Can You Use Bakuchiol and Retinol Together?

If you’re a fan of retinol, the powerful ingredient that works to reduce acne while simultaneously treating premature aging, you may have heard of its milder sister, bakuchiol.

What many people question is whether they can use the two ingredients together.

The answer is yes, they can. In fact, research shows that the two ingredients can work effectively together.

The reason why? Bakuchiol’s potent but calming and stabilizing properties allow retinol to work better and increase the skin’s tolerance to the ingredient.

This powerful duo can make a tremendous difference on various visible skin concerns, including wrinkles, dark spots, and saggy skin.

The common advice is to opt for bakuchiol if your skin is sensitive to retinol, which can aggravate the complexion at times. But if your skin isn’t sensitive to retinol, consider using the ingredients together.

Let’s explore more of the benefits of using this powerful duo.

What is Bakuchiol?

First, let’s answer what bakuchiol is. The ingredient is pronounced ‘buk-koo-chee-all’ (you’re welcome), and it comes from the seeds and leaves of the babchi plant. While you may have only just heard of the ingredient, it’s been used in skincare for decades.

Bakuchiol has an impressive list of credentials, including improving the skin's elasticity, firmness, and hydration.

In the fight between retinol and bakuchiol, the two are pretty evenly matched when it comes to benefits. But, bakuchiol may be in first prize position thanks to the way our skin reacts from its application.

Like retinol, bakuchiol helps boost collagen production and cell turnover while helping reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

But unlike retinol, bakuchiol is a lot gentler on the skin, so it's a lot more suitable for those with sensitive skin. Likewise, bakuchiol doesn’t increase the skin’s sensitivity to the sun, so you can use it morning, noon, and night – basically, whenever you like. Hooray!

The Benefits of Using Bakuchiol and Retinol Together

We mentioned the benefits of using bakuchiol and retinol together briefly, but let’s dive into them in more depth.

Bakuchiol is an excellent teammate for retinol because both ingredients offer similar and distinct benefits. The similarities between the two build on the results.

Using both ingredients simultaneously contributes to healthier, fresher-looking skin that appears more youthful.

Bakuchiol is also an antioxidant that complements the antioxidant properties of vitamin A, giving your skin improved protection from visible signs of environmental stressors and boosting its chance to repair signs of past skin damage.

Likewise, bakuchiol helps stabilize retinol and the skin-treating ingredients that are typically used in retinol products, like linoleic acid and caprylic triglyceride.

Plus, bakuchiol helps retinol work longer before it breaks down in air and light, which can also contribute to better skincare results. This is excellent news because keeping retinol stable is notoriously hard.

Finally, bakuchiol’s calming properties boost the skin’s tolerance of retinol. If you’ve experienced irritation or aggravation from using retinol in the past, you may find that using both ingredients gives you similar benefits without any sensitivity or flaking.

Products Containing Both Bakuchiol and Retinol

At this point, you may be wondering if you can use bakuchiol and retinol with other skincare ingredients. The answer is yes.

Together, the two ingredients can also improve the results from other skincare ingredients, including those that further help firm skin, reduce wrinkles, brighten the complexion, and treat signs of environmental damage.

We'll help you even further by recommending some excellent products containing both ingredients.

Revision Retinol Complete Serum

The Revision Retinol Complete Serum brightens and smooths the skin, containing five antioxidants and a blend of botanical extracts that boost retinol's effects while delivering hydration for thirsty skin.

This potent serum contains 0.5% retinol to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, along with bakuchiol to enhance retinol’s effects and provide broad-spectrum antioxidant benefits.

Other ingredients include isosorbide dicaprylate for long-term controlled hydration to the skin, vitamin C for brightening, and sesame extract for smoothing the complexion’s texture.

PCA Skin Retinol Solutions Intensive Clarity Treatment

The PCA Skin Retinol Solutions Intensive Clarity Treatment is hailed as the ultimate retinol nighttime treatment for those with acne-prone skin.

As well as containing both retinol and bakuchiol, the solution features 2% salicylic acid to banish acne breakouts and retinopeptide and plant stem cell extract technology to strengthen and protect the skin.

The OmniSome delivery system carries ingredients deeper into the skin for excellent skin-clearing and smoothing results.

Do you want more skincare advice? Find out whether you should ditch the skincare wipes .