The research behind our Retinol Alternative Moisturiser

Every active ingredient in the moisturiser, the published research behind it, what that research measured, and what it doesn't prove. Written so you can judge it yourself.

Every ingredient discussed here is in the moisturiser. Not every study used the same concentration as ours, and we say so each time.

A moisturiser is the product you use most. It goes on every morning and every evening, often for years. So it's worth knowing what each ingredient in it is there to do, and how good the evidence for that really is.

This guide goes through the Retinol Alternative Moisturiser one ingredient at a time. For each, we say what was tested, on whom, what was found, and what the finding doesn't prove. Several ingredients are shared with our serum. Where we've already written about them in full, we summarise here and link to the longer version.

If you only want the product details, the moisturiser page has them.

01What is a retinol alternative moisturiser?

A retinol alternative moisturiser is a daily face cream that contains an ingredient chosen to work on the same skin pathways as retinol, without being a form of vitamin A. The idea is simple: many people want the smoother-looking, more even skin that retinol is known for, and a lot of them can't live with what retinol does in the first weeks.

Retinol itself is a vitamin A derivative. Skin converts it, in two steps, into retinoic acid, which binds to receptors inside skin cells and changes how they behave. That's why it works, and it's also why it irritates: the change is strong, and skin often responds with dryness, flaking, redness and stinging. Most retinol routines start slowly, stay at night, and ask you to buffer the product with a separate moisturiser.

A retinol alternative sidesteps vitamin A altogether. The best-known options are bakuchiol, from babchi seeds, and Bidens Pilosa, from a wild herb in the daisy family. Neither is vitamin A, neither is restricted under the EU's 2025 vitamin A rules, and neither needs an adjustment period. What differs is the evidence behind each, which is what the rest of this guide is about.

Putting the alternative into a moisturiser, rather than only a serum, has a practical advantage. A moisturiser is the one product almost everyone uses every day, morning and night. Consistency matters more than strength for most skin, and it's much easier to be consistent with a step you'd take anyway.

02Retinol cream vs retinol alternative moisturiser

If you're deciding between the two, the differences come down to evidence, comfort and how the product fits your day.

Retinol wins on evidence, and we won't pretend otherwise. If your skin tolerates it and you want the most proven option for visible lines, it's a strong choice, and our full retinol guide explains how to use it well. Where the alternative wins is in daily life: it goes on in the morning, it doesn't need a slow start, and it doesn't ask your skin to put up with weeks of discomfort before anything improves.

That trade-off is the whole reason this moisturiser exists. It's for the people who tried retinol, stopped, and still want a product in their routine that's built around the same idea.

03How we rate the evidence

Skincare research comes in very different strengths, and most product pages treat them all the same. We use four labels, strongest first.

None of these studies tested our moisturiser. They tested an ingredient, usually at a known strength in a different product. The only results for our exact formula are the consumer-perception figures in section 11.

04Bidens Pilosa, in depth

Bidens Pilosa, also called Black Jack, is a wild herb from the daisy family. Its extract contains phytol, a plant compound that the body can convert into phytanic acid. Phytanic acid is known to act on RXR receptors, one of the two receptor families that retinoids work through. That link is why it's sold as a retinol alternative.

05Sodium PCA

The outer layer of your skin holds water with a mix of small molecules called natural moisturising factor. PCA (pyrrolidone carboxylic acid) is the largest single part of it. Sodium PCA is its salt, and it draws water in the same way. Dry skin tends to have less of it.

06Hyaluronic acid, aloe and glycerin

These three are shared with our serum, and we've written about each in full in the serum research guide. Here are the essentials.

07Jojoba and the butters

Jojoba is second on the list, which makes it the main oil in the cream. It is technically a liquid wax, chemically close to the oils your skin produces, and it's the reason the moisturiser feels silky rather than greasy.

The murumuru and mango seed butters make it a cream and give it slip. We make no claim for them beyond comfort. There is more on these in the serum guide.

08Dipalmitoyl hydroxyproline

Hydroxyproline is an amino acid found in the skin's supporting structure. On its own it dissolves in water and doesn't sink into skin well. Joining it to two chains of palmitic acid makes it oil-soluble, and that is what dipalmitoyl hydroxyproline is. It sits ninth on our list, which is fairly high for an active.

09Alteromonas ferment extract

Some marine bacteria produce long sugar chains, called exopolysaccharides, to protect themselves. Fermented and purified, these form a thin, invisible film on the skin. Several different commercial ingredients share this INCI name.

10Vitamin C and E, honestly

You may see this moisturiser described elsewhere as containing vitamin C. It does, in a small way. The vitamin C is ascorbyl palmitate, an oil-soluble form, and it sits 27th of 39 ingredients, right after tocopherol (vitamin E). At that point on the list, both are there mainly to keep the plant oils from going off.

That is useful, and it isn't what a vitamin C serum does. We don't sell this as a vitamin C product and we don't claim brightening from it. The brightness figures in the consumer testing are for the formula as a whole.

11Testing on this exact formula

Everything above tests single ingredients. The only results for our finished moisturiser come from consumer-perception testing: people used it and rated their own skin.

Read the pattern rather than any single number. Comfort and hydration scored highest, which fits the strength of the evidence for the hydrators. Lines scored lowest and take longest, which fits the lab-only evidence for Bidens Pilosa.

12How to choose a retinol alternative moisturiser

The label "retinol alternative" isn't regulated, so products vary a lot. These six checks work on any brand, ours included. A good product should pass most of them.

Our moisturiser passes all six. The one thing it isn't is fragrance-free, and if you need that, it isn't the right product for you. You can check every claim above against the full formula on the product page.

13How to use it for the best results

Good ingredients only work if they're used consistently. This is the routine we'd suggest.

Warm a small amount between your fingertips and smooth it over your face and neck. A pea-sized amount is enough for most faces, and a 50 ml bottle lasts about two months used twice a day. If you use our Retinol Alternative Serum, apply it first and let it settle for a minute.

If your skin is reactive, patch test first: apply a little to your inner forearm once a day for five days. And judge it fairly. Hydration shows within days, texture over a few weeks, and fine lines take around twelve weeks with any product, retinol included.

Not sure whether you need the serum, the moisturiser or both? Our serum-or-moisturiser guide answers that in a few minutes.

14Who it suits, and who should skip it

It suits you if retinol left your skin flaky, tight or stinging; you want one moisturiser for morning and night; your skin feels dry or tight and you want comfort first; or you want to see every ingredient and allergen before you buy.

Skip it, or check first, if you need a fragrance-free product; you react to ragweed, daisies or chamomile, since Bidens Pilosa is in the same family; you're pregnant or breastfeeding and haven't asked your doctor; or you want a rich night cream for very dry skin. If you want the plant alternative with the strongest human evidence, read bakuchiol vs Bidens Pilosa.

15What it adds up to

This is a well-built moisturiser with strong evidence where moisturisers usually have it: hydration and comfort. On top of that, it carries a retinol alternative with a credible mechanism and early, lab-only evidence, plus two supporting actives whose evidence comes from their makers.

If you want the best-evidenced route to fewer visible lines, that is still retinol, and our retinol guide explains when it's worth it. If retinol didn't suit you, this is a gentle daily step you can use morning and night. If you're deciding between this and our serum, our serum-or-moisturiser guide will help, and bakuchiol vs Bidens Pilosa compares the two plant alternatives.

16Your questions, answered

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