Most people are familiar with Retin A and retinol products playing a familiar role in a person’s skincare routine, especially the harsh consequences you may feel if you have sensitive skin when you start using them.
In fact, most sensitive skin people shy away from retinoid skincare products altogether, because even though they’re prescription strength and have great, time-tested clinical results for preventing wrinkles, the skin irritation – the peeling and burning and redness – are often just too much!
I understand… being a multi-decade long user of Retin A and retinols, it even makes wearing makeup difficult (before I found a natural solution to that problem here, that is). I MUCH prefer Retin-A’s plant-based, natural alternative, Bakuchiol. I prefer it so much so, that I developed a complex Bakuchiol cream with bakuchi oil as the main natural ingredient (and threw in that calming ingredient pearl powder that works so well for Retin A).
Do Bakuchiol Products Really Work?
Yes! Research has found that skincare products with bakuchiol as one of their active ingredients have the same effect as Retin A or retinols, with LESS inflammation, LESS redness, and LESS skin peeling – in fact, they found most people don’t even experience skin-peeling at all with bakuchiol cream or bakuchiol serum. The scientific reason behind why they found Bakuchiol is such a wonderful and gentle, natural retinol alternative is because it acts on the exact same cellular receptors as Retin A does. So it’s effectively doing the same thing, achieving the same anti-wrinkle results, just with a more patient, gentle, and skin-nourishing effect. This broadens the audience of who can use it, giving the sensitive skin types their chance to see anti-aging wins they weren’t able to before.
For those who still think it’s a hype, I’d say, “don’t knock it till you try it.”
Bakuchiol has been shown to —
- Increase cell turnover & collagen production
- Improve skin tone and skin texture
- Diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
And it does these things noticeably. When compared to other skincare ingredients, Bakuchiol is a potent antioxidant, visibly reducing discolorations in skin and fine lines and wrinkles. I was pleasantly surprised at how well our bakuchiol cream works even in the 1-2 weeks of using it. As a life-long Retin-A user that had to tip-toe my way around when I could use it, I LOVE that you can easily wear Bakuchiol cream 2x a day – morning and night – without all that awful skin-peeling and redness/burning and sensitivity. I’m tempted to say it almost makes Retin A obsolete, as more and more people are finding out that the harsh effects of prescription retinoids are now unnecessary.
We can get the same anti-wrinkle, my skin looks 20 years younger effect, from Bakuchiol cream.
What is Skin Purging Anyway?
Skin purging can happen anytime you introduce a new product into your skincare routine. In general, it means the product is working and doing its job.
What happens during a skin purge at a cellular level is:
- You add a new ingredient that speeds up cell turnover, causing your, “skin metabolism,” to get rid of old cells faster, while making new cells underneath at an increased rate.
- Any clogged pores, or even pores with minimal debris, get pushed up & accelerated which equates to a sudden appearance of white heads, black heads, and of course, pimples if they get infected
- Usually skin purging happens so quickly that some clogged pores will inevitably get infected, causing some temporary pimples
Skin purging tends to last as long as your skin needs to purge the clogged pores. This timeframe is typically 1-8 weeks – I know… that varies widely! Everyone’s skin is so unique, and a major factor in how it purges depends on how well they are already caring for it, therefore its purge will be unique to each person’s skin type, as well as how effective their skincare routine was before.
If one never used cleansers regularly before starting a new routine, and had 100’s of clogged pores beneath the surface, the purge will be THE PURGE, if you know what I mean. Clogged pores don’t always equate immediately to acne, so one can have clogged pores for years, and then suddenly see acne when they start a new bakuchiol product. This purging clears your pores out and gives you a new, fresh and radiant start.
Not all purges are the same though, most people experience dramatic skin purging effects when they first start up a Retin A or retinol treatment, along with the regular skin redness, sensitivity and peeling/flakiness Retin A already produces. As you can imagine, this hellish combination would of course make your purge a lot less enjoyable – and that’s an understatement! This is why we refer our sensitive skin customers to our own, science-backed formulation plant-based alternative – its more patient and nourishing, and the pearl powder addition actually helps to minimize redness.
