Bakuchiol vs retinol, take three. New data from Seoul.

Verdict № 01

Tier B

Bakuchiol 0.5% nightly

Holds Up

The new 12-week split-face trial out of Seoul (n=84) found bakuchiol 0.5% produced a measurable, if modest, improvement in fine lines and pigmentation when applied nightly. It does not match a 0.025% tretinoin in head-to-head endpoints, but it does so with a fraction of the irritation. For people who genuinely cannot tolerate retinoids, it is the most defensible alternative on the shelf.

Bottom line

Real molecule, modest endpoints. Use as a tolerance bridge — not as a like-for-like retinoid.

Verdict № 02

Tier D

Bakuchiol as 'pregnancy-safe retinol'

Misleading

We have re-graded this one. The framing — that bakuchiol matches a retinoid in efficacy and is therefore the pregnancy-safe choice — survives only if you ignore the comparator dose used in the original trial. The Seoul data sharpens the disagreement: at the doses studied, bakuchiol underperforms even low-strength retinoids on most endpoints. Pregnancy-safe? Yes. Retinol-equivalent? No.

Bottom line

Safe in pregnancy. Not equivalent to a retinoid. Stop conflating the two.

Bakuchiol 0.5% nightly

Bakuchiol as 'pregnancy-safe retinol'

Once a fortnight. Never a sell.