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Bakuchiol vs Retinol

 

If you’ve been into Snap and had a facial treatment with us, you’ll know we always promote the use of Vitamin A (aka retinol) for a number of uses. Retinol is not only clinically proven to reverse the signs of ageing, it is also beneficial to tackle skin concerns such as acne and pigmentation, due to its ability to increase cell turnover.

There are, however, a few downsides to retinol due to its nature of sloughing off dead skin cells and encouraging the renewal of cells. This can lead to irritation if you have more of a sensitive skin type. It is also not recommended to use retinol whilst pregnant or breastfeeding, excessive amounts are known to interfere with fetal development and can lead to birth defects.

 

If you fall into either of those categories, you may want to consider using Bakuchiol.

 

Bakuchiol is a vegan skincare ingredient that accurately imitates some of the same results as retinol, without the irritation and reportedly, without risks to pregnancy or breastfeeding. The ingredient is found in the leaves and seeds of the Psoralea corylifoliaplant and has been widely used in Chinese medicine.

Similarly to Retinol, Bakuchiol has a range of anti-ageing benefits. It works by stimulating the production of collagen, therefore preserving the integrity of the skin. Bakuchiol is also said to reduce the appearance of UV induced damage like hyperpigmentation.

 

Bakuchiol may be particularly preferable to women of colour, or women suffering from dry skin. Bakuchiol is known to soothe and calm the skin, unlike Vitamin A which can cause inflammation and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation when overused by women with these skin types.

 

That being said, Retinol or Vitamin A is certainly not all bad. Vitamin A comes in varying forms, for example, Retinal, Retinyl Palmate and Tretinoin are all forms of Vitamin A. It is seen to be the current gold standard in skincare for exfoliation and anti-ageing.

 

If you’re wanting to see fast and visible results, but have slightly sensitive skin, we’d recommend trying Medik8’s Crystal Retinal 1. Retinal is known to be less of an irritant than traditional forms of retinol. It also has anti-bacterial properties, which is ideal for tackling breakouts and acne.

We recommend a gradual introduction to Vitamin A products, start off with using once per week at night only and gradually increase. Vitamin A also increases sensitivity to the sun, so we recommend to always use an SPF of at least factor 30 during the day.

You can shop Vitamin A products and Bakuchiol peptides, here