How to try the TikTok skincare trend 'skin cycling'

Dr. Renée Beach explains how to do 'skin cycling' 'Skin cycling' involves scheduling out skin-care products over multiple days, alternating the ingredients used.

After videos of “slugging”, where people covered their faces in petroleum jelly to increase hydration, and “face-tapping”, which involves individuals applying tape to their skin overnight to prevent wrinkles — a new skincare trend has gone viral on TikTok.

“Skin cycling” involves scheduling the use of skin-care products over multiple days, alternating the ingredients used, in order to achieve the best results, according to multiple videos on the topic. The hashtag for skin cycling has amassed over 188 million views on TikTok.

Dr. Renée Beach, a Toronto-based dermatologist, told CTV’s Your Morning Thursday that skin cycling is designed for people to use specific products on certain days.

“The benefits really are consistency,” she said. For people who have multiple products that target different concerns, not using those products in a frequent, regimented manner can mean that the best results aren’t achieved, said Beach.

The trend involves using products four days a week, cycling through different products each day, said Beach, and can involve using an exfoliator, retinoid, and then hydrating products for repair like niacinamide.

An example routine would be using an exfoliation product on night one, then using a retinoid product for chemical exfoliation for skin-cell renewal on night two, and then the hydrating products for nights three and four.

For acne-prone skin, prescription retinoid is the most important product in the cycle, as it's a vitamin-A derivative, said Beach. She recommends to rotate the retinoid product three nights a week, alternating every other day, and using a benzoyl peroxide product on three other days alternating.

One night a week can be a “rest” day, Beach said, suggesting improvements should be seen in eight to 12 weeks.

Those with sensitive skin should avoid products with too much fragrance and some natural ingredients, like camomile, she said. “Be more gentle with products, maybe using it every second night,” said Beach.

People with dry skin will benefit from products with hyaluronic acid in order to retain the skin barrier and maintain the barrier before using harsher products like retinoids that promote cell turnover, she said.

But skin cycling can cause irritation if the products are overused, she said. Retinoid or acids can cause issues for those with sensitive skin, she said.

“That day one to day two consecutive exfoliation could lead to redness, dryness, irritation and flaking and in deeper skin tones, hyperpigmentation,” she said.

Watch the video above for more