About

HALENE makes one thing: bakuchiol-based skincare that aims for what retinol does, without what retinol does to you.

Why bakuchiol, not retinol

Retinol works. It also stings, peels, and makes a lot of people quit. Bakuchiol is a plant-derived alternative. In a 12-week trial, 0.5% bakuchiol was comparable to 0.5% retinol on the look of lines and pigmentation, with less irritation (Dhaliwal et al., 2019). We built the line around that finding. See the evidence.

Why the science

We won't invent proof we don't have. Our proof is the published research on every ingredient we use, cited in full. We say what each active can do, and what it can't.

What "made without" means

Our products are made without retinoids, fragrance, drying alcohols, parabens, sulfates, and phenoxyethanol. We don't call this "clean." Clean is a marketing word. We just tell you what is not in the bottle, and why.

Three products, on purpose

A serum, an eye cream, an overnight cream. One active across all three, at the right dose for each. We would rather make three things well than thirty things to fill a shelf.