@samanthaschneidermd Bakuchiol might sound trendy, but retinol is still the MVP when it comes to fighting fine lines, pigmentation, and texture. If your skin can tolerate it, don’t settle for second best! #RetinolRules #DermTips #SkincareScience ♬ original sound - Samantha Schneider, MD

Lately, bakuchiol has been everywhere—marketed as a “natural alternative” to retinol that promises the same anti-aging benefits without irritation. So the big question is: Can bakuchiol replace your retinol?

Let’s talk honestly.

What Bakuchiol Can Do

Bakuchiol is a plant-derived ingredient that has been shown to help with:

• Fine lines and wrinkles
  
• Uneven skin tone
  
• Signs of photoaging
  
• Overall skin texture
  

For people with sensitive skin—or those who can’t use retinol—bakuchiol can be a helpful option. It tends to be gentler and less likely to cause redness or peeling.

But Here’s the Important Part

Bakuchiol is not as powerful as retinol.

Retinol (and prescription retinoids) have decades of research proving they stimulate collagen, speed up cell turnover, and visibly improve aging skin. Bakuchiol may offer similar types of benefits, but it doesn’t deliver the same strength or speed of results.

So unless you:

• Are pregnant or trying to conceive
  
• Simply cannot tolerate retinol
  
• Have extremely sensitive skin
  

…you don’t need to replace your retinol with bakuchiol.

You Don’t Have to Choose

One thing many people don’t realize is that you can use them together. Some products even combine bakuchiol and retinol to help boost results while reducing irritation.

Think of it this way:

• Retinol = the gold standard, heavy lifter
  
• Bakuchiol = a nice supportive ingredient
  

Helpful? Yes.
A full replacement? No.

Bottom Line

If you’re already using and tolerating retinol—stick with it. You’ll get faster results and more noticeable improvement. Bakuchiol can be a great add-on or alternative when retinol isn’t an option, but it doesn’t outperform the real thing.

Retinol still wins.

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Want the transcript for this video instead?  

You've been hearing about Baku as a replacement for retinol. Let's chat. So Baku does have some of the same benefits as retinol, like improving fine lines and wrinkles, improving photo aging. Yes, it can be helpful. But it is not as good as retinol. So unless you are pregnant or you're not able to tolerate a retinol, or sometimes it's added in with your retinol.

Okay? Like you can use 'em together. You don't have to pick, but like, you don't need to replace, like don't replace your retinol with pucci all. Okay? Retinol works better. You're gonna get faster results. More bang for your bock. Oh, is kuchi all helpful? Sure. But should you replace your retinol? No. No, no, no.

Stick with your retinol.