Maximizing Skin Health: A Guide to Effective Skin Cycling Routines

Skin Cycling and Products: How to Skincycle Your Skincare Routine

Skin cycling, or rotating products in your skincare routine, has become a popular skincare trend recently, thanks in large part to Dr. Whitney Bowe’s promotion of the concept on TikTok. But what exactly is skin cycling and is it really beneficial for your skin health? As a dermatologist, let me walk you through the details.

What is Skin Cycling?

The idea behind skin cycling is that you rotate your skincare products in a structured regimen so you are not using the same products every day. The goal is to maximize both the effectiveness of your products as well as the health of your skin by giving your skin time to “reset” between products. This helps avoid problems such as overexfoliation and retinoid side effects. Each dermatologist has their own way of doing this with their patients.

Dr. Whitney Bowe’s Cycling Plan

Although dermatologist’s have been cycling skincare products for years, Dr. Bowes coined the term skin cycling. Her system is a way of cycling products over 4 nights with these cycles:

Exfoliation

Retinol

Recovery

Treatment

Her cycling advice is only for the night time regimen. This approach can work well if you are beginning a retinol for the first time and have a resistant skin type. The problem with this approach is it is not consistent enough and it is not right for all skin types and skin concerns. For example, this is not a good approach to treat acne, melasma, rosacea or skin inflammation.

In this blog, I am going to tell you how I design a custom skin cycling skincare routine for my patients based on their Baumann Skin Type.

16 Bauman Skin Types

If you take the skincare routine quiz, I can tell you what your daily skincare routine should be and help you find the best medical grade skincare brands that are right for you. Once you know your skin type, you will be able to shop by your skin type to find the skin cycling products that are right for you.

Take the Quiz

How Dermatologists Skin Cycle

When dermatologists are prescribing a custom skincare routine for their patients and a skin cycling plan there are two approaches:

Customize the regimen based on a skin diagnosis such as acne, rosacea, melasma, or skin aging

Personalize the routine based on the Baumann Skin Type

Over 280 doctors in the USA and more around the world use the Baumann Skin Type as the basis for skincare regimen design. (1-12)

Once the skin type is diagnosed, software that has been developed by dermatologists over the last 2 decades is used to generate the optimal skincare routine template. The regimen template is then populated by products that meet the criteria for inclusion into that step of the regimen specific to that skin type. The instructions you get on how to cycle products are specific to you skin type.

best skin cycling routine

Best Skin Cycling Routine

In your routine, there are some products that need to be used consistently every day to get results, while other products should be cycled. I will go through the morning and night steps and discuss which products can or should be recycled.

Morning Skin Cycling Routine

At a minimum your morning skincare routine should have a sunscreen. This can be a moisturizer with sunscreen or an active therapeutic sunscreen. This is true for all 16 Baumann Skin Types.

Step 1 AM Routine

Your am cleanser can be cycled. If you are using a low pH cleanser in the morning, this exfoliates the skin. You can skip this cleanser on days you are using other exfoliating products, starting a new retinoid, or when your skin is in recovery. You can use your evening cleanser instead. This is one of the many reasons you need 2 different cleansers in your skincare routine.

Step 2 AM Routine

The eye cream you choose should match your eye issues.If you use it in the am and need to cycle will depend on the type of eye cream. Don’t use eye creams with hydroxy acids or retinol if you are using other products in your regimen with these ingredients in them.

Step 3 AM Routine

This is the regimen step that you should cycle skincare products. Which products to use depends on your skin type- but i will give you an example. Vitamin C, exosomes, and growth factors are used to treat aging skin, but Vitamin C serums are a low pH and can lower the effectiveness of the other two types of products. So you cannot use them at the same time of day and you may need to use several types of antiaging serums that are incompatible with each other. This is when you cycle. Read below to learn how to cycle individual product types or ingredients.

Step 4 AM Routine

This is your moisturizer step. Dry skin types should not cycle this step. If you have dry skin, find the best type of moisturizer for your skin type and stick with it and use it every day. Oily skin types can cycle moisturizers with serums.

Why does this matter?

Dry types need a daily barrier repair moisturizer- a real one that has the maltese cross pattern.

Oily skin types need a lightweight noncomedogenic moisturizer on dry days but may not need a moisturizer on humid days. This is the step that oily skin types can use hyaluronic acid serums if they are right for your skin type.

Step 5 AM Routine

Never skip your sunscreen step. Even if you skip everything else and do not wash your face- you still need SPF!

night skin cycling routine

Night Skin Cycling Routine

In your night time routine you will mainly cycle step 3 and your retinol step which may be step 3, 4 or 5 depending on your Baumann Skin Type.

Step 1 PM Routine

You do not need to cycle your night cleanser. Choose a cleanser that removes sunscreen, dirt, oil, and makeup for your night skincare routine. If you have oily skin- a foaming cleanser works well and can be used every night.

