The Best Retinol Alternatives For Pregnant Women

Whether it’s ‘glass’, ‘dolphin’ ‘dewy dumpling’, ‘glazed donut’, or whatever the latest animal/mineral moniker is, ‘glow’ has become a modern-day beauty phenomenon. And trying to find that glow with a retinol alternative can be tough.

But when it comes to pregnancy, our pre-occupation with glow precedes even Hailey Bieber et al. “You’re glowing” is largely presumed to be the ultimate pregnancy compliment and whilst on the surface it’s definitely preferable to any comment relating to bump size (however well-intentioned) it can also leave those of us whose glow got up and left for nine months feeling a little… lacking (between 2am ‘Snoo’ searches, pre-pregnancy insomnia and hormones not willing to play complexion ball, my skin had never looked worse).

My usual port of call during times when my skin feels a little ‘meh’ would be to undergo a retinol re-boot (alongside some AHA action). Whilst it’s not something I use all the time (being a beauty editor with a LOT of product to test, I tend to dabble with peptides for the summer and retinols for the winter) it is undoubtedly amongst my arsenal of transformative products, being unequivocal in its anti-aging prowess.

But whilst it may widely be regarded as the undisputed gold-standard in dermatology, retinol is also not recommended during pregnancy; something my fellow skincare obsessives bemoaned more than having to relinquish sushi and alcohol. Having honed their routines and put in their time (retinol after all requires some commitment before it reaps results) they quite simply weren’t prepared to drop the ball for nine months hoping that mother nature would do the job for them.

“Retinoids are vitamin A-derived ingredients,” explains Dr Nina Naidu, NYC board-certified plastic surgeon and founder of Anokha Skincare. “Vitamin A has been shown to produce birth defects (including cleft lip and palate) when ingested in large amounts by pregnant women. Whilst studies have found that vitamin A levels in the bloodstream remained unchanged even after repeated applications of Tretinoin (aka retinoic acid), given the risks, it’s strongly recommended that retinols not be used during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.”

So what is the alternative and does anything actually compare to the skincare superhero? The answer it seems is bakuchiol; a skincare ingredient found in the leaves and seeds of the Psoralea corylifolia plant which is not only considered safe for pregnant women unlike retinol it’s widely tolerated.

Why Bakuchiol?

‘Retinol alternative’ is a phrase bandied about by the beauty world in our perennial pursuit of glow yet few are able to rival its anti-aging results. However, a recent study by the British Journal of Dermatology found that bakuchiol is comparable with retinol in its ability to improve photoaging and blitz wrinkles.

“Although bakuchiol does not resemble retinoids at a structural level, it's very similar in terms of its effects on anti-ageing genes and proteins,” says Dr Naidu. “Bakuchiol has been shown to stimulate key anti-ageing genes, extracellular matrix genes, and dermo-epidermal junction genes and when studied head-to-head, it acts as well as retinoids in the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles and actually demonstrates superior performance in skin brightening.”

Any other contenders for retinol alternatives?

“Other natural alternatives to retinoids include NovoRetin, which is derived from the mastic tree and algae but Bakuchiol has the most data in terms of its properties and effects,” says Dr Naidu. Azeleic acid is often touted as a viable rival, yet as Dr Naidu explains, it does not actually have retinol-esque properties and is more of a hydroquinone alternative thanks to its ability to tackle skin pigmentation.

What strength do I need?

Pure bakuchiol has been found to be most effective at a strength of 0.5-1%. “This is quite different from babchi oil, derived from the same plant, which is a carrier oil and can be used up to 100%,” explains Dr Naidu. “Babchi does have a very small level of bakuchiol but it's generally too low to have clinical efficacy so for this reason, I always recommend using a product which contains pure bakuchiol.”

Shop the best editor-approved bakuchiol products

Cassie Steer is acting head of beauty at Grazia with over 25 years’ experience on women’s glossies. She previously served as Beauty Director at Instyle and beauty editor at Marie Claire and her work has featured in Stylist, Sunday Times Style, the Telegraph, net-a-porter.com, glamour.com amongst many more.