What is Skin Cycling and Why Is It Better Than Your Current Skincare Routine?

#SkinCycling is SkinTok’s newest craze, the term is coined by Dr. Whitney Bowe, author of The Beauty of Dirty Skin, - a strategic, four-day technique for alternating through your nightly skincare routine, to minimise irritation, creating a ‘less is more’ approach.

How does it work?

Dr. Bowe, recommends a classic four-night cycle, where the first night is exfoliation. After cleansing and patting dry, use a gentle leave-on exfoliator, which will be more effective than a wash-off exfoliator, and exfoliating acids are known to be more gentle for the skin barrier than scrubs. If your exfoliator burns, wash it off right away, but if it tingles you can keep it on and pop a cream on top.

Night two, she recommends, as Retinoid night. After cleansing, drying is a must, as damp skin can drive irritation. If you have sensitive skin and you’re starting your retinoid journey, it’s recommended to put a cream on prior on your cheekbones, under your eyes, on the corners of the nose, the marionette area, and your neck. These areas are particularly sensitive to retinoids and your cream will work as a barrier so that when you use your retinoid, you won’t get as much dryness and irritation in those areas. Less is more Dr. Bowe recommends, with one pea-sized amount of retinoid should cover the entire face. If after a minute or two, skin continues feeling tight or dry, you can use a light layer of moisturiser on top (which is called the sandwich technique).

Nights three and four are all about recovery. On those nights, after cleansing, you can leave the skin a little bit damp and you can put on a hydrating serum - something that includes hyaluronic acid, glycerin, niacinamide, and a nourishing cream on top to rebalance the skin’s microbiome. If your skin still feels tight or dry, patting a little pit of oil on top should make it feel as good as new.

What’s next?

Once you’ve been skin cycling for at least a month, and you no longer experience redness, itching, peeling or irritation, stinging or burning, you’re ready to take your skincare game up a notch.

You can begin by stopping to apply the first layer of your retinoid sandiwch. That is, if you’ve been applying a moisturizer or hydrating serum first underneath your retinoid, you are ready to drop this step. Apply the renoid directly onto clean, dry skin. This way you’ll be getting a more poweful dose of the retinoid diving into your skin and you can keep putting your moisturiser on top.

You can also drop one of your recover nights, to turn your skincare into a three day cycle - exfoliation; retinoid; recovery - repeat. Before you do this, make sure your retinoid is backed by clincial studies like Kiehl’s Retinol Fast Release Wrinkle-Reducing Night Serum to ensure that your retinoid is stable and effective.

If your skin conitnues thriving in your cycle, you can add another retinoid night, to change your routine to look like this - exfoliation; retinoid; retinoid; recovery - repeat.