SEPTEMBER 2019 34 SHAPE.COM
Portrait: Christian Blanchard/TheLicensingProject.combewaterproof
nature’s best SKIN SECRETS
Mother Earth can launch a tough attack on fine lines and dark spots.
Here’s why experts love the latest botanicals. By Victoria KirbyLONG BEFORE terms like vegan and
clean beauty were part of our vernacu-
lar, plant-based skin care was trending.
Moroccan women in 12 BCE slathered
their faces in argan oil to get a glow, and
rose water was the secret to radiance in
Turkey 2,000 years ago. Back then, the
only proof of plants’ complexion-boosting
powers was someone complimenting you
on your skin. Today scientific data shows
us that certain botanical ingredients can
smooth wrinkles, fade spots, and repair
damage. “Now that people want naturally
sourced products, skin-care brands are
more inclined to use these plant ingredi-
ents,” says New York City dermatologistskin smartRachel Nazarian, M.D. And doctors are
all for it. “There’s a perception that der-
matologists don’t like natural antiagers,
but we’re fans of any ingredient with
proven results,” says Shape Brain Trust
member Mona Gohara, M.D., a derma-
tologist in Connecticut. Here are the
latest botanical antiagers to earn our
experts’ enthusiastic green thumbs-up.Bakuchiol for fine
lines and spots
Probably the most repeated quote by der-
matologists: “Retinol is the gold stan dard
antiaging ingredient.” But doctors also
acknowledge that skin often can’t toleratethe notoriously irritating colla gen
booster. When a recent study pub lished
in the British Journal of Dermatolog y
showed that a gentle, vegan, plant-derived
ingredient called bakuchiol works as well
as retinol at reducing lines, dark spots,
and other signs of skin aging—without
causing irritation—the skin-care industry
noticed. “It’s the breakout star of naturals,”
Dr. Gohara says. “Before bakuchiol, there
weren’t a lot of natural in gredients with
scientifically backed antiaging claims.
This is a game changer.” Derived from the
Indian babchi plant, “ bakuchiol is anti-
bacterial and anti-inflammatory, and
it’s an antioxidant,” Dr. Gohara says. “It’s