Are you overwhelmed and frustrated trying to figure out what products to use when? Are you concerned about pairing your skincare ingredients properly? Is your skin easily irritated by retinol products? If you said yes, you need to hear about skin cycling.
What is Skin Cycling?
Skin cycling is the concept of alternating your nighttime skincare routines systematically to effectively integrate potent active ingredients or products, like exfoliants and retinol, without disrupting your skin’s barrier and managing unnecessary irritation.
Benefits of a Skin Cycling Routine
There are some ingredients that should only be used in your PM skincare routine, like exfoliants and retinol. However, these ingredients shouldn’t be used in the same routine as they can lead to irritation if mis- or overused. Furthermore, there are some people who may feel like they can’t use these ingredients at all because of the irritation they experience.
So how can we use these potent, difference-making ingredients safely and effectively without irritation and confusion? The answer is Skin Cycling!
Skin Cycling follows a series of nightly skincare routines that eliminate the issues of mixing ingredients that don’t play well together, as well as, eliminating the confusion of complicated routines. This method can make using these "stronger" ingredients more easy-to-use and more tolerable on skin.
How Skin Cycling Works
Night 1: Exfoliation
Kick off the skin cycle with a routine that uses chemical or physical exfoliants. Exfoliation can help smooth the look of uneven skin tone and brighten the appearance of the skin. These types of products also help remove dead skin cells and allow for meaningful penetration of the active ingredients on night two.
• Chemical exfoliants utilize ingredients like AHAs, BHA, or enzymes that support the removal of dead skin cells.
• Physical exfoliants are products like scrubs that manually work to remove dead skin cells.
Shop All Exfoliants
Shop All Exfoliants
Esthetician Tip: Gently massage our Microdermabrasion Exfoliator on to cleansed, damp skin. Let it sit for a few minutes to get the most out of the Glycolic, Lactic, and Malic Acids. Then, gently massage the product off the skin with warm water.
Use the type of exfoliant that is best for your skin type and skin concerns.
Night 2: Retinol
On Night 2 we will reach for our Vitamin A derivative (aka retinol product) of choice to maximize its anti-aging benefits. These types of products help to target the look of fine lines and wrinkles, firm the look of the skin, improve the appearance of hyperpigmentation, and more. Remember to choose an application method that you tolerate best.
Esthetician Tip: I love using our 10% Niacinamide Booster on retinol nights. They are the perfect pair!
Night 3 & 4: Recovery
We want to end with cycle with our recovery nights. These two nights are where we use ingredients that nourish the skin and support the skin’s natural lipid barrier. Our natural lipid barrier is made of fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides and is crucial in helping keep skin healthy-looking and hydrated. When we give it the support it needs we can avoid unnecessary redness, dehydration, dryness, breakouts, and irritation. You can’t go wrong with ingredients like niacinamide, panthenol, hyaluronic acid, peptides, or omega-rich oils.
Shop Nourishing Products
Shop Nourishing Products
Esthetician Tip: Did you know that our Advanced Repair Eye Cream is packed with peptides?!
Make sure you are using an eye cream, moisturizer, and neck cream with all of these routines.
One thing that is important to note is that this “schedule” is just a starting place and can be adjusted as needed. It is ideal for those that have had issues with tolerating retinol or that may suffer from uncomfortable irritation or other side effects from retinol.
If you can tolerate more exfoliation or retinol in your routine that is great! We will get into what that looks like with Skin Cycling 2.0 coming soon…
Have you tried skin cycling yet? Let us know in the comments!
2 comments
What product, if any, should you use after exfoliating at night?
———
goPure Beauty replied:
Hi Ginny, thank you for your inquiry! You may continue with your everyday morning or evening routine, as long as it is retinol free. We suggest that you avoid any retinol products because you don’t want to cause irritation to the skin. Feel free to reach out if you have other questions.
I cannot use retinol? What can I use in its place?
———
goPure Beauty replied:
Hello Tanya! You may use our other serums (Brighten & Even Serum, Hydrate & Smooth Serum, Niacinamide Booster Serum, or Dramatically Dewy Serum) as they work great on sensitive skin. For the moisturizer, you may use the Vitamin C Cream or the Anti Wrinkle Cream. 💚