Bakuchiol is found in the seeds of the babchi (Psoralea corylifolia) plant that is native to India and China, which have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. One of the most promising aspects of bakuchiol is its ability to mimic the effects of retinol, without the irritation.
Retinol is a synthetic form of vitamin A that is commonly used in anti-aging products. It can be effective at reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, but can also cause irritation, redness, dryness, and sensitivity to the sun. Bakuchiol, on the other hand, is gentle enough to be used on sensitive skin, and has a lower chance of an individual experiencing the same side effects of retinol.
Bakuchiol has other potential benefits for the skin beyond working to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and stimulating collagen production, including evening out skin tone and improving the overall texture of the skin by increasing cell turnover. A simple plant extract of babchi seeds cannot be safely used for skincare as it brings phototoxic phytocompounds that can cause adverse skin reactions as well as a much lower and varied amount of Bakuchiol.
Using Sytenol® A instead of the more “natural” babchi oil is a good example of balancing safety and efficacy with striving for natural ingredients. The special monomolecular extraction process used to only extract the Bakuchiol molecule when making Sytenol® A is more desirable than the actual plant extract for skincare use as it results in a purity of over 99% that virtually eliminates all unwanted compounds.
This pure form of Bakuchiol (
Sytenol® A) should not be used directly on the skin, but rather incorporated in a finished product at a much lower usage such as in our day+night renewing eye cream.