Chances are, if you’re on the skincare side of TikTok, you’ll have heard of skin-cycling. But for those who haven’t, let us explain.
Skin cycling is a process that breaks up our old ideas of skincare routines and instead advocates for taking ‘rest’ days from certain types of products and using your skincare products in a more strategic way to align with your skin type and the problems you face (pun intended) whether it’s dry patches, spots, or irritation.
And dermatologists bloomin’ love it over on #skincaretok:
HuffPost UK spoke to Ridah Syed, Senior Medical Aesthetician at Skinfluencer London about this popular trend and he agreed that skin cycling is a winner.
He explained: “I love this routine as the whole purpose behind it is to protect the skin while keeping a consistent routine that yields rewards!
“It allows you to use brilliant, high-performance active ingredients safely and effectively such as retinol, exfoliating acids without compromising the barrier function or stripping the skin.”
He did add, though, that to get the best results you need to be consistent.
“Consistency is key – once you have kickstarted your skin cycling routine, for best results, you must continue it!” the expert says.
How To Do Skin Cycling
For skin cycling, you’ll need:
- An exfoliator such as glycolic acid or salicylic acid
- A retinoid such as retinol or retinaldehyde
- A moisturiser
To follow the trend, you exfoliate on the first night, use a retinoid on the second night, for the third and fourth nights you only moisturise as these are ‘rest’ nights and then repeat the cycle. You use moisturiser every night - as a final step or, on rest nights, the only step.
However, when we spoke to Dr Hiba Injiba, a Consultant Dermatologist at Dermasurge Clinic on Harley Street, London, she was concerned about people following the trend without understanding what their skin needs.
She urged people to choose the right active ingredients for their skin type before hopping on the trend adding: “A qualified consultant dermatologist can help create the correct, tailored skincare routine that addresses both sensitive skin and other skin concerns.
“It’s also essential to consult with a dermatologist or skincare professional if you have any concerns or questions about your skincare routine.”