Let's Unpack This Whole Skin Cycling Thing

Hint: it’s a clever name for a genuinely good approach.

- Lauren Bal Samo

If you have been on social media even once in the past month, you have likely stumbled across the very buzzy beauty term (at press time, #SkinCycling had a casual 200 million views). Coined by derm Whitney Bowe, MD, it describes a repeating four-night skincare regimen in which you rotate between an exfoliator, a retinol, and a moisturiser.

The goal: to both plumpify and glowify your skin—without going overboard. Because too much of these active ingredients can be, well, too much. “AHAs, BHAs, retinol... they are all fantastic at brightening, clarifying, and smoothing skin,” says dermatologist Dan Belkin, MD. “But they can be irritating if misused.”

Skin cycling’s controlled, step-by-step approach lets you incorporate the good stuff into your routine without compromising your skin barrier. And also, it’s kind of fun? (Just us type As?)

So anyway, yeah, it’s official: the Internet is onto something with this one. Direct your attention to the right to get started.

NIGHT 1

Exfoliate With Acids