Matched 0.5% retinol on photoaging over 12 weeks with less stinging — Tara ships it at 1% (Dhaliwal, Br J Dermatol 2019).
A meroterpene from Psoralea corylifolia seeds that earned a randomised, double-blind head-to-head against retinol: equivalent improvement in wrinkle surface area and hyperpigmentation over 12 weeks, with significantly less scaling and stinging (Dhaliwal, Br J Dermatol 2019).
The mechanism: it upregulates retinoid-responsive genes — collagen I and IV, aquaporin-3 — without binding retinoid receptors (Chaudhuri & Bojanowski 2014; manufacturer-funded, disclosed).
What it does not do: bakuchiol is not a retinoid, and the head-to-head holds at 0.5% and above. Tara's Nourishing Dry Oil ships 1% — above the trial dose. If a formula ever dropped below 0.5%, we would soften the claim to retinoid-pathway support. A label is not a dose, and we write to the dose.
