This Problematic Skin Care Trend Is Coming Back Around — And This Time, It's Coming For More Surface Area

Every so often I see an emerging beauty trend—one that gives me pause—and think to myself, Haven’t we already learned this lesson? Did we all undergo collective amnesia? For example: just about any brow trend. As most ‘90s kids can warn you, dramatically altering your brows for the sake of aesthetics will only leave you wanting when the inevitable pendulum swings back around. 

I’m currently seeing this with barrier repair. Over the last several years the beauty industry has solved for a lot of exfoliation wrongs. After about a decade of blasting the epidermis with the most potent actives skin care topicals could tolerate, folks started to wise up that they’ve been wreaking havoc on the skin barrier. So the industry saw a huge shift towards restoration products: The market was flooded with creams and serums that built up the skin with peptides, ceramides, and fatty acids. This, I might add, was a positive shift. 

But apparently that enthusiasm for exfoliation had to be directed somewhere! Just when I thought we had learned our lesson about burdening our epidermis with abrasive products, I started seeing countless body products with AHAs, BHAs, retinols, and more. Over the last two years, there’s been a consistent uptick of Google searches for categories like “retinol body lotion,” “exfoliating body wash,” and “body serum.” 

I want to start out with the caveat that I don’t think these products are bad (in the same way I don’t think facial retinol serums are an issue). In fact, these ingredients can do wonders for the appearance of the skin: BHAs can help improve acne, retinols can boost collagen production, and AHAs can help brighten tone and fade dark spots. All things I can get behind. 

However, I become weary when these powerful actives aren’t paired with the right recovery products—or that people aren’t being mindful of the ways in which they’re using them. Just like I would never encourage someone to use a BHA cleanser, followed by a retinol serum, and wrapped up with an AHA cream all in one go—folks need to pare back their body care routines before they trigger damage. 

My TikTok feed is inundated with folk’s “getting ready for summer” routines that contain multiple exfoliating steps. These are routines that are ripe for irritation and barrier impairment, leading to damaged and sensitized skin. 

See, acting as a barrier is your skin’s most important function. "It protects us from mechanical injury, low humidity, cold, heat, sun, wind, chemical exposure, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens," explains board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D., stating that, "a healthy barrier is critical to normal skin function." 

When we get in the way of that function, our skin won’t be able to keep water trapped in, protect us from free radical damage, and may even lead to chronic skin diseases like eczema. 

You do not need to swear off these products. I have a go-to treatment or two, and you can too! However, I strongly encourage folks to be mindful about what they’re using, how they’re folding it in their routine, and to pay attention to any signs of irritation. 

Every skin type has different tolerances for these sorts of ingredients—for example, someone with oily skin will be able to use AHAs far more frequently than someone with dry skin. 

"The most important tip is that 'less is more.' You want to exfoliate just enough to increase cell turnover and reveal fresh new skin, but be sure to not scratch or damage your skin by overusing these devices or products." said Ife Rodney, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Eternal Dermatology on the subject. "Most people can get away with twice or even thrice-weekly exfoliation. Those with more mature, dry, or sensitive skin, may only want to exfoliate weekly."

If you opt for a retinol lotion, body serum, exfoliating wash, or any product of the like, you should get yourself a barrier repair product alongside it. Look for lotions or creams that contain barrier-enhancing ingredients, such as lipides, peptides, humectants, fatty acids, ceramides, antioxidants, and biotic ingredients. 

These can help fortify and strengthen the skin—helping mend any potential damage that may have come from too aggressive exfoliation. 

You don’t need all of the products all at once. I know it’s tempting to try all the buzzy, new formulas out there, but before you go haywire trying every firming treatment under the sun your best bet is to stick to one new product at a time. 

Think of it like “skin cycling” for below the neck. Skin cycling is a skin care philosophy coined by mindbodygreen collective member and board-certified dermatologist Whitney Bowe, M.D. In skin cycling, you fluctuate what treatment step you use each night—starting with an exfoliator, then a retinol, followed by several recovery days. It was developed for treating skin on the face, but certainly can be used for body routines as well.