Skin Cycling 101

Listen to Your Skin, Not the Trends

“What’s your skincare routine?” It’s the question I get asked the most, by a landslide. And while I definitely have my go-to products, the truth is… my routine changes daily based on what my skin needs. Lately, everyone’s been buzzing about “skin cycling” — but all that really means is paying attention to your skin and treating it accordingly.

I’ve put together two skin cycling schedules: one for beginners and one that’s a little more intense (aka, the one I tend to follow).

I tried to keep the product lineup as minimal as possible by repeating some items, while still making sure each night’s routine hits its goal.

*all products are linked individually where mentioned & in the IGW 20 shopping guide at the bottom of this post

Beginner-Friendly Easy Skin Cycling Routine

For: Minimalists, sensitive skin girlies, or beginners easing into actives.

4 (or 5) Day Cycle:

Night 1 – Liquid Exfoliant

1. Oil Cleanser - Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

2. Water-Based Gentle Hydrating Cleanser - Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Foam

3. Liquid Exfoliant - SkinCeuticals Equalizing Toner Solution or Paula’s Choice BHA Toner

4. Ceramide or Peptide Moisturizer - Dieux Instant Angel Lipid & Peptide-Rich Moisturizer + Barrier Repair

Night 2 – Retinoid

1. Oil Cleanser - Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

2. Water-Based Gentle Hydrating Cleanser - Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Foam

3. Calming Serum - Dieux Deliverance Antioxidant & Niacinamide Serum

4. Retinol: Low-strength (0.25-0.3%) or retinaldehyde Shani Darden Retinol Reform

5. Moisturizer - Ceramide-rich or peptide moisturizer - Dieux Instant Angel Lipid & Peptide-Rich Moisturizer + Barrier Repair

Pro Tip: Use the “retinol sandwich” technique (calming serum → retinol → moisturizer) if you’re just starting retinol or to reduce sensitivity

Night 3 – Recovery

1. Oil Cleanser - Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

2. Water-Based Gentle Hydrating Cleanser - Sulwhasoo Gentle Cleansing Foam

3. Hydrating serum - Hyaluronic acid or polyglutamic acid - Caudalie VinoHydra Hydrating Hyaluronic Serum

4. Moisturizer (thick and nourishing) - Tatcha Indigo Overnight Repair Redness Reducing Barrier Cream

5. *optional, slugging with a super moisturizing Balm - Oak Essentials Moisture Rich Balm

🚨 This is where you need to really read your skin. If everything’s feeling good, go ahead with the Night 4 routine. But if your skin feels like it needs a little more time to recover, repeat Night 3’s routine instead — and shift to a 5-night cycle, using the Night 4 routine on Night 5.

Night 4 – Treat + Physical Exfoliant

Note: This night is to treat your specific needs, this is an example of a routine for acne prone skin

1. Oil Cleanser - Farmacy Green Clean Cleansing Balm

2. Water-Based Cleanser - Caudalie Vinopure Pore Purifying Gel Cleanser

   1. You can mix this with a physical exfoliant like the Murad AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser if needed.

3. Toner - Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel Pads

4. Serum - Innisfree Gentle Retinol Salicylic Acne Serum

5. Ceramide or Peptide Moisturizer - Dieux Instant Angel Lipid & Peptide-Rich Moisturizer + Barrier Repair

Every Night

1. Slug under eyes with Bouncy & Firm Eye Brightening Sleeping Mask

2. Lips - Patrick Ta Major Glow Lip Masque

Other Treatments I Love

Prequel Multi-Acid Milk Peel - use this instead of DDG Peel Pads on Night 4

🔗 SHOP ALL PRODUCTS

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Intense Skin Cycling Routine (For Product Junkies & Skinthusiasts)

For: People who tolerate actives well, want visible glow, don’t mind a longer routine and are as clinically insane as I am.

Subscribe to The It Girl Edit to learn all the dirty details on my ✨insane✨ skin cycling routine below xx