Bakuchiol: The Natural Retinol Alternative

Beautycounter Anti-Aging Countertime

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love Beautycounter. I’m 100% behind their mission to get safer products into the hands of everyone and advocate for more health-protective legislation across the beauty and personal care industries. Beautycounter has always been ahead of the pack with their innovative, non-toxic formulas in the clean beauty movement. Well, they’ve just launched their newest anti-aging line, Countertime, with the next big clean beauty ingredient, Bakuchiol, that is going to have you hooked!

Bakuchiol is an ingredient that is going to change the clean beauty industry and could be the biggest thing since the introduction of retinol, only better! Before we get into what Bakuchoil is, let’s talk about retinol and why it has been considered questionable.

What is Retinol?

Retinol has been known as the wonder anti-aging ingredient and is a derivative of vitamin A. It can help a variety of skin conditions from acne, uneven skin tone to fine lines and wrinkles. It speeds up cell turnover and increases collagen production, which reduces the appearance of existing wrinkles and helps prevent new ones.

Why is Retinol Controversial?

Studies have shown that retinol can have harmful side effects, including being a skin irritant and making the skin more sensitive to the sun’s damaging rays. The European Union and Canada have both restricted the use of retinol because the ingredient has shown to have evidence of being a danger to human health and the environment. The EWG database has assigned retinol, and it’s derivatives, a rating of a 9 on its hazard scale.

Bakuchiol

If you’ve never used retinol products because of the above facts, enter Bakuchoil!

What is Bakuchiol?

Bakuchiol is a plant-based ingredient that mimics the effects of retinol but without the side effects and one of the few retinol-like products that is backed up by clinical trials on speeding up cell regeneration. It stimulates the production of collagen and works tosmooth, firm and improve your skin’s elasticity. It also soothes and reduces the appearance of blemishes. It’s as effective as retinol in targeting fine lines and wrinkles, uneven skin tone and acne, but is less irritating to your skin. And where retinol can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, Bakuchoil helps to make your skin less sensitive to the suns harmful rays.

Bakuchiol vs. Retinol

RESULTS	BAKUCHIOL	RETINOL
Reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles	✓	✓
Skin looks plumper	✓	✓
Evens skin tone	✓	✓
Skin looks brighter, glowing, radiant, and luminous	✓	✓
Skin texture looks and feels smoother	✓	✓
Skin looks and feels firmer	✓	✓
Minimizes the appearance of pores	✓	✓
EWG\|Skin Deep® Score	1	9
Safer to use while pregnant and nursing	✓	X
Safe to use during sun exposure	✓	X
Non-irritating	✓	X

Countertime Anti-Aging Line

Beautycounter’s new Countertime line’s key ingredient is a plant-derived Retinatural Complex made from Bakuchiol, and Swiss Alpine rose. And it’s in every product in this line! Bakuchiol, from the babchi plant, is indigenous to India and China and has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese skin-care remedies. Swiss Alpine rose is a unique ingredient which grows at the highest altitudes of the Swiss Alps. It is renowned for its remarkable ability to protect itself against dehydration and other environmental stressors. It promotes a healthier skin barrier, visibility plumps, and firms skin and improves resilience!

I’ve only been using the Countertime line for 2 weeks, but so far, I love it! You can purchase the entire line as a set or individually. Sometimes product lines have their key ingredient in just one or two of their products. What I love most about Countertime is that every product in this line uses their Retinatural complex of Bakuchoil and Swiss Alpine rose!

Bakuchiol: The Natural Retinol Alternative

What’s in the Countertime Line?

Countertime Lipid Defense Cleansing Oil

Inspired by Asian beauty rituals, this luxurious, lightweight
cleansing oil gently yet effectively removes makeup and
other impurities without stripping essential lipids from your skin.

Countertime Mineral Boost Hydrating Essence

Lightweight but deeply nourishing, this milky moisturizing
essence delivers vital nutrients to the skin’s moisture
barrier—instantly boosting hydration and radiance.

Countertime Tripeptide Radiance Serum

This transformative rejuvenating treatment visibly increases
skin firmness and elasticity, while reducing the look of fine
lines and wrinkles.

Countertime Antioxidant Soft Cream

This velvety, revitalizing cream improves skin’s barrier
function and boosts hydration, which helps protect it from
daily environmental stressors.

Countertime Tetrapeptide Supreme Cream

Supremely rich and deeply hydrating, this cream supports
elasticity and visibly firms while smoothing skin texture to
minimize the look of fine lines and wrinkles.

Countertime Ultra Renewal Eye Cream

This high-performance eye cream revitalizes the eye area
and reduces the appearance of under-eye shadows and crow’s
feet for a smooth, firmed look.

Bakuchiol: The Natural Retinol Alternative

To Sum it Up

Beautycounter’s Countertime line is suitable for anyone who is looking to add anti-aging to their skincare routine. Countertime is formulated for all skin types, but best
results are achieved on mature and dry skin types.

The Countertime line is priced a little bit higher than Beautycounter’s other lines. Four of the six products have larger fills, and each product in the line is designed to last about 10 – 12 weeks. Beautycounter offers free 60 day returns with no questions asked. Skincare is a huge investment, and I love that you can try the products and return them free of charge if you do not like it!

Like any product line, it works best as a complete regime. But, if I were to invest in just one product, it would be the serum. Serums penetrate deeper into your skin and boost the hydrating effects of your moisturizer.

The last thing I want to mention about the new Countertime line is that they have moved from plastic packaging to glass. It’s not only beautiful, but it’s also a more sustainable material. Transitioning the Countertime line from plastic to glass will
reduce the line’s greenhouse gas footprint by an estimated 38%!

I know that was a lot of information! I hope you are excited about Bakuchiol and Beautycounter’s new anti-aging line! If you have any questions, I’m happy to help!

Beautycounter Countertime Anti-Aging