceramides, peptides, antioxidants and exfoliating acids all have incredible anti-aging powers that help protect and enhance the look and feel of your health. And just like retinol, they’ve been around the block a few times… because they work. But they do so in very different ways. In fact, up until now there hasn’t been much to choose from when looking to mimic the effects of retinol, with less of the downsides.
And this is why there’s such a buzz right now about new skincare ingredient, bakuchiol.
What Is Bakuchiol?
Bakuchiol (pronounced bah-koo-chee-awl) is the backbone of our NEW Longevity skincare range and offers a brand new, gentler approach to aging. Already being touted as nature’s answer to retinol, bakuchiol is extracted from the seeds and leaves of the babchi plant and has been used for centuries in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, both internally and topically to treat the skin. The reason it’s become such current hot property is because a bunch of clinical studies have come to light showing that, as well as offering anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, bakuchiol offers similar benefits to retinol.
When applied regularly it’s been proven to dramatically improve the surface of the skin by stimulating collagen synthesis and accelerating cellular turnover. And all of this comes with very few, if any, of the irritating side effects.
Retinol Or Bakuchiol? The Facts
Bakuchiol may sound too good to be true, but should you really diss retinol forever more? Or can you actually enjoy them both? Whatever you choose, here are three important facts that distinguish the differences between bakuchiol and retinol.
1. A Classic Case Of Science Vs Nature
Unlike retinol, which is a chemical compound derived from vitamin A, bakuchiol is 100 percent natural. As we’re sure you know, we’re big fans of plant-derived ingredients here at TruSkin and put nature at the core of all of our formulations. At the same time, we believe that both science and nature have their place in skincare which is why we like to combine the two to offer the best solutions for your skin.
If you like to stick with ingredients that have decades of research under their belts then retinol is the one for you. Prefer to go all-out natural? Then bakuchiol is a great choice.
2. It’s All About Tolerance
The most frustrating thing about retinol is the annoying side effects. Of course, these don’t affect everyone and if you start slowly with gentle, carefully curated formulations, you’re sure to find a retinol treatment that works for you. If you have strong skin that’s completely unphased by anything you throw at it, for example, you probably love and use retinol on the reg (in which case, have you tried our Retinol Facial Serum yet? It’s the best.)
Side effects, however, are no joke, and if you’ve ever experienced the dryness, redness, peeling or itching that can come hand in hand with certain retinol products, the knowledge that there’s a gentler alternative out there will be music to your ears.
Of course, it’s always wise to patch test any new skincare products, but past research has shown very few cases of negative side effects from using bakuchiol.
3. The Stability Game
Retinol and sunshine are a bad combination. And not because retinol makes your skin more sensitive to the sun. The real reason is that retinol is unstable and reactive to light which means that if you apply it in the daytime, it won’t work as well. This is why retinol is most often advised for night time use only.
Bakuchiol, on the other hand, is perfectly fine to use both morning and night as it holds up well when exposed to sunlight. Furthermore, due to its gentler nature, it can be used twice daily, every day if you fancy. You could even switch it up with your retinol product if you like, applying your retinol treatment once or twice a week before bed, then a bakuchiol product on alternative nights, as well as in the mornings. Choices, choices, aren’t they the best?
The Takeaway
Retinol has long been the recommended go-to for aging skin concerns. And as much as bakuchiol continues to gain momentum in the skincare industry, this will never change. You might be reading this wondering what the problem with retinol is. And if that’s the case and you never have issues with dryness or flaking skin, then there really is no problem. Retinol is your guy and there’s no reason to change that.
However, if you’re all too familiar with the irritating side-effects of retinol and have tried and failed time and again to make it work for you, then bakuchiol might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.
Fancy giving it a go? Then look no further. As if by magic we just launched three new products that harness the gentle powers of bakuchiol: Rejuvenating Longevity Serum, Depuffing Longevity Eye Cream and Renewing Longevity Moisturizing Cream. Together, they provide the ideal solution for slowing down the aging process of mature skin.
Already. In. Love.
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![The Most Effective Ingredients For Sagging Skin]()
One wish: to enjoy the tight, gravity-defying skin of 20 years ago. Sadly, it’s not going to happen, so the next best thing? Skincare ingredients that boost collagen and help your skin appear subtly firmer and just a tad more lifted.
Let’s get one thing straight: skincare cannot perform miracles. We’d love to be able to tell you that our new Caffeine Facial Serum can give you the skin of someone 30 years your junior or that our Vitamin C Gentle Face Scrub will eradicate every single one of your much-loathed dark spots after just one use. But we’d be lying. Skincare is awesome, absolutely. And yes, it can 100 percent help to subtly improve the appearance of acne breakouts, wrinkles and aging skin. But it has its limits. And knowing that your favorite moisturizer or prized facial serum can only do so much is crucial. Otherwise, you will always be disappointed. And that’s not what we want for you.
OK, so now this bombshell is out of the way and you understand that skincare ingredients aren’t going to give you an instant facelift or smooth out your laughter lines like fillers or Botox, here’s what they can do.
