Shopping bag

A button to close the app tray panel
A button to close the app tray panel

Filter Results

Wish List

A button to close the app tray panel
Woman with glowing hydrated skin

Skin Flooding: the TikTok Hack Dermatologists Actually Approve of

From what it is to how it incorporate it into your skincare routine, here’s everything you need to know about the internet’s favourite way to beat dry skin
By: Verity Clark

Read more

Skin Flooding: the TikTok Hack Dermatologists Actually Approve of

Skin Flooding: the TikTok Hack Dermatologists Actually Approve of

From what it is to how it incorporate it into your skincare routine, here’s everything you need to know about the internet’s favourite way to beat dry skin

By: Verity Clark

What Is Skin Flooding?

Full disclosure, skin flooding is not a new technique; dermatologists and aestheticians have been doing it for yonks, but the hydrating hack has been adopted by skincare enthusiasts on social media and coined skin flooding. But what actually is the definition of this latest skincare buzzword? The clue is in the name, the idea is that you ‘flood’ dry skin with layer upon layer of targeted skincare ingredients to fully restore moisture and keep skin optimally hydrated.

What Are the Benefits of Skin Flooding?

In recent years, there’s been a huge rise in the number of skincare ingredients that we put on our faces each morning. And while many work wonders to help us achieve our skin goals, our increased interest in the benefits of specific ingredients has also meant that people have become a little over-enthusiastic with things like acids and retinoids, leaving them with dry, tight, itchy and even flaky or inflamed skin. Plus, factors like whether you've turned the central heating on or not, or even hormonal changes can incite dry, uncomfortable skin. So that's where skin flooding, the soothing, hyper hydrating antidote to dry skin, pays dividends.

How Does Skin Flooding Work?

It’s actually really simple and isn’t that different to the way in which many of us have been layering our skincare for years. The difference is, to truly experience the hydrating benefits of skin flooding you need to be specific about what you layer and how you layer it. The idea is that if you layer water-based skincare products you’ll add more moisture to the skin because they penetrate deeper and lead to longer lasting hydration. There’s one other key thing to note when it comes to successful skin flooding: instead of allowing each product to soak in, you apply each product when the face is still damp from the last one. Why? Water attracts more moisture so keeping your face damp throughout the process encourages greater moisture retention. Smart.

What Does a Skin Flooding Routine Look Like?

There are four key stages of skin flooding. Cleanse, mist, serum, moisturiser.

First, use something gentle to wash your face; you want to avoid any acids or exfoliating components to keep the skin barrier intact, as a weakened skin barrier can lead to dry, dehydrated skin. Next up, it’s time to spritz a facial mist or apply a toner, this step is often skipped in normal skincare routines but it’s used here to add an additional layer of moisture.

Then, it's time for serum. Choose a water-based formula that’s high in humectants (hydrating ingredients). Hyaluronic acid and niacinamide are popular choices by dermatologists because they help to draw in moisture to the skin.

And finally, you want to lock in all that hydration with a rich moisturiser, preferably something with a consistency a little thicker than you're used to in order to create a protective barrier and lock in all the moisture you’ve applied. Dewy, hydrated skin here you come.

Discover More

The Taylor Taylor salon at Liberty

Routines & Rituals: The Spa in the Heart of Soho

From transportive massages to transformative facials, and haircare tailored to modern life: there’s a world of ritual wonder hidden at Liberty
By: Team Liberty

Read more

A woman's face appears with a turquoise device adminstering a skincare service

The New Skin Tech to Try with Dr. David Jack

As his new clinic opens in store, the renowned aesthetics doctor and brand founder talks Liberty through the latest innovations in skin health
By: Harriet Brown

Read more

By: Harriet Brown
An artist wears blue overalls and stands in front of a wall of sculptures

Inspired by LBTY: Liberty 1875 by RA Schools Graduate Esther Gamsu

Meet the winning Royal Academy Schools graduate behind the design of Liberty LBTY. Fragrance’s latest scent.
By: Team Liberty

Read more

Discover the new Beauty Kits just launched at Liberty

Liberty, Home of the Best Beauty Kits and Boxes

All hail the Liberty beauty kit: our expertly curated edits of must-have beauty products designed to satisfy your every beauty need
By: Team Liberty

Read more

Dries Van Noten fragrance bottle on a vanity, next to a vase containing yellow-gold poppies

In Full Colour: Inside the Bold Kaleidoscope of Dries Van Noten Beauty

Liberty explores Dries Van Noten’s unbridled expression of maximalist bliss as the innovative brand brings its beauty collection to our Beauty Hall…

Read more

A pristine blue pool in the sunshine surrounded by trees and yellow sunloungers

In the Lobby with Réservation Parfums

Check in to the fantastical world of Liberty’s latest fragrance arrival, and uncover a world where scent and storytelling combine.
By: Harriet Brown

Read more

By: Harriet Brown
Image of Seventh founder Bukki Ojo and Creative Director Emmanuel Duro

A Spotlight On: Black Owned Brands at Liberty

This Black History Month, discover the work of five Black-owned brands at Liberty leading a new generation of Liberty’s artistic movement

Read more

Dr Barbara Sturm is one of the luxury skincare brands available at Liberty

Professional Skin Advice, in a Bottle

The hardest-working formulas full of cutting-edge ingredients, straight from the pros. Liberty shares the expert-led skincare brands deserving of your precious shelf space
By: Shannon Peter

Read more

Ex Nihilo Blue Talisman Eau de Parfum

In The Studio with Ex Nihilo

Join Liberty as we step into Ex Nihilo’s world of boundary-pushing perfumery - where Parisian artistry meets innovation, and every scent is a statement of individuality.
By: Team Liberty

Read more

A bottle of product in a dimly lit room

Anything but Routine: 4 Products to Transform Your Haircare Rituals

Relax into a new era of haircare routines: redefined for modern beauty needs.
By: Team Liberty

Read more

Perfumer Clement Gavarry

Meet the Perfumer: Clement Gavarry

The creator of Liberty LBTY.’s new fragrance tells us about bottling 150 years of history and collaborating with the Royal Academy Schools
By: Georgia Graham

Read more

By: Georgia Graham
A woman sitting in a chair, holding skincare products, wearing an all-white outfit

Arabella Preston’s Natural Skincare Mission

Liberty talks to the Votary co-founder about building a skincare empire, from the kitchen table to the Liberty Beauty Hall
By: Amy Falconer

Read more

By: Amy Falconer