The biggest trend in skin care right now isn’t an exotic facial or rare ingredient. In fact, it’s actually something you can start tonight (or at least, as soon as your latest order arrives). It’s called skin cycling and this innovative skin care approach is getting a lot of attention—and delivering impressive results.
In essence, skin cycling means using specific ingredients on certain nights, and giving your skin a chance to recover in between. This “schedule” allows you to reap the maximum benefits of active ingredients like retinol and exfoliating acids while minimizing the chance of irritation by giving the skin a break between applications. (It’s also ideal for those who have too many products to choose from and aren’t 100% sure what to use when). A typical skin cycling routine looks something like this:
- Day 1: Exfoliate
- Day 2: Retinol
- Days 3 and 4: Barrier repair
- [Repeat]
We chose one of our all-time favorite brands, SkinCeuticals, known for giving us some majorly incredible results, and put together a full skin cycling routine (with a bonus morning routine!) to show exactly how you can structure it for the best results.
When taking this approach to skin care, your nighttime regimen is where the magic happens. Focusing on one active ingredient per night prevents over-stressing your skin and allows it to reap the maximum benefits of each.
Here’s how we skin cycle with SkinCeuticals:
Night 1 (Exfoliation)
- Cleanse: Purifying Cleanser
- Serum/Actives: Blemish + Age Defense
- Moisture: Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2