Choose the right formulation, crafted with thoughtful, clinically-proven ingredients, and skincare can very much improve the look, feel and health of your skin. And if you’ve ever woken up after trying a new serum for the first time, only to be greeted in the mirror by visibly brighter skin, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about.
So, which ingredients should you pin your hopes on if you’re specifically looking to lift and firm sagging skin? Well, skin starts to go south because of dwindling collagen supplies so boosting collagen production is your first and best bet. Bearing in mind everything we’ve just said about managing expectations, therefore, here are five topical favorites we believe are the most effective for encouraging healthy collagen and helping you on the road to firmer, more toned skin.
1. Peptides
Without blinding you with science, peptides are chemical compounds made from amino acids. They’re very similar to proteins, but where proteins are large molecules made up of long chains of amino acids, peptides are their baby cousins, containing much shorter chains. Why is this of interest? Because due to their similarity, peptides have the smart ability of being able to penetrate the skin where they work like little messengers, signaling for your cells to produce more proteins. And which protein is most abundant in your skin? Yes, you got it, collagen.
In simple terms, applying topical peptides encourages your cells to keep on producing collagen (and elastin, for that matter), thus helping to counteract the skin’s inevitable loss of this vital protein and staving off all that comes with it – namely wrinkles, lines and sagging skin.
Try: Firming Collagen Day Lotion which contains vegan collagen peptides, amongst other skincare powerhouses like ceramides, green algae, vitamin E and aloe.
2. Retinol
When it comes to boosting your skin’s supply of healthy collagen very few topical ingredients trump retinol. Ask your derm or any skincare expert and we bet 1,000 bucks they will agree. So, what makes it so darn good? Well, it’s been studied for decades and it never fails to deliver the same skin-regenerating results. You see, retinol has an innate ability to communicate with your skin at a deep cellular level to encourage a speedier production of collagen and elastin in a bid to heal and strengthen your skin. Simple as. Well, it’s not that simple, but that’s all you really need to know.
Of course, retinol isn’t for everyone – it’s so good, it can be a tad irritating for some skin types – but if you used it slowly and carefully, always patch testing it first, you’ll find it can be a fantastic way to help keep your skin firm and youthful-looking for years to come.
Try: Retinol Facial Serum which has been formulated with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E, helping it to be as gentle on your skin as possible.
3. Bakuchiol
If retinol isn’t for you but you’re looking for something that does almost the exact same thing and offers very similar results, allow us to introduce you to bakuchiol.
One of the newest ingredients to the skincare world (but an absolute keeper unlike other ridiculous ingredients that are all fluff and no function), bakuchiol is nature’s best alternative to retinol. How so? Because it works just like its long-running counterpart, stimulating collagen synthesis and accelerating cellular turnover at a deep, below-the-surface level.
Bakuchiol is extracted from the seeds and leaves of the babchi plant and has been used for centuries in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. The reason it’s gained such momentum in Western skincare recently is that, granted, it's very similar to retinol, but more importantly it comes with way fewer unwanted side effects. Of course, its gentle nature means it works more slowly but if you sensitive skin and have patience, bakuchiol is a great choice for fighting the visible signs of aging –including sagging skin but certainly not stopping there!
Try: Rejuvenating Longevity Serum which combines bakuchiol with antioxidant-rich lingonberry stem cells and snow algae.
4. Vitamin C
If you don’t know by now how awesome vitamin C is then we’ve been doing something wrong! In our minds, this antioxidant wonder kid can do no wrong.
Like retinol, vitamin C is one of the most trusted and clinically-proven ingredients in the entire world of skincare. It’s known mainly for providing brightening benefits but never forget what an excellent antioxidant it is, offering the absolute best in environmental protection by neutralizing free radicals before they get a chance to destroy collagen – and believe us, that is exactly what free radicals will do if you don’t get in there first.
But it's not just vitamin C's antioxidant prowess that’s crucial for preventing collagen and elastin breakdown. Its highly acidic nature also works hard to boost your collagen and elastin levels. So there’s that.
Try: Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream which gives your skin a delicious overnight boost of protective vitamin C, along with skin-loving botanical oils like jojoba, rosehip and evening primrose.
5. MSM
Sure, we’re all about vitamin C for president here at TruSkin, but another of our skin-firming favorites comes in the form of methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM to friends like you.
Very well tolerated by even the most sensitive of skin types, MSM is a naturally-occurring form of sulfur. And if you didn’t know, sulfur is one of the most important elements in the human body, often touted as the ‘beauty’ or ‘healing’ mineral.
What does that mean for sagging skin? Yeah, we’re getting to that. And the answer is simple: MSM plays a key role in the production and composition of collagen and keratin. Its anti-inflammatory qualities also help decrease damage to the skin caused by lifestyle aggressors like stress, lack of sleep and a sugar or carb-heavy diet. Oh, and as an extra sidenote, MSM also boosts the body’s production of glutathione which is one of your most important, naturally-occurring antioxidants. Take that free radicals!
Try: Vitamin C Super Serum+ which partners MSM with its bestie, vitamin C. Why do they love each other so? Because vitamin C helps the skin readily absorb MSM, thus doubling up their combined collagen-boosting effects.
The Most Effective Ingredients For Sagging Skin
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