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medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum ingredients: is it worth it?
A promising retinoid cocktail weakened by undisclosed concentrations, duplicate/inconsistent labeling, and unnecessary fragrance.
A promising retinoid cocktail weakened by undisclosed concentrations, duplicate/inconsistent labeling, and unnecessary fragrance.
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The efficacy score is 3.9/5: hydroxypinacolone retinoate appears in a meaningful mid-list position, while retinol, bakuchiol, retinyl linoleate, and retinyl retinoate occur much lower and may be present only at modest or trace levels. Niacinamide is placed early enough to plausibly support tone and barrier function, and the formula includes squalane, panthenol, humectants, cholesterol, linoleic acid, and ceramide NP. The reported pH near 6.3 is compatible with retinoid use but not optimized for acid exfoliation; the product also provides no verified concentration for the retinoids despite marketing a 1% Granactive Retinoid claim, which may refer to the ingredient solution rather than pure active. Fragrance adds irritation risk without improving treatment performance.
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DemythSkin rates medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum 3.9/5 for efficacy and 3.9/5 for safety.
CONTAINS COMMON SENSITISERS⌄
Fragrance components and essential oils that more often cause reactions in sensitive skin: Parfum, Fragrance (Parfum). Most people tolerate them; patch test if your skin reacts easily.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS BY TIER
Gold Standards
High clinical proof | Skin-transformativeReliable
Proven resultsPotent
Developing evidenceOverhyped | Marketing
Hype | Limited dataDocumented Irritants
Evidence-backed flagFORMULATION BASE (20)⌄
FULL INGREDIENT LIST⌄
Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Niacinamide, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Pentylene Glycol, Panthenol, 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol, Parfum, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Sucrose Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Allantoin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Disodium EDTA, Retinol, Bakuchiol, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Linoleic Acid, Cholesterol, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Ceramide NP, PPG-13-Decyltetradeceth-24, Retinyl Linoleate, Phytosteryl/Behenyl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Beta-Glucan, Aluminum/Magnesium Hydroxide Stearate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose Distearate, Silica, Isopropyl Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Tocopherol, Retinyl Retinoate, Tris(Tetramethylhydroxypiperidinol) Citrate, Benzotriazolyl Dodecyl p-Cresol, Xanthan Gum, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance (Parfum)
WHAT EACH INGREDIENT DOES (24)⌄
- Water
- Solvent
- Dipropylene Glycol
- Solvent and humectant
- Butylene Glycol
- Humectant and solvent
- Glycerin
- Humectant
- Propanediol
- Humectant and solvent
- 1,2-Hexanediol
- Solvent and preservative booster
- Niacinamide
- Vitamin B3 skin conditioner
- Coco-Caprylate/Caprate
- Light emollient
- Squalane
- Emollient and skin conditioner
- Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate
- Emulsifier
- Dimethyl Isosorbide
- Solvent and delivery enhancer
- Pentylene Glycol
- Humectant and solvent
- Panthenol
- Humectant and soothing agent
- 4-T-Butylcyclohexanol
- Sensory soothing agent
- Parfum
- Fragrance
- Hydrogenated Lecithin
- Emulsifier and skin conditioner
- Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
- Texture stabilizer
- Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
- Viscosity modifier
- Sucrose Palmitate
- Emulsifier
- Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
- Emollient
- Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate
- Retinoid derivative
- Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate
- Antioxidant stabilizer
- Tromethamine
- pH adjuster
- Ethylhexylglycerin
- Preservative booster
EXTERNAL CITATIONS
Retinol: Well-established topical retinoid for photoaging and texture
Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate: Retinoid derivative with more limited independent clinical evidence
Niacinamide: Well-studied multifunctional ingredient supporting barrier function and uneven tone
Ceramide NP: Barrier-supporting skin-identical lipid
DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. AI-GENERATED DATA BASED ON PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INGREDIENT LISTS. VERIFY WITH A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.
A cheaper serum that scores as high or higher
A different formula for the same concern (anti-aging) that scores at least as high on both efficacy and safety.
medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum: common questions
Is medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum worth it?
medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum scores 3.9 out of 5.0 for efficacy (Effective) and 3.9 out of 5.0 for safety (Gentle) on DemythSkin's independent ingredient analysis. A promising retinoid cocktail weakened by undisclosed concentrations, duplicate/inconsistent labeling, and unnecessary fragrance.
What are the key active ingredients in medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum?
medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum contains these gold-standard actives with strong clinical evidence: Retinol.
Does medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum contain fragrance or known irritants?
DemythSkin flags these ingredients in medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum as documented irritants: Parfum, Fragrance (Parfum). This product does contain fragrance.
How is medicube Deep Reviving Bakuchiol Retinol Serum scored?
DemythSkin grades every product on two independent scores: efficacy (whether the ingredients have clinical evidence of working) and safety (irritation and sensitisation risk). Ingredients are graded S through D against a database of over 3,000 compounds. Brand and price are not part of the score, and no brand pays for one.
Free scores for every product in the database, or see them on Sephora, Ulta and Amazon with the Chrome extension.