Three are lots of exciting beauty buzzwords out there at the moment, but undoubtedly one of the ones we at Absolute Collagen are most excited about is bakuchiol. When it comes to skincare and anti-aging, bakuchiol is the new kid on the block. But what actually is bakuchiol, what benefits can it offer you - and how are you supposed to pronounce it?

What is Bakuchiol?

Bakuchiol (pronounced buh-koo-chee-awl) is a plant-derived alternative to retinol, an ingredient commonly used in fighting signs of aging and skin damage. While retinol is a synthetic chemical compound, bakuchiol comes from plants. Specifically, it’s extracted from the beautiful babchi plant, known for its striking purple flowers.

Bakuchiol is an antioxidant and has been used in Ayurvedic and Chinese skincare treatments for centuries. It offers many of the same skin benefits as retinol; it plumps the skin, reduces wrinkles, evens your complexion, minimises pores, and encourages the production of collagen - which is why we love it so much! In fact, we’ve made it one of the four powerhouse ingredients in our new collagen-boosting serum, Maxerum.

Does Bakuchiol Cause Side Effects?

Perhaps the biggest and most noticeable difference between bakuchiol and retinol is the side effects. Retinol is harsh on the skin and can cause skin sensitivity including peeling, redness and dryness, which particularly affects sensitive skin. It also makes skin increasingly vulnerable to sun sensitivity. For this reason, retinoid products are often recommended to be used only at night.

Bakuchiol, however, has none of these side effects - it just leaves your skin plumped and moisturised, which is great news for your skin and your daytime skincare routine. It can be used on all skin types; dry, oily, or sensitive, all types of skin can benefit from this handy little antioxidant. In fact, there are no known side effects of bakuchiol - and it’s safe for maternity use, too. Retinol is considered to have high levels of toxicity that can be damaging for pregnant and breastfeeding women, while bakuchiol is safe for everyday use during maternity.

Absolute Collagen Loves Bakuchiol

We only want the very best for our fabulous Absoluters, and one of Maxine’s mantras is that she would never put ingredients in her products that she wouldn’t be absolutely happy to use herself. So you can be sure that when we decided to include bakuchiol in our Maxerum serum, it was a decision based in science and a real vote of confidence in this nifty little plant extract!

Two years in development, Maxerum is the result of intensive research and testing. It has been clinically proven to reduce wrinkles by 18% and increase skin firmness by 28% in just 28 days - truly impressive results that we’re incredibly proud of. We carefully selected our four active ingredients: Matrixyl Synthe 6, Matrixyl 3000, hyaluronic acid and, of course, bakuchiol. Let’s have a look at these other ingredients below.

Matrixyl Synthe 6

We love this impressive ingredient for its powerful anti-aging properties. Matrixyl Synthe 6 smoothes skin from the inside out, working to rebuild skin and keep it looking plump and dewy. It does this by boosting fibroblasts, which create collagen, elastin and fibronectin in the skin. A study of Matrixyl Synthe 6 found that participants saw a massive 105% increase in fibroblast productivity! While collagen itself cannot be applied or absorbed topically (i.e through the skin), collagen-boosting ingredients like Matrixyl Synthe 6 are a great complement to our liquid collagen supplements.

Matrixyl 3000

Aging skin starting to behave like young skin again - sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be. Matrixyl 3000 is clinically proven to do just that - a study by Croda found that Matrixyl 3000 delayed photo-induced aging by 5 ½ years in just 3 months. It sounds like a little bit of magic but it’s just science - we absolutely had to include it in our serum!

Hyaluronic acid

Smoothing hydration with no oily residue? Yes please! That’s why we added beauty must-have hyaluronic acid to our serum, as we’re all about keeping your skin dewy and hydrated. Did you know - your body naturally produces its own hyaluronic acid in its skin cells to help the skin retain moisture? Topical application of hyaluronic acid - such as in Maxerum - can also help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, too - and who doesn’t love a well-hydrated glow?

Everything we do at Absolute Collagen has the wellbeing of our Absoluters at its heart. We’re transparent about our ingredients and we always keep things simple.

Now you know all about bakuchiol and the benefits it can offer your skin, why not treat yourself to great skin with our very own Maxerum serum? The two products are expertly formulated to work perfectly together - making them ideal for long term Absoluters and newbies alike! As with any new product, we would always recommend carrying out a patch test first.

As ever, if you have any further questions, please feel free to get in touch with our friendly team.