Skin Cycling – THE skincare trend of the moment

Skin Cycling is the newest rave for you skincare enthusiasts to try out a regime which is packed with the most potent active ingredients. To know how it’s done the right way and who should definitely opt out of this power race, keep on reading. Across all social media platforms, skin cycling pops up every now and then. If you want to or not: It’s a thing!
Consistency will be key here as this will be a retreat and reset for your skin. It will allow your skin to rest for a couple of days after using strong active ingredients. This will allow you to maintain a healthy skin barrier and minimize skin irritation.

So what exactly is skin cycling?

Skin cycling has been around for quite some time now. It has been introduced and practised by dermatologists and aestheticians for years already. A visit to a doctor’s office can, at times, be more fruitful than trying endless home remedies. Especially if you aren’t aware that your skin condition might require medical treatment. Skin cycling will be great for your wallet as it will require less product of your active ingredients. It can make them work better as they won’t be applied on the same day. This will help you to avoid trouble while mixing your favourite lotions and potions since this is a minimalist skincare approach.

How to implement skin cycling with Face Yoga

The active ingredients used for skin cycling are best to be applied during the night. Your skin gets potentially a bit more delicate and sensitive which you need to expect.

1st Night: Exfoliation

We only recommend using exfoliating active ingredients, such as your acids. Facial scrubs will compromise your skin barrier and might even hurt your skin due to microscopic cuts – just toss them in the bin once and for all. For the first two nights, it is best to avoid fragrance in your skincare and only use a gentle cleanser.

• cleanse/double cleanse if necessary
• pad dry
• apply your favourite AHA or BHAs (alpha hydroxy or beta hydroxy acids)
  this is the important first step of the skin cycle since this will prep your skin for the upcoming day
• don’t forget the neck, chest and back of your hands
• moisturise as per usual

Now you can start with the secret sauce: Facial Exercises
Since your skin will be more delicate, it is best to not cause too much friction. Facial massages are best to be kept to a minimum and you should focus more on facial exercises. The promoted blood circulation can make your active ingredients absorb even better and make them more potent overnight.

2nd Night: Retinoids

Retinoids are nothing to joke about which is why we recommend using less rather than more.
1 pea-sized amount for your face, another for the neck and two for the chest will be plenty. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, retinoids are obviously nothing for you or your newborn. Simply repeat the first night or replace it with glycolic acid. This however always needs to be confirmed and consulted by your doctor.

• cleanse/double cleanse if necessary
• pad very dry, retinoids will be otherwise too potent
• apply your retinoic product
  this is the important 2nd step of the skin cycle since this will benefit from the previous day as the skin barrier is freed of dead skin cells and impurities
• don’t forget the neck, chest and back of your hands
• moisturise as per usual

Focus again on facial exercises to make the most out of the retinoid. Avoiding massages will also prohibit the product from moving around and protects your delicate eye area.

3rd and 4th Night: Recovery with hydration

These 2 nights will help you to rebuild your skin barrier and microbiome with hydration and plenty of moisturiser. You want to skip all exfoliating acids and retinoids. Choose your hyaluronic acids and other humectants to attract as much moisture as possible.

• cleanse/double cleanse if necessary
• leave skin damp
• apply your humectant of choice
  traps and attracts moisture from the water on your skin and moisturiser
• don’t forget the neck, chest and back of your hands
• moisturise as per usual
  

Now is a great time to make use of facial massages in the recovery face where you can really massage all the delicious skincare and moisture into your skin. This will give your skin the care it needs right now as a gentle touch will get you far!

Caution must be taken

If you already have sensitive skin and know that exfoliating acids and/or retinoids aren’t your skin’s best friend, then this method might not be the one for you. However, consulting with a dermatologist there are a lot of possibilities to implement skin cycling into your regime. It really comes down to what active ingredients are recommended to level up or level down their potency and duration. In general, you don’t want to slug on days where you exfoliate or make use of retinoids. With occlusive layers, you are risking your skin to react with irritation and sensitivity. If your skin is already used to using retinoids on a daily, good for you! But you might not be able to benefit as much from this cycling method since your skin and microbiome are already adapted to a faster skin cell turnover and rehabilitation of the skin barrier.