Bakuchiol
Bakuchiol
ALSO — MEROTERPENE PHENOL
For skin that cannot tolerate A-01, or for pregnancy. Weaker. Honestly weaker.
WHERE WE SIT IN THE PUBLISHED RANGE0.5% ——— 2%
1%
We compound toward the middle of the published range, not the top of it. Past the point where the dose–response curve flattens, the extra percent buys irritation and nothing else.
IDENTITY & RATINGSB
INCIBakuchiol
FAMILYRetinoid-adjacent
MOL. WEIGHT256.38 g/mol
HOUSE CONC.1% w/w
pH WINDOW4 – 8
ACTS ATEPIDERMIS
DEPTH20 – 200 µm
ONSET12 WK
STABILITYSTABLE — PHOTOSTABLE
TRIALS ON FILE2
IRRITATION INDEX1 / 10
STRATUM CORNEUM▸ EPIDERMISDERMIS
The shaded band is the depth this molecule is understood to reach. Anything below it is out of scope, whatever the label says.
01
Mechanism
EVIDENCE GRADE B
Structurally unrelated to retinoids but produces an overlapping gene expression profile — type I and IV collagen up, without RAR binding and without the retinisation cascade.
HOUSE NOTES
- Marketed as “nature's retinol”. It is not retinol and the effect size is smaller. It is also usable when a retinoid is not.
02
Layering
CONFLICTS & PAIRINGS
DO NOT LAYER
No known conflicts. This one goes next to anything in the formulary, in any order, on any night.
PAIRS WITH