To think about skin cycling, let's use an analogy—your hair-washing regimen. Think about it this way: You probably don't wash your hair every day, because if you did, your hair would most likely become dried out and weak. Instead, you probably wash your hair every few days, and you probably only use certain products on certain days. For example, you're not going to do a super heavy hair mask on your first day of clean hair—unless you wash your hair every day, and if that's the case, you do you.
But for people who wait at least a day or two between washes, you know that you're going to instead do a hair mask on the day that you do choose to wash those luscious locks. That way, your hair soaks in the extra moisture, but the mask isn't sitting in your hair for days waiting to be washed out. The same can be said for a clarifying shampoo. You're most likely not going to use one every day.
Similar to your hair-washing routine, skin cycling follows a similar idea—you only use certain products on certain nights of the week. This way, you avoid layering skincare products you should never mix and your skin has time to fully reap the benefits. And in doing so, your skin will be glowing, clear, and in tip-top shape.
L'OFFICIEL breaks down skin cycling below.
And what should the typical skin cycling routine look like? Well, there isn't just one answer—because everyone's skin is different—but generally, it follows this four-day timeline: exfoliate, retinoid, recovery, recovery, and then repeat, according to Dr. Whitney Bowe, a dermatologist with over 397,000 TikTok followers. While your daytime routine can stay the same, the changes in your nighttime products are crucial.
Exfoliation night comes first. As usual, cleanse your face first. Once dry, use a chemical exfoliant product—not a physical face scrub. Follow this up, with your favorite moisturizer, and you're good to go.
On day two, begin by cleansing your face. Depending on your skin sensitivity or whether you've been using a retinoid, like tretinoin, or retinol, before, you can either apply a small amount of product directly to your face–or if you do have sensitivity, you can apply a thin layer of moisturizer on those sensitive areas beforehand, like under your eyes or on your smile lines, to decrease its strength. After that? Moisturize.
Day three and four, or recovery nights, are the final steps of the skin cycling regimen. As usual, first, you want to cleanse your face. Next, follow up with a hyaluronic acid serum. But to reap all of the benefits, make sure to apply the product to damp skin. Then, moisturize the face and finish up with an oil on top, per Dr. Whitney Bowe.
The result? Glowing, beautiful skin that looks like you just left an A-list celebrity facial spot. But in this case, you'll have the glow every day.
