Edited by Christian Thompson and Caitlyn Booton
Hello readers,
There is a new beauty trend on the block: Skin Cycling. Skin Cycling has exploded in popularity, with the hashtag “#skincycling” gaining 122 million views on Tik Tok.
What is skin cycling and why is it growing so rapidly?
Skin cycling is a skincare routine that implements rest days. Rest days allow the skin to repair and recover after using certain products. The goal of skin cycling is to reduce irritation and inflammation that can be caused by applying some skincare products.
During the pandemic, consumers became more interested in skincare routines and products. However, customers began adding a wide range of products to their regimes, some of which caused irritation and harm to the skin barrier. As a result, skin cycling has begun to emerge as a trend. Over the past three years, the impact score for “Skin Cycling” increased by 11,395%, and the future estimate forecasts continued growth throughout the following year.
The traditional skin cycling routine is a four-night cycle consisting of an exfoliator, a retinoid-based product, and moisture and hydration during rest days. Night one is exfoliation, where a person will cleanse and use an exfoliant to remove dead skin cells from the skin. Common active ingredients to look for in exfoliators are glycolic or salicylic acid. Night two is the use of retinoids. Retinoids are a Vitamin A derivative that helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles while supporting new cell production. Retinoids are very potent and can cause dryness and irritation, thus the need for rest days. Nights three and four are rest days complimented with moisturizers and serums to hydrate and replenish skin.
Above is a comparison of the different products used during skin cycling. All of the products have experienced rapid growth over the past three years, and each signal forecasts continued growth throughout the coming year.
What may be causing consumer interest to shift to this kind of skincare routine?
The short answer is the skin barrier. The skin barrier is the outermost layer of the skin and is the primary determinant of how healthy and clear skin looks. Maintaining and preventing damage to the skin barrier is crucial to achieving healthy-looking skin. Over the past three years, the impact score for “Skin Barrier” increased infinitely and forecasts sustained growth for the following year. “Skin Barrier Repair” and “Skin Barrier Irritation” increased by 41,883% and 2,959%, respectively. The future estimate forecasts continued growth for both signals throughout the following year.
The peaking consumer energy of these trends may indicate that the health of the skin barrier is driving the growth of skin cycling. Based on this data, companies that position themselves with skin-cycling product offerings supporting the health of the skin barrier stand to gain from this shift in consumer energy.
Thanks for tuning into this week’s Inflection Point. Maybe you learned something new about skincare and how you can change your own routine. Be on the lookout for our next article and as always, have a great weekend.
Cheers!
About NWO.ai
NWO.ai's predictive platform enables leading Fortune 500 companies and government agencies to anticipate and track global cultural shifts by aggregating, analyzing, and producing actionable reports on human-generated data. We are leveraging petabytes of external, noisy, and unstructured data from various sources –including search, social media, blogs, news, patent databases, and SEC filings and we are continuously adding more sources. Our mission is to answer the what, when, and most importantly, 'why' behind a consumer trend and enable our customers to detect these shifts as early as possible.
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