A comprehensive review of Herbivore Bakuchiol Retinol Alternative Smoothing Serum. Learn about the benefits of using this skincare treatment, how it works, and where you can purchase this product.
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Bakuchiol from Herbivore is a skincare treatment that can be used as an alternative to retinol for those who have more sensitive skin. It’s meant to smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while hydrating the skin.
The featured ingredients are babchi extract, polyhydroxy acid and tremella mushroom.
This product is rated a 4 on the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database website. Products rated between 4 and 6 are generally considered a moderate risk to your health. In this case it’s likely due to the possibility of allergies or irritation.
Herbivore was one of the first beauty brands to be considered clean and plant based. They are very ingredient-focused and hope that clean, sustainable beauty products continue to reach more and more people.
I hope to continue to review more of this product line.
Benefits of Bakuchiol
The benefits of this treatment may include:
- Decrease in fine lines and wrinkles
- Brightened skin
- Improved textured
- Hydrated skin
My Review
This review is based solely on my own personal use of the product over a period of time. In this case I used the product for about 3 weeks and will continue to use it until the bottle is gone.
I do also research other reviews and ratings to see if there are any other pros or cons to the product that come up often that may not have affected me.
My Skin Type
In general, I have normal to combination skin. While my facial skin isn’t sensitive at all, I do sometimes react to products on my neck.
I’m in my mid-40’s with only some fine lines around the eyes and some minor, but expected, loss of firmness.
How I Use Bakuchiol
I initially used this treatment every evening. I assumed that I wouldn’t have an issues due the fact that I can tolerate retinol well.
Unfortunately, after about 4 days, I had to change the way I use this product.
Upon first use, I really loved the way this serum felt on my skin. It’s kind of a slimy texture, but spreads really well. I wouldn’t say that it absorbs fully, but it does dry down quickly.
You can still feel it on your skin. I could even still feel it the next morning as I washed it off my face.
It really does leave your skin feeling very smooth. Initially, I would have said that it also left my skin feeling very hydrated, but after day 4 my skin was starting to really dry out.
I ended up having to skip two nights of using Bakuchiol. Instead, I used the Elemis Superfood Midnight Facial, which is a hydrating sleeping mask, for two nights in a row to try to get the moisture back into my skin.
So, it seems that like retinols, it’s best to use this product every other day and build up a tolerance and/or layer it with some extra moisturizer.
With all that said, I do feel the product is very effective and does an excellent job, especially at smoothing the skin. My lines are very fine, and I use retinols and similar products as more of a preventative treatment at this point, so I rarely see any change in those, which is good!
Cons
No one product is perfect for everyone. For me, the dryng effects seems to be an unlikely issue with this serum.
However, there were quite a few reviews arguing that this isn’t true bakuchiol. Herbivore agrees that the amount of actual bakuchiol in this product can vary since they use an extract of babchi.
They do not list a specific percentage of bakuchiol in this product. A 1% bakuchiol isolate is used for another product, Moon Fruit Serum, which I have not yet tried.
It’s quite possible I guess that my bottle was a higher percentage which led to the dry skin?
The only other complaint that I read was that some people had issues with breakouts when using this product.
A few reviews also mention the price. It’s definitely on the higher end for a 1 ounce bottle.
Where To Buy
Herbivore products aren’t as readily available as some other brands. You may be able to find this product at:
The price is listed as $56.00 for a 1 ounce bottle.
More Retinol Reviews
- The Ordinary Retinol 0.5% in Squalane Review
- Glow Recipe Avocado Melt Retinol Sleeping Mask Review : the mask is no longer available, but they do still have the eye cream from the same line. The mask worked so well for me, that I would assume the eye cream to be just as good, if not better.
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