The Inkey List Bakuchiol Moisturiser is the product most UK shoppers actually mean when they search for a cheap bakuchiol serum. It is not a serum. It is a 30ml cream, usually £10–£13, with bakuchiol plus squalane, glycerin and sacha inchi oil. As a first, boring, one-step try, it has been one of the more sensible bottles on the high street.
Inkey's own site has, at times, said they don't currently stock a bakuchiol. Ranges get refreshed. The moisturiser has still been widely sold through Boots, Lookfantastic and similar, and leftover stock turns up. If you find it, this is what you're buying. If you don't, the UK round-up has the substitutes (Bybi drops, a 1% Superdrug cream, Medik8 if you're spending).
What's in it
The formula is short, which is the point of Inkey. Water, squalane, glycerin, propanediol, sacha inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) seed oil, a couple of emollients, bakuchiol, then the usual preservative and texture system. Fragrance-free.
They have not always printed a percentage on the front like a 1% acid serum. You're buying "bakuchiol is in here" rather than a disclosed clinical 0.5% twice-daily study replica. That's normal for this price. It is also why you should not expect Dhaliwal-study identical results from a moisturiser whose job is also to feel nice.
Sacha inchi and squalane are the slip. They make the cream feel more like a treatment lotion than a thick night cream.
Texture and how it wears
Lightweight, slightly silky, not a gel, not a balm. A blueberry-to-pea amount for face and neck, as Inkey have described it. It sinks enough for daytime if you don't slather.
Dry and normal skin tend to like it as the whole moisturiser step. Oily skin may want less, or may find squalane plus seed oil a bit shiny by lunch. In that case this is the wrong texture, not proof that bakuchiol failed.
Under SPF it behaves like any mid-weight cream: fine in a thin layer, pilling if you use too much or chase it with a silicone-heavy sunscreen too fast. Wait a minute.
At night it's enough for many people. Very dry faces will still want a richer bland cream on top in winter. You do not then also need a bakuchiol oil. One product.
Morning use is fine. How to use bakuchiol still applies: it is the moisturiser slot.
Who it's for
- You want bakuchiol without a £55 serum.
- You like short INCI lists.
- You want a one-step moisturiser rather than drops.
- You're a beginner or sensitive and you're not ready for retinol.
Who should skip it
- You need 50–100ml of cream to get through the month. 30ml is a treatment size. Cost-per-ml is less cute once you notice.
- You wanted a watery serum under makeup. Buy Medik8 Bakuchiol Peptides or mix Bybi into a gel cream.
- You cannot use oils comfortably.
- Your actual goal is wrinkles or acne at retinoid level. Bakuchiol vs retinol still goes to retinol. This cream will not close that gap.
- You thought it was The Ordinary. Different brand. Ordinary still has no bakuchiol.
Don't use it as a buffer under Paula's Choice 0.3% retinol + 2% bakuchiol thinking more bakuchiol makes retinol kinder. That's extra product, not a strategy. If you use the Paula's Choice, a plain moisturiser on top is enough.
Results, honestly
Give it eight to twelve weeks. Immediately: less tightness, a bit of glow, because it is a moisturiser. Later: maybe slightly smoother-looking texture if bakuchiol is going to show on you.
It will not treat acne. If that's the problem, this can be your cream while azelaic acid or a BHA does the job.
Patch test anyway. Plant actives and seed oils are still ingredients.
If the tube disappears from shops, Bybi's 1% booster in squalane is the closest "add bakuchiol to whatever cream I already own" move. A bigger 1% high-street cream is the closest "just give me a tub" move.
The verdict
A good budget UK bakuchiol cream for people who want the ingredient without a performance. Small tube, honest texture, modest active. Buy it to simplify. Don't buy it to beat a retinoid, and don't hunt a serum version from Inkey that isn't this jar.
References
Dhaliwal S, Rybak I, Ellis SR, et al. Prospective, randomized, double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing. Br J Dermatol. 2019;180(2):289-296. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29947134/)
FAQs
Is The Inkey List Bakuchiol a serum?
No. It's a 30ml moisturiser. Searches call it a serum because that's how the category is named.
How much is The Inkey List Bakuchiol Moisturiser?
Typically around £10–£13 in the UK. Prices move with offers.
Can I use it morning and night?
Yes, if your skin likes it. SPF in the morning.
Is it good for sensitive skin?
It's a reasonable first try: fragrance-free, simple. Still patch test. If you're mid-flare, repair the barrier first.
What if I can't find it in stock?
Use a bakuchiol booster in squalane or another 0.5–1% cream. The ingredient is not exclusive to Inkey.