If you have dry skin, choose a cleansing oil or a creamy cleanser. Do not use your low pH cleanser at night unless you have been told to by your dermatologist to avoid overexfoliation.

Step 2 PM Routine

You can cycle your night eye cream depending on what eye issues you have that night. There are different night eye creams for these issues:

dark circles

dryness

eye skin sensitivity, irritation, inflammation

fine lines and wrinkles

puffy eyes

Step 3 PM Routine

This is the step that you will skin cycle products. Which products to choose depends on which skin concerns you are treating. You can read more about the barriers to skin health and what all you should be treating in this skincare routine step.

Step 4 PM Routine

In most skin types who are beginning a new skincare routine, this is the moisturizer step. You should choose your moisturizer based on which of the 16 Bauman Skin Types you are. You may want to cycle this step if you are using moisturizers with exfoliators like:

hydroxyacids

Vitamin C

retinoids

In most case you do not need to cycle the products n this step but you may need to cycle when this step happens. For example, once you get acclimated to retinoids, you may use them in this step of the routine instead.

Step 5 PM Routine

This is the step that retinol goes in when you are a beginner. You will cycle this step until you can tolerate the retinoid every night.

This blog explains how to use retinoids.

You can alternate retinol, tretinoin, tazarotene or adapalene with one of these antiaging retinoid alternatives.

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skin cycling products

Skin Cycling Products

How to skin cycle depends upon the product type. Below I discuss each product type that in some cases should be used according to skin cycling rules.

Exfoliants

If you over use exfoliants in your skin care routines you can get redness, irritation, acne breakouts, eczema, dry skin, and hyperpigmentation. This is why exfoliants should be cycled in most skin types.

Examples of types of exfoliants are:

Acids except hyaluronic acid

Face Brushes

Hydroxyacids

Loofas

Peels

Retinoids

Textured towels

Scrubs

retinoids

Retinoids

Retinoids like retinol, tretinoin, adapalene, tazarotene and trifarotene are the products in your skin care routine that are the most important to cycle to avoid side effects.

Read this blog on how to cycle retinoids in your nightly skincare routine.

Read this blog if you had a reaction to retinoids and want to know how to add them back into your routine cycle.

vitamin c

Vitamin C

You may not have enough steps in your routine for Vitamin C, but your skin cannot make collagen without it and you need more than you can get with diet and supplements. You can cycle it into your routine this way:

Apply a Vitamin C serum after washing your face in the am with a low pH cleanser. Let it stay on at least an hour. Then you can shower and afterwards apply your normal am regimen. This way your Vitamin C serum has a chance to penetrate into the skin without being diluted by any other products.

Substitute the Step 3 of your am routine with Vitamin C serum 3 times a week.

It is better to cycle Vitamin C this way then applying it with other antiaging serums because they will just dilute each other. Also the low pH of Vitamin C can inactivate exosomes and growth factors.

Skin cycling is very confusing. The easiest way to do it is take the skincare routine quiz. Then you will receive a dermatologist-recommended custom skincare routine for your Baumann Skin Type. Check your emails for advice on how to cycle products. On day 30, 60 and 90 you will receive personalized advice on how to cycle products and add new ones to your routine. We will guide you. You can also visit our youtube channel and social media and skincare blogs for more advice on how to cycle products in your skincare routine.

