Why Skin Cycling Is Key To A Healthiest Skin

What is skin cycling.

Basically, skin cycling is a four-night skin care regimen meant to reset your skin and strengthen its barrier. You start with chemical exfoliation on the first night, retinol on the second, and spend the last two days “recovering” your skin.

While there’s nothing wrong with being skincare obsessed, haphazardly layering serum over active each night may cause chronic, low-grade inflammation. This can lead to increased sensitivity, break-outs, and might even accelerate the aging process. “As a dermatologist, I’ve treated thousands of patients for over a decade, and I find the biggest mistake people make when it comes to their skincare is neglecting to build in nights for their skin barrier to recover,” New York-based board-certified dermatologist Dr. Whitney Bowe says.

People love their powerhouse products–like exfoliants and retinoids–and often believe more must be better. However, their skin often tells a different story when they come into the office with irritation and inflammation.” 

To address this issue, she developed a strategic method called “skin cycling.” Dr. Bowe says the concept of cycling through skincare products at night had been evolving in her practice for a few years before she introduced it on social media. “The world of skincare was becoming needlessly complicated. After listening to my patients and examining how their skin was reacting to different routines, I saw the need to streamline their routine to optimize skin health,” she says. “The truth is you only need a few products used in a very deliberate way to drive amazing results.” 

Since introducing the clever concept on her TikTok and Instagram, “skin cycling” has become a trending topic (it currently has over 15 million hashtag views). Ahead, Dr. Bowe breaks down everything you need to know about the viral skincare technique.

Dr. Bowe says that if you want to level up your skincare game, you need to balance your active and recovery nights, which is the idea behind skin cycling (yes, she coined the phrase). With this strategic method, you’re setting up the actives in your products for success, driving the best results while minimizing irritation. She explains that it’s a four-night schedule; exfoliation night, retinoid night, recovery night, recovery night, repeat.

How It Works

The skin can tolerate the daily use of nourishing moisturizers and serums, but it’s a different story with potent actives. “When you increase the usage of acids and retinoids, you can damage the skin barrier,” Dr. Bowe explains. Giving the skin a break from nightly use of these ingredients allows the skin barrier to repair itself, inflammation to subside, and the skin to readjust to normal. Likewise, rotating ‘usage’ days enables the skin to make the most of these ingredients.

A Skin-Cycling Schedule.

Night 1:

Exfoliate washed skin by exfoliating with a chemical exfoliator, which allows the skin to make the most of the retinol.

If you want to reap the benefits of supercharged active ingredients without dryness and irritation, try adopting a skin-cycling schedule like this one.

Night 2:

Apply retinol or a retinoid. Dr. Bowe calls retinoids one of the most powerful ingredients in a cycling routine. “But if you use them too frequently or layer them with other irritating ingredients, you can end up with inflammation.”

Nights 3 and 4:

Recovery. On these nights, skip retinol and reach for products containing nourishing and skin barrier-rebuilding ingredients, like squalene, shea, ceramides, and probiotics.

On night 5,

start all over again with night one.

What To Expect.

Decreasing your application of retinol and acids gives the skin the sigh of relief it may need. “The skin often looks more hydrated and less red and irritated,” Dr. Loss adds. And unlike other skin-care practices, skin cycling doesn’t take months to see a difference. “In two cycles, your skin will start to have a healthy glow and overall radiance. Any redness, blotchiness, stinging, or burning should improve,” Dr. Bowe shares. “After two months, fine lines and wrinkles will be less noticeable, and the skin should be firmer, brighter, and more even in tone.”