How To Skin Cycle Using Vegan & Cruelty Free Skincare

*This post may contain affiliate links in which case I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Please know that I would never recommend anything that I don’t actually believe in.*

Late last year a new (but also not so new as derms have been using this for years) skin care routine began to trend on social media, Skin Cycle. If you hadn’t heard of skin cycling up until now, then consider this your perfect guide to skin cycling using vegan & cruelty free skincare. 

What is a Skin Cycle?

Simply put, skin cycling is a 4 day/night skincare regimen that you cycle through, repeating after the fourth night. Skin cycling is said to help simplify your routine while helping reduce any inflammation. 

Each night is dedicated to a different product; the first night is for exfoliating, the second for retinoids and the last two nights are recovery nights. 

Are Retinols Safe To Use?

Retinoids are completely safe for the skin and they have many benefits such as helping to reduce fine lines & wrinkles by increasing the production of collagen. They have been said to help improve the skins overall colour by stimulating the production of new blood vessels. They can also even out skin texture and fade dark spots.

Since retinoids can be a little harsh on sensitive skin or acne prone skin, this is a great skincare routine to incorporate the benefits of retinoids without having any irritations from them since you are giving your skin a break in-between each use. 

Skin Cycling Routine:

With skin cycling your morning routine will basically stay the same each day. You will cleanse with a gentle cleanser. I highly recommend an oil cleanser as they tend to be more nourishing & gentler on your skin. 

This oil cleanser from Kopari is my all-time fav. 

After cleansing you’ll want to use your eye cream or serum. I’m currently obsessed with The Ordinary’s Caffeine Eye Solution. Caffeine is an amazing ingredient in eye products because it helps reduce the appearance of dark circles & puffiness. 

Next, you’ll want to put on a Vitamin C serum like my absolute favourite from Pacifica. This Glow Baby serum really does make your skin so healthy looking. Highly highly recommend! 

Then I like to use a light moisturizer like this Peptide cream from Pacifica with a couple of drops of Hyaluronic Acid from The Ordinary mixed in. 

And your last step for your morning routine is always SUNSCREEN! Never leave the house without sunscreen on your face & neck. If you are a younger reader you will thank me for this in the future I promise you. Even when you don’t think it’s sunny out, the sun is lurking to do damage to your skin. And the number one cause of aging skin is sun exposure. You will still get tanned even when wearing sunscreen. 

Checkout my fav vegan & CF sunscreen roundup here.

Now let’s get to the Skin Cycle…

This is where the cycling begins. 

Night 1: Exfoliate

On night one you are going to cleanse & I recommend double cleansing nightly if you wear makeup everyday. The first cleanse takes your makeup off while the second cleanse preps your skin for the skincare. 

Next you’re going to use a chemical exfoliant. Paula’s Choice 2% Skin Perfector has so many amazing reviews & is gentle enough for all skin types. 

Lastly you’ll moisturize. You can use your daytime moisturizer here as well. 

And that’s it for night 1. 

• Cleanse
• Exfoliate
• Moisturize

Night 2: Retinol

Everything will be the same on night two except you won’t be exfoliating. Instead you’ll want to use a retinol. I have been using The Ordinary’s retinol for years now and I have never had an issue with it upsetting my skin. 

The reason why I love The Ordinary products so much, aside from them being vegan & cruelty free, is that they are quality ingredient but they’re also super affordable. 

And that’s it for night 2. 

• Cleanse
• Retinol
• Moisturize

Night 3 & 4: Recovery

Nights three and four are recovery nights so your skin doesn’t get overly stressed with too much exfoliating or retinol-ing. If you have less sensitive skin you might be able to skin cycle on a three day routine but I would stick to the four nights to start. 

On night 3 you’ll do basically the same routine but you’re going to use hyaluronic acid instead of an exfoliant or a retinol. You can either apply the hyaluronic acid straight to your face or mix it in with your moisturizer like I do in my morning routine. 

And that’s it for night 3 & 4.

• Cleanse
• Hyaluronic Acid
• Moisturize 

So that’s it! Do you think skin cycling is something you’ll try out? LMK in the comments below.