Bakuchiol comes from the seeds of babchi, Psoralea corylifolia, a plant with a long history in India. Ours is grown and extracted in Rajasthan, at around 430 m, and purified before it’s shipped to us.

It’s often called a plant alternative to retinol. The two are different molecules, and we don’t claim bakuchiol is the same thing. What it does well is help soften the look of fine lines while staying gentle enough for nightly use. We use it at 1% in the Bakuchiol Night Serum, with 5% squalane for a smooth, cushioned slip.

The honest detail is distance. Bakuchiol is the only key ingredient we import from outside Europe, and it travels about 6,000 km to reach our lab, farther than everything else on our list combined. We’ve looked for a closer source and haven’t found one yet. When we do, we’ll say so here.

The night serum also doesn’t come as a refill yet. We’d rather keep it in its original dropper bottle until we’ve tested a refill format we trust.