DQH Knowledge drop: In your 20s, your skin cell turnover decreases. (Cell turnover is a key component in keeping your skin youthful.) You know what else slows down? Your collagen production. Starting in your 20s, collagen decreases by about 1 percent per year. Should you want to prevent fine lines and wrinkles, start by eliminating behaviors that contribute to premature aging. “If it’s bad for you, it’s bad for your skin,” says dermatologist Michel Somenek. “Cigarette smoking reduces blood flow to the skin and causes premature wrinkling and a dull skin texture. Making the repeated pursed motion to inhale can also cause smoker’s lines. Alcohol and recreational drugs are toxins for the skin that damage its cellular structure and DNA,” Somenek tells us. “The faster you eliminate vices while you are young, the better chance your skin and body have to recuperate.” Also, adopting an anti-aging routine in your 20s is key. After all, the best offense is a good defense. We spoke to Somenek and experts Joshua Ross and Audrey Kunin to find out more. Keep reading for the best anti-aging products for your 20s, according to skincare professionals. Sunscreen “We all know that the sun is the number one cause of skin aging and starting the prevention in your 20s is very important,” Ross says. “The majority of your sun damage won’t start to appear until you’re in your 30s, so don’t wait until you see it surface or you’ll be behind the curve. Stay ahead of it with a good-quality zinc-based sunscreen worn daily.” Farmacy Green Defense Daily Mineral Sunscreen An invisible sunscreen with SPF 30, plus botanical extracts meant to protect skin with tons of antioxidants. Bonus: It’s clean and fine to use under makeup. Bareminerals Complexion Rescue™ Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Although we recommend you use your SPF and moisturizer separately, we also understand moments when you don’t have time or energy for that extra step. For those times, this bareMinerals moisturizer is a great thing to have on hand. Vitamin C Serum “A great introduction to anti-aging is to start with a vitamin C serum in your morning skincare routine,” Ross says. “It’s a powerful antioxidant that will neutralize free radicals and brighten the skin.” He adds that it’s a great way to counteract the effects of the sun’s harmful rays, which, as previously mentioned, are among the biggest causes of premature aging. Drunk Elephant C-Firma™ Vitamin C Day Serum The Drunk Elephant C-Firma is a lightweight serum that promises to give skin a glow by combining the brightening powers of vitamin C with ferulic acid, l-ascorbic acid, and vitamin E. The included sodium hyaluronate is meant to replace hydration loss, so you shouldn’t have to deal with any irritation. Sunday Riley C.E.O. Rapid Flash Brightening Serum This potent serum is jam-packed with vitamin C (15 percent, to be exact), which means it’s a potential superstar at both brightening skin and dousing it in antioxidants. Peptides Using peptides on your skin has many benefits, says Somenek. “The skin barrier is what defends the body against pollution, UV rays, bacteria, and toxins. It can be damaged by several everyday factors. Using topical peptides aids in building a stronger barrier,” he says. “Peptides comprise elastic fibers, which are a type of protein. These fibers help to make skin appear taut and firm. Peptides can also help repair damaged skin, relieve inflammation, and even out skin tone. Some peptides can kill acne-causing bacteria that is common in 20-somethings.” Kunin agrees, saying, “Peptides are an excellent entry point for supporting collagen.” She recommends looking for face and eye treatments that contain these collagen-boosting powerhouses. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream This Charlotte Tilbury super-emollient eye cream has a base of coconut oil and shea butter (read: it’s incredibly hydrating). Botanicals plus peptides are meant to help reduce dark circles and boost collagen, respectively. This creamy moisturizer serves up potent collagen-boosting peptides and pycnogenol, and antioxidant-rich vitamin C. “Instead of sitting on top of the skin, peptides penetrate the outer layer so they go deep. The ‘signals’ they send tell the cells to produce elastin and collagen, which are needed for youthful-looking skin,” explains Somenek. At-Home Peel Pads Remember that skin cell turnover fiasco we talked about earlier? One way to help support it is by exfoliating. “Exfoliation is important to help keep skin fresh and luminous,” Kunin says. She recommends using at-home peel pads as an easy and effective way to exfoliate. “The goal in your 20s is to fight the slowing pace of cell turnover. It is wise to use products that gently exfoliate, yet still remove oil and other impurities. Products that have Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA) or Beta Hydroxy Acids (BHA) are a good choice.” According to Somenek, you should only exfoliate two to three times a week. “People of all ages are guilty of over-exfoliating and that can be too much of a good thing,” he says. Dermadoctor Kakadu C Intensive Vitamin C Peel Pad A few swipes of this Derma Doctor powerful peel pad promise to leave your skin glowing and smooth, thanks to the seven (yes, seven) types of chemical exfoliants, including AHA and BHA. It also contains vitamin C via Kakadu plum extract for added brightening and antioxidant protection. KEY INGREDIENTS Kakadu plum extract is sourced from the Kakadu plum, a fruit grown in northern Australia. It contains vitamin C, which restores the skin’s natural barrier, increases collagen production, and soothes irritation. Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta® Universal Daily Peel Pads These are the gold standard of peel pads, with a cult following and over 900 five-star reviews on Sephora. They’re easy to use and contain a blend of anti-aging exfoliating acids. Emollient Night Cream “In your 20s, you need to start upping the hydration in your skincare routine. You may have been cautious of over-moisturizing because of acne in your teens, but as you enter your 20s, your skin transitions and becomes drier,” Ross says. “I recommend an emollient night cream added into your evening skincare regimen.” “Twenty-somethings need to make sure that they are not using creams that will clog their pores and cause excess oil production,” says Somenek. Opt for non-comedogenic products. Cerave Skin Renewing Night Cream One great choice is the CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream, which is a non-comedogenic night cream that leaves skin soft and glowy. It combines the moisturizing powers of ceramides and hyaluronic acid. RoC Retinol Correxion Max Hydration Creme “The best night cream ingredients contain retinol, benzoyl peroxide, and/or salicylic acid or hyaluronic acid. The goal is to moisturize, yet remove excess oil,” says Somenek. This Roc Retinol Correxion cream fits the bill as it contains both hyaluronic acid and retinol so it promises to moisturize while also being non-comedogenic.

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