Retinol vs. Bakuchiol: Which Is Better?

Bakuchiol is often described as a plant-derived alternative to retinol, but it is not a retinoid. Although it has no structural resemblance to retinoids, preclinical research suggests that bakuchiol can produce some retinol-like effects through overlapping changes in gene expression. Retinol has a much deeper clinical evidence base, while bakuchiol is a plant-derived ingredient with promising but more limited human research.

One randomized, double-masked clinical trial directly compared 0.5% bakuchiol, used twice daily, with 0.5% retinol, used once daily, over 12 weeks. Both groups showed statistically significant improvements from baseline in fine-wrinkle surface area and hyperpigmentation, with no statistically significant difference between the groups for the measured outcomes. The retinol group experienced significantly more facial scaling and stinging.

So, is bakuchiol better than retinol? Not necessarily. Retinol has the advantage when it comes to the depth of clinical evidence. Bakuchiol may be worth considering for people who prioritize tolerability or find retinol difficult to tolerate consistently.

Here's what the research actually shows and how the two ingredients compare.

Retinol vs. Bakuchiol: The Short Answer

Retinol has the stronger overall clinical evidence base. Bakuchiol has promising human evidence and may offer a more favorable tolerability profile for some people.

If your skin tolerates retinol well and you want an ingredient that has been studied extensively over several decades, retinol remains a well-supported option for wrinkle care and other visible signs of skin aging.

If retinol causes persistent irritation or you prefer a non-retinoid active, bakuchiol is worth considering. The available human research is encouraging, but it is considerably smaller and more heterogeneous than the evidence base for retinol. A 2024 systematic review of 15 human clinical trials highlighted substantial variation in study designs, formulations, and outcomes, with many studies lacking control groups or using combination formulations. The authors concluded that better-designed trials are still needed.

That distinction is important: promising evidence is not the same as decades of established evidence.

What Is Retinol?

Retinol is a vitamin A-derived retinoid. When applied to the skin, retinol is converted through enzymatic steps to retinaldehyde and then retinoic acid, the biologically active retinoid that activates retinoid receptors.

These effects can influence cellular processes involved in skin renewal and collagen-related processes and are associated with improvements in skin texture, pigmentation, fine lines, and wrinkles over time. Retinoids have been studied extensively for skin aging, giving them a substantially larger clinical evidence base than newer ingredients such as bakuchiol.

Retinol does have a trade-off: irritation.

Dryness, scaling, redness, and stinging can occur, particularly when someone is new to retinoids or introduces a product too quickly. Dermatologists often recommend starting gradually and adjusting frequency according to how the skin responds.

Retinoids can increase the skin's susceptibility to irritation from sun exposure, which is why dermatologists commonly recommend using them in the evening and protecting the skin from sun exposure during the day.

What Is Bakuchiol?

Bakuchiol is a meroterpene phenol found in the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia, a plant also known as babchi. Unlike retinol, it is not a retinoid and does not share retinol's chemical structure.

What makes bakuchiol interesting is that preclinical research suggests it can produce some retinol-like effects despite having a different chemical structure. In a 2014 study, researchers found substantial similarities between bakuchiol and retinol in their effects on gene expression, suggesting that bakuchiol may function as a retinol-like compound through changes in gene expression.

That may help explain why bakuchiol can produce some retinol-like cosmetic effects without being a retinoid itself.

But mechanism and clinical outcome are not the same thing. Laboratory and preclinical findings can help researchers understand how an ingredient might work, but human clinical trials provide stronger evidence for whether those effects translate into visible improvements in skin.

And that is where the evidence for bakuchiol becomes more nuanced.

A 2022 systematic review identified 30 articles matching its search terms. One did not meet the inclusion criteria; among the 29 included articles, 16 were preclinical studies, seven were clinical studies, three were commentaries, two were narrative reviews, and one was an adverse-event report. The authors concluded that bakuchiol is a retinol alternative with anti-aging, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties, while additional studies are needed to understand its applications in dermatology better. 

A 2024 systematic review analyzed 15 human clinical trials involving topical formulations containing bakuchiol. Twelve were unblinded, open-label studies without a control group, and 10 used combination formulations containing bakuchiol. The review found substantial variation in treatments, study designs, and measured outcomes, making meta-analysis unfeasible. The authors also identified a high risk of bias across the available evidence and concluded that better-designed clinical trials are needed.

In other words, the evidence for bakuchiol is growing, but it remains considerably smaller and more heterogeneous than the clinical evidence supporting retinol.

The Clinical Trial That Directly Compared Them

The most useful study for answering the retinol-versus-bakuchiol question is a randomized, double-masked clinical trial published in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2019.

Researchers randomized 44 participants to use either:

• 0.5% bakuchiol cream twice daily, or
• 0.5% retinol cream once daily

The study lasted 12 weeks, with assessments at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Researchers evaluated wrinkle surface area, hyperpigmentation, redness, and participant-reported side effects.

What did the study find?

Both groups showed statistically significant reductions in fine-wrinkle surface area from baseline.

At 12 weeks, the decrease in wrinkle surface area was approximately 19% with bakuchiol and 23.2% with retinol. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.
Both groups also showed improvements in hyperpigmentation, and the researchers found no statistically significant difference between bakuchiol and retinol for the pigmentation measures they assessed.

The clearest difference was tolerability

The retinol group experienced significantly more facial scaling and stinging. The study also found more subjective reports of itching and burning with retinol, although those particular differences were not statistically significant.

This is the finding that makes bakuchiol particularly interesting. The study did not prove that bakuchiol is universally better than retinol. Instead, it showed that, under the specific conditions tested, bakuchiol produced similar measured improvements over 12 weeks and was associated with fewer reported irritation-related effects.

The study also had important limitations. Only 44 participants were randomized, seven participants ultimately dropped out, and the study lasted just 12 weeks. The study assessed clinical and participant-reported outcomes rather than directly measuring biological changes such as collagen production.

That means the results are promising, but they should not be treated as proof that bakuchiol and retinol are interchangeable in every situation.

Why Might Bakuchiol Produce Retinol-Like Effects?

The answer is still being investigated.

Preclinical research suggests that bakuchiol can influence some gene-expression pathways also affected by retinol. This may help explain why a non-retinoid compound has produced some retinol-like effects in clinical studies.

But this distinction matters:

Bakuchiol does not need to be a retinoid to have retinol-like effects, and retinol-like effects do not mean that bakuchiol has the same mechanism as retinol.

The two ingredients have different chemical structures and interact with skin biology differently. Researchers are still working to understand exactly how those differences translate into clinical effects.

For consumers, the practical takeaway is simpler: bakuchiol has enough human evidence to be considered a promising retinol alternative, but not enough evidence to claim the same long-term clinical track record.

Retinol vs. Bakuchiol: Side-by-Side Comparison