- Skin cycling is a viral TikTok skincare trend, but it's actually been around for a while.
- It's a four-day routine, plus two "recovery" days without products like retinol or exfoliants.
So many TikTok skincare trends these days take a more-is-more approach. Take slugging, skin flooding, and 12-step routines — all involve lathering products onto your face.
In theory, a heavy-duty approach helps to offset dry winter skin and also mitigates irritation from effective but harsh products like retinol.
But these routines can be time-consuming, and it's easy to clog your pores if you don't take care.
Now, TikTokers are taking a more strategic approach by skin cycling, where you give your face a break from more intense skincare products. Professional dermatologists and beauty influencers are swearing by the routine as a way to rejuvenate skin.
How skin cycling works
While this trend blew up on social media recently — the hashtag has over 250 million views on TikTok — "its concepts have been around for many years," said Dr. Annie Chiu, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of The Derm Institute.
Chiu explained that "active skincare" products, like exfoliators or retinoids, can have a sensitizing effect.
By skin cycling, Chiu said, you are carving out "rest days for the skin to recover."
According to Chiu, this process can not only help prevent inflammation or irritation, but also improve your skin's tolerance to the products over time.
How to skin cycle on a 4-day routine
To properly skin-cycle, Chiu said you should follow a four-day schedule. Here are her tips, including products, with which she has no affiliation.
Day 1: Exfoliation. Using a gentle exfoliant to avoid "avoid accidentally over-exfoliating and damaging skin," according to Chiu.
Chiu recommended using Tatcha's The Rice Polish: Deep as it "doesn't tear the skin" but still leaves it soft and supple.
Day 2: Retinoid application. Chiu said prescription retinol from your dermatologist is the most effective, and should already be used every other day at first to "build tolerance and prevent over-drying."
Her over-the-counter recommendations are La Roche Posay Adapalene Effaclar Gel as a great "starter retinol" and Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Oil as a gentler option.
Days 3-4: Recovery (in other words: lots of moisturization). According to Chiu, you should really focus on deep moisture, so "look for not just regular moisturizers, but products to repair and improve the skin barrier."
For instance, she recommended the Eve Lom Moisture Mask as a lightweight but "intensely moisturizing product," the Laneige Cica Sleeping Mask to "reestablish the skin health barrier," and Element Eight O2 Squalane Repair Protect Cream as a healing moisturizer that aims to repair dehydrated skin.
The takeaway
Overall, skin cycling benefits range based on skin type. According to Chiu, people who have been using retinol more often and tolerating it well might benefit from a "more advanced" form of skin cycling using active ingredients more often — for example, just swapping out retinol with a rich moisturizer on days you feel dry.
But if you have sensitive skin and feel like your skincare routine leaves you consistently flakey, skin cycling can be a great, luxurious way to give your face a much-needed rest, Chiu said.