Skin flooding: Passing trend or effective skincare technique? Dermatologist shares insights and tips for trying it

Skin flooding is one of the most viral skincare trends. It claims to moisturize and nourish dry skin. Whether it's just a fad or actually works, let's find out.

Skincare trends change at a fast pace, whether it's skin cycling or a Hydrafacial, social media is abuzz with viral skincare techniques. But before you blindly trust online trends, it's important to understand their pros and cons before trying them on your skin. If you are a skin enthusiast you might have definitely heard the term ‘skin flooding’. This trend skyrocketed in followers via Tik Tok and Instagram reels. Skin flooding is done by layering multiple lightweight products on the skin and using a facial mist between each application. Claims are that it gives an intense boost of moisture to extremely dry skin and nourishes it too! Whether this technique is effective or merely another passing trend, here is all you need to know.

Dr. Sonia Tekchandani, Celebrity Dermatologist and Founder of Tender Skin International shared with HT Lifestyle some significant insights regarding the skin flooding trend.

Benefits of ‘skin flooding’

1. Replenishes the lost moisture: The moisture that your skin has lost due to environmental factors, dehydration, travelling, etc. is very well replenished with skin flooding.

2. Improves skin health: The texture and tone of skin as well as the signs of premature ageing such as fine lines and wrinkles are very well treated and improved with skin flooding.

3. Locks in moisture: There is a term known as TEWL or transepidermal water loss in which the moisture from the skin evaporates but skin flooding prevents TEWL and locks in moisture, making the skin look hydrated at all times.

4. Replenishes the moisture lost at night: Our skin loses most of the moisture while sleeping, but practising skin flooding at night keeps the skin well hydrated since morning.

Skin flooding for dry dehydrated skin -

1. Firstly, cleanse your face with a gentle cleanser as per your skin type.

2. Secondly, mist your face with gentle thermal water.

3. Thirdly, to lock in moisture and keep the skin supple, apply a hydrating serum.

4. Fourthly, for long-lasting hydration use a moisturizer.

5. Fifthly, to protect the skin from harmful UV rays of the sun, apply a SPF cream.

Skin flooding for oily and breakout-prone skin -

1. First, Cleanse your face with a foam-based cleanser to remove oil and impurities.

2. Secondly, to balance your skin’s pH levels, use a toner.

3. Thirdly, apply a lightweight serum to rejuvenate the skin.

4. Fourthly, to prevent product layering, choose a cream that has the benefits of both - moisturizer as well as SPF.

"The three most common concerns of women worldwide - dryness, dullness, and dehydration - are very easily dealt with by this technique. So you can give it a try once! Those with oily and acne-prone skin should be careful while choosing their products. So always patch test new products and follow this routine gradually to avoid adverse reactions," concludes Dr. Sonia.