‘Skin Flooding’: Is TikTok’s Viral Trend Right for Women Over 50?

How to practice skin flooding

When layering moisturizers, always start with your thinnest product and end with your heaviest, says Bhanusali. “This enhances absorption. For example, it’s beneficial to apply a serum first and then layer with a heavier moisturizer to seal in the ingredients and hydration. If your first product is too thick or occlusive, it can affect penetration of other products and compromise function.”

Target.com / CeraVe / Dermstore.com / SkinCeuticals

Start by washing skin with a gentle, non-soap cleanser like Pause Hydrating Cleanser ($32, amazon.com), CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser ($15, target.com), or Cetaphil ($22, amazon.com). Next, spritz slightly damp skin with a hydrating mist like SkinCeuticals Phyto Corrective Essence Mist ($67, dermstore.com), Mario Badesco Rosewater Facial Spray ($12, amazon.com) or Avene Thermal Spring Water ($19, amazon.com). If you use a mist or toner, be sure to pick one that is moisturizing and avoid any that contain drying alcohol or potentially irritating ingredients like salicylic acid. (Feel free to skip the misting step if you are in a rush, on a budget or simply can’t be bothered with three steps, but make sure to leave skin damp after cleansing before moving on to the next step.)

Sephora.com / The Ordinary / Amazon.com / La Roche-Posay

Don’t wait for the hydrating mist to dry. Instead, while skin is still glistening, apply a moisturizing serum that contains hyaluronic acid, a natural humectant that can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in moisture. Payot Lisse Plumping Booster ($58, us.payot.com) contains a highly concentrated version of hyaluronic acid. For a less expensive version, try The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum ($9 for 1 ounce, sephora.com) or L’Oréal Paris Revitalift 1.5% Pure Hyaluronic Acid Serum ($21, amazon.com). “Humectants act like a sponge so if you apply them to damp skin, they will bind water to the skin,” says Bhanusali. Once you’ve flooded the skin with moisture, lock it in by applying an emollient cream that contains ceramides and/or squalene such as Babor Collagen Cream ($155, us.babor.com), La Roche-Posay Double Repair Face Moisturizer ($21, amazon.com), or Neutrogena Hydro Boost Face Moisturizer ($21, neutrogena.com). “Emollients act as a barrier, allowing your body to retain moisture rather than lose it to the environment,” he notes.

If, at the end of all this flooding, your skin looks like somebody could go swimming in your face, pat yourself on the back — and consider investing in a selfie ring light. After all, if Martha Stewart can rack up 78 million views on TikTok plugging dewy skin at 81, there’s no such thing as an age barrier anymore. As Iris Apfel once said, “When we were children, we all played dress up and everybody had a good time. So why stop?”