Reviewed November 9, 2026

Bakuchiol vs Retinol: What the 2019 Trial Actually Compared

In the only head-to-head trial, 0.5% bakuchiol twice daily matched 0.5% retinol once nightly on wrinkle area and pigmentation over 12 weeks, with significantly less scaling and stinging. It was 44 people and one study, so retinol still holds the deeper evidence base.

Bakuchiol gets sold as retinol without the side effects, which is a claim that needs a trial behind it. There is exactly one head-to-head trial, and it is worth reading properly, because it is both more encouraging and more limited than the marketing suggests.

Dhaliwal and colleagues at UC Davis published it in the British Journal of Dermatology in 2019. Forty-four adults, average age 44, randomized to either 0.5% bakuchiol twice daily or 0.5% retinol once nightly, for 12 weeks. Neither group knew which product they had. Wrinkle surface area fell about 19% with bakuchiol and about 23% with retinol, a difference that was not statistically significant. Pigmentation improved similarly in both groups. The retinol group reported significantly more scaling and stinging.

What the trial showed, and what it did not

The headline result is real: comparable improvement in wrinkles and pigmentation, better tolerability for bakuchiol. The retinol group dealt with the familiar retinization pattern, scaling and stinging that peaked early, while the bakuchiol group reported only a slight, temporary increase in redness in the first month.

The limits are just as real. Forty-four people is small, and seven dropped out before the end. Twelve weeks is short for an anti-aging claim. The study measured clinical outcomes, wrinkle area and pigmentation scores, not biological changes like collagen production. And bakuchiol was applied twice a day against retinol once a night, so the bakuchiol group got more total applications. None of that invalidates the result. All of it limits how far the result travels.

Bakuchiol is also not a retinoid. It does not bind to retinoic acid receptors, the classical mechanism through which retinol works, even though it produces retinol-like effects on gene expression. That matters when someone asks whether bakuchiol replaces retinol for a specific condition. For photoaging in this one trial, the outcomes matched. For anything else, there is no head-to-head data at all.

Why retinol still wins the evidence argument

Retinol has decades of research behind it, across concentrations, vehicles, age groups and indications. Bakuchiol has about twenty clinical papers, most of them small. A 2026 review of seven clinical papers comparing the two found comparable wrinkle and pigmentation outcomes with better tolerability for bakuchiol, but every paper in that review was small and short. Promising is not the same as proven equal, and the gap widens the further you move from the single 2019 protocol.

Prescription retinoids sit above both. Tretinoin is stronger than over-the-counter retinol, and no study has compared it directly with bakuchiol. Anyone switching from tretinoin to bakuchiol is stepping down in potency on the basis of a trial that never tested that switch.

The honest ranking, then: retinol is the default for established anti-aging, with the deepest evidence. Bakuchiol is the credible alternative for people who cannot tolerate retinol, with one good trial and a strong tolerability story. Neither is the wrong choice. The wrong choice is picking one while believing the evidence for the other.

How to choose between them

Start with your tolerance history. If retinol has burned you before, scaling and stinging that never settled, bakuchiol at 0.5% twice daily is a reasonable first move, and the trial supports that dose and frequency specifically. If you tolerate retinol fine, there is no evidence-based reason to switch.

Do not mix the two on the same night at full strength and call it a routine. If you want both, use bakuchiol in the morning and retinol at night, or alternate nights, and give the combination eight to twelve weeks before judging it. Bakuchiol does not make skin sun-sensitive the way retinoids do, so it fits a morning slot without the sunscreen anxiety, though sunscreen stays non-negotiable either way.

Watch the concentration on the label. The trial used 0.5% bakuchiol. Many products on the shelf use 1% or 2%, and there is no trial showing that more is better or that it stays as gentle. The evidence is for the dose that was tested. Buy that dose, or accept that you are extrapolating.

Frequently asked questions

Is bakuchiol safe during pregnancy?

There is not enough large-scale safety data to call it definitively safe in pregnancy. Retinoids are avoided in pregnancy, and bakuchiol is often marketed as the pregnancy-safe alternative, but the dermatology reviews are consistent that the safety data is still insufficient for a firm claim. Ask your doctor rather than trusting a product page.

Can I use bakuchiol and retinol together?

Yes, and many formulas now combine them. The usual approach is bakuchiol in the morning and retinol at night, or alternating nights, rather than layering both at full strength. Introduce one at a time so a flare still has a clear suspect.

How long does bakuchiol take to work?

The trial measured results at 4, 8 and 12 weeks, with the clearest improvements at 12 weeks. Treat three months as the minimum fair trial, the same as retinol. Anything that promises visible change in a week is selling hope, not data.

Does bakuchiol cause purging like retinol?

Purging is not well documented for bakuchiol. The trial reported no significant adverse effects in the bakuchiol group beyond slight temporary redness in the first month, while the retinol group reported significantly more scaling and stinging. If you break out badly after starting bakuchiol, suspect the formula, not the molecule.