There's a plant called Babchi. It grows in India, where it's been used in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine for centuries — prized for its ability to heal, renew, and protect skin.
For most of its history, it sat quietly in the background of traditional herbalism. Then scientists started paying attention to the active compound it produces: Bakuchiol. And the skincare world has been somewhat obsessed with it ever since.
What Bakuchiol Actually Does
Bakuchiol is often described as Plant-Powered Retinol — and the comparison is apt, because it delivers many of the same results: it smooths the appearance of fine lines, supports the skin's collagen production, improves skin tone and texture over time.
The difference is how it gets there. Traditional retinol works by rapidly accelerating cell turnover, which is effective — but also irritating, particularly for sensitive skin. It also makes skin photosensitive, which is why most retinol products are strictly for night use.
Bakuchiol doesn't do any of that. It achieves similar results through a different mechanism, without the irritation, without the sensitivity, and — crucially — without the restriction on daytime use. That means it can go into an SPF. Which means you can protect and improve your skin in a single step.
Why Winter Is the Best Time to Start
Skin tends to be more receptive to actives in winter. You're spending more time indoors, the air is drier (which means skin is working harder), and there's genuinely more inclination to commit to a morning routine when it's cold outside and you're not racing out the door in a sundress.
Starting a Bakuchiol habit now also means you're ahead of the game by spring. Collagen-supporting actives work over time — the longer you use them consistently, the more visible the results. August is a good month to start.
New Zealand also has a particular reason to think about this: our UV environment is harsher than most countries at similar latitudes, which means more cumulative skin damage over a lifetime. Anything that actively supports skin repair while protecting it is doing double duty here.
The COOLA Firming Face Oil SPF 30
COOLA's Firming Face Oil SPF 30 is where this all comes together. It's an organic, ultralight facial oil with Bakuchiol at its centre, supported by Sea Buckthorn, Kalahari Melon, and Moringa Seed oils for deep nourishment, and Vitamins C, D, and E for antioxidant defence.
It also carries COOLA's BlueScreen® Digital De-Stress™ Technology — protection from blue light and environmental stressors layered in alongside the SPF 30. The texture is the thing that surprises people. It's genuinely light — not greasy, not heavy — and absorbs in a way that makes skin look more awake rather than coated. A few drops pressed into cleansed skin in the morning is all it takes.
Plants have been doing this work for a very long time. We're just finally formulating them properly.
Shop the Firming Face Oil SPF 30 here