Does Bakuchiol Make Your Skin Purge?
In short answer, yes, it definitely can. But just like Bakuchiol is overall more gentle, scientists have found that if your skin purges when you start using a bakuchiol serum or cream, it tends to have less harsh purge results than Retin A causes. Think 1-3 major pimples timed right after each other, rather than an entire face of break outs week after week. The purge may still be unpleasant, but it’s typically much less intense. This may be due to Bakuchiol accelerating the cell turnover process at a slower speed than retinoid acids, giving your skin more time to avoid or clear the debris that causes pimple infections. It may also help that Bakuchiol naturally has more antibacterial properties, helping to clear some of the pimple infections before they start. Bakuchiol’s success in quickly becoming the new star ingredient comes from it being plant-based and natural – of course the best way to resurface skin texture and minimize fine lines really does come straight from nature!
How can you tell the difference between Skin Purging & Break Outs?
Firstly, skin purging typically does cause your skin to have white heads, black heads, and even some pimples. Most people associate any pimple with calling it a, “break out,” however when most customers are asking this question of how to tell the difference between the two, what they really mean by, “break outs,” is an overall reaction more akin to your skin being too sensitive for a product or experiencing an allergic reaction. In the latter case, they want to know if they need to stop using it. Is it causing my face to break out?
Skin purging is just a skin purge of all the built up debris that hasn’t been cleared appropriately. It shouldn’t last longer than 8 weeks, and shouldn’t cause a rash, any itchiness, or trouble breathing or swallowing – all those symptoms would be termed, “causing your skin to break out in varying degrees (in a rash… in a reaction… or even an allergic reaction).”
It’s important to always do a patch test first, to look for any signs or symptoms of your skin reacting negatively. A patch test will let you know typically within the hour if you’re allergic to a product, and within the first 24 hours if your skin is having any of these negative side effects.
A bad patch test result would look like all or most of the skin within the patch you tested, red, bumpy, with a rash or even peeling. The skin purge shouldn’t start until after that first 24 hours, and would not cover all or most of the area you apply the product to. If your skin still looks normal at 24 hours, it is considered safe to use for your particular skin.
The Do’s & Don’ts of Bakuchiol Use
Do’s
- Do layer your Bakuchiol product with a Vitamin C serum. Bakuchiol and Vitamin C have been shown to enhance each other’s performance, increasing the benefits of both ingredients in resurfacing skin and fighting free radicals.
- Do combine your Bakuchiol product with a hydrating companion like hyaluronic acid or Squalane because these also increase Bakuchiol’s performance (again, our Eternite Elixir has Vitamin C & Squalane for maximum performance)
- Do combine Bakuchoil with salicylic acid, they’ve been proven greatly effective for acne-prone skin when working together
- Do use your Bakuchiol product 2x a day, morning and night. Because it is plant-based and natural, it doesn’t give your skin that same sensitivity to the sun like retinoids do.
- Do feel that awesome tingling sensation – it means your Bakuchiol product working immediately!
Don’ts
- Don’t combine Bakuchiol products with other chemical exfoliants like benzoyl peroxide, as the combination can be too drying and irritating. It can exfoliate enough on its own (and if you’re using our cleansing Pure Bar to wash your face, it already has natural lactic acid from goat’s milk, the gentlest exfoliant that doesn’t strip your skin due to the fatty acids and vitamins/minerals in goat’s milk)
- Don’t combine Bakuchiol with glycolic acid, it can degrade the glycolic acid, rendering it ineffective
- Don’t continue use if your skin shows any kind of harsh reaction. It should feel a light tingly sensation that shows it works immediately – not an itching or burning feeling that makes you have to wipe it off
While the world has known of Retin A and retinoid acids for decades, Bakuchiol is quickly becoming loved by our sensitive skin crowd. Instead of enduring the redness, flakiness or irritation, we’re chucking our Retin A for a better alternative – the gentle and soothing Bakuchiol.
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