Psoralea corylifolia is a traditional Chinese medicine recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, widely distributed in India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou in China. The research on it has a history of more than 100 years. In 1966, scientists extracted Bakuchiol from the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia. It was later found that Bakuchiol has a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects, and is applied in the fields of medical drugs. Recently, Bakuchiol has begun to appear in cosmetic field and has significant effects in anti-aging, antioxidation, acne intervention, anti-inflammation, and antibacterial aspects.

Compare with Retinol , the advantages of Bakuchiol is significant:

1.     More mild: Bakuchiol is a fully natural compound, which is milder than retinol.

2.     More effective: Bakuchiol can inhibit the production of 5-alpha-reductase, thereby inhibiting sebum secretion and effectively controlling oil. It can also inhibit bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, skin fungus, Bacillus acnes, etc. at low concentrations.

3.     More easily used: The formula of Bakuchiol is easier to add to products, and it can work effectively at lower concentrations with less irritancy.

The anti-acne mechanism of Bakuchiol is perfect, which can control oil, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory. Its anti-aging mechanism is similar to that of retinol, but it is gentler and has good photostability, hardly causing irritation, dryness, peeling, etc. However, it may cause redness and there is a risk of contact dermatitis. Compared with retinol, it lacks the ability of whitening and keratin regulation, but its antioxidant and antibacterial abilities are better. Therefore, bakuchiol is very suitable for sensitive and oily acne-prone skin. As a tolerant skin type, it is a good combination to use retinol in the evening and bakuchiol in the daytime because of its good photostability and antioxidant activity.