The Unsung Hero of Your Skin Cycling Routine? A Good Moisturizer

If you haven’t heard, “skin cycling” is trending. No, this viral #BeautyTok concept is not a workout, but a simple regime that touts minimal skincare products on an alternating schedule—a great way to stick to a routine at night and give your skin time to tolerate products (especially ones with high active ingredients). On night one, cyclers apply an exfoliant. On night two, a retinoid. And on nights three and four, you let your skin recover.

Although the treatments and order of product application shift each day, there’s one aspect that remains the same: a moisturizer. Moisturizers help keep the skin barrier intact—and Clinique’s Moisture Surge™ 100H Auto-Replenishing Hydrator is our product of choice. 

On recovery nights, you want to focus on nourishing your skin microbiome and repairing your skin barrier, so think hydration and moisture while avoiding active ingredients. Moisture Surge™ 100H oil-free gel-cream is ideal for a skin cycling routine because it penetrates deep into the skin’s surface and locks in moisture (for up to 100 hours!) thanks to ingredients like Aloe Bioferment and Hyaluronic Acid Complex.

Apply Moisture Surge™ 100H as the last step on nights one and two, and the main step on nights three and four. Then just watch as your skin barrier comes back to its dewy, plump self.

Ready to add some hydration to your skin cycling routine? Don’t sleep on Moisture Surge™ 100H (figuratively, that is).