Brands considering whether to use pure Bakuchiol are making a business decision. It's an expensive molecule. It's also thick, oily, and brown, making it tricky if a brand wants a particular look for the product.
Brands have to choose between using the best concentration for effectiveness and capitalizing on popularity (but keeping the concentration low enough to not worry about colour or aroma).
This isn't a criticism; the sensory aspect of luxury cosmetics cannot be denied. If a brand is trying to create a light, fluffy, pink masterpiece, that goal will influence whether or not they use a high concentration of brown oil.
When a product is marketed as "containing Bakuchiol," but the label says Psoralea corylifolia seed oil or (babchi) fruit extract, it contains traditional extracts. It doesn't have the concentrated, purified version of Bakuchiol.
This means the consumer might see results, but it's just as possible they will get no effect or even side effects from using an unpurified ingredient.
Another area where marketing can get confusing is with "active ingredients." We prefer terms like Functional and BioActive because they still convey meaning - that a natural product will provide visible improvements to the skin's appearance - without suggesting it will have the same potency as prescription or invasive therapies.
Since Bakuchiol is compared to retinol, new terms have emerged like: Bio Retinol, Phyto Retinol, and Botanical Retinol. These are unregulated marketing terms used to help a brand tell consumers what they are trying to sell, but there are no rules. We like the term Natural Retinol Alternative because many people want effects on skin tone, texture, or breakouts but can't tolerate the irritation of vitamin A derivatives.