Bakuchiol versus retinol for facial photoageing

Forty-four adults were randomly assigned to use either bakuchiol 0.5% cream twice a day or retinol 0.5% cream once a day for 12 weeks. Photographs were analysed automatically, and a dermatologist who did not know which cream anyone had used graded pigmentation and redness. Both groups improved significantly in wrinkle area and pigmentation, and the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. People using retinol reported more skin scaling and stinging. This is the only head-to-head comparison of bakuchiol and retinol that exists. Two things limit what it can tell you. The groups were small, so the study was never designed to demonstrate that the two treatments are equally effective — only to look for a difference, and none was found. And the creams were used at different frequencies, which makes a like-for-like comparison harder.