For decades retinoids (vitamers of vitamin A) have been widely used by doctors to treat various skin diseases. In the context of skincare retinol has been THE compound that has actually been proven to work. Research consistently points to the fact that retinol reduces wrinkled skin and fine lines, reduces sebum production and pore size, brightens hyperpigmentation (brown spots) and generally works hard to rejuvenate the skin. So far so good.

Retinol is a given ingredient in any night cream… But hey! If it’s that good, why not put in all creams?

Here’s why we don’t. There’s a downside to the old skincare superhero. Retinol makes your skin more sensitive to the light, it’s slightly skin irritating and some people experience redness, scaling and stinging when using retinol creams. So for years beauty seeking crowds tolerated the adverse effects of retinol until…

Enter bakuchiol… a plant derived compound used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine for centuries.

Somehow, even though chemical structures of the retinol and bakuchiol are not at all similar, they trigger the same rejuvenating, sebum reducing, wrinkle straightening, skin brightening, pore size decreasing pathways, but bakuchiol does the same hard work with none of retinols adverse effects. No stinging. No scaling. No sun sensitivity.

Smart, right?

It sure is. And it’s the reason that you’ll find new skin superhero bakuchiol in all our creams… day and night. But why did we keep old retinol in the night cream?

We believe in a synergy between the brand new bakuchiol and the tried and tested retinol.

We don’t forget the veteran skin heroes… and retinol definitely still has its place in modern skincare. Especially as research shows that retinol becomes more stable when combined with bakuchiol, making it possible to reduce retinol concentration and getting great results.

Our conclusion is this: Retinol combined with bakuchiol can do some serious superhero work together, like a true dynamic duo of skin rejuvenation.

Combined with the powerful effects of CBD and GABA, Bakuchiol and Retinol, our night cream “GO THE F… TO SLEEP CREAM” will make your skin cells work through the night to make your beauty sleep come true.

— Dr Charles Kromann

References:
Dhaliwal S, Rybak I, Ellis SR, Notay M, Trivedi M, Burney W, Vaughn AR, Nguyen M, Reiter P, Bosanac S, Yan H, Foolad N, Sivamani RK. Prospective, randomized, double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing. Br J Dermatol. 2019 Feb;180(2):289-296. doi: 10.1111/bjd.16918. Epub 2018 Sep 21. PMID: 29947134.

Chaudhuri RK, Bojanowski K. Bakuchiol: a retinol-like functional compound revealed by gene expression profiling and clinically proven to have anti-aging effects. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2014 Jun;36(3):221-30. doi: 10.1111/ics.12117. Epub 2014 Mar 6. PMID: 24471735.

Puyana, Carolina, Neha Chandan, and Maria Tsoukas. "Applications of Bakuchiol in Dermatology; Systematic Review of the Literature." Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology (2022).

Bakuchiol to Stabilize Retinol and Polyunsaturated Lipids Apr 23rd, 2015
Ratan K. Chaudhuri, PhD, Sytheon Ltd., Boonton, NJ US; and Boxin Ou, PhD, International Chemistry Testing, Milford, MA USA