We know our circadian rhythm is what allows us to fall asleep at night, wake up in the morning, and have energy during the day — but did you know that there’s also a link between this cycle and your skin health?
“We are still learning about how circadian rhythms affect the skin, but yes, there is a connection,” says Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in New York.
In developing its latest pair of “Giorno e Notto” (Italian for “day and night”) moisturizers—Perla Brillante Daily Renewal Cream ($265) and Fior Di Luna Nightly Renewal Cream ($285)—luxury beauty brand Furtuna Skin has found a way to hack this connection to give you healthier skin during your waking and sleeping hours.
There’s a link between your circadian rhythm and skin
While the skin/sleep connection is still a new frontier of dermatological study, we do know some basics—the most important of which is that we have different needs from our a.m. and p.m. skin care. “Metabolic shifts in the skin during the day and night show that there are cycles of protection and repair,” says Michele Farber, MD, board-certified dermatologist at Schweiger Dermatology Group in Philadelphia, PA. “This can help target skin care for optimizing delivery of active ingredients based on what the skin needs at different times of day.”
During the day, you want to protect your complexion from environmental stressors, but at night, it’s all about repair. “Sleep is critical for the healing and repair of damaged tissues; during sleep, our bodies produce fewer stress hormones and more growth hormones and body-repairing hormones, allowing damaged cells to be repaired,” says Dr. King. “Also during sleep, the body rebalances its hydration.”
So while your morning routine should be stacked with antioxidants and SPF to fend off free radical damage, your evening routine is where the real magic happens. “Overnight beauty products can take advantage of these [circadian rhythm] factors to help promote the repair of damaged tissues and to improve the moisture balance of the skin,” says Dr. King.
Dr. Farber echoes this sentiment, noting specific ingredients like “Retinols, bakuchiol, peptides, and growth factors,” which are “useful to stimulate collagen and help with anti-aging and repair at night. Day creams should protect the skin while night creams should target repair.”
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These moisturizers will help you optimize the connection
With its new moisturizing duo, Furtuna puts these tips into practice. The brand uses its trademarked Circadian Rhythm Complex, which draws on a blend of seven wild-foraged botanicals (chosen for their ability to promote protection and renewal) to help “resync skin to its natural rhythm.” The day cream is designed to protect, so it “fortifies the moisture barrier, protects against environmental aggressors, and balances sebum and pH levels.” And in the evening, the night cream “encourages skin renewal, restores moisture, and optimizes nutrient uptake through the strengthening of skin.”
Dr. Farber calls attention to products’ stacked ingredient lists, noting that both the Daily and Nightly Renewal creams fit their respective job descriptions. “The Daily Renewal cream has antioxidants to protect against environmental damage and glycerin for barrier protection,” she says (so, check and check!). “The Nightly Renewal cream has bakuchiol, which is a retinol alternative that helps promote cellular turnover, which is ideal for a repair cream at night.”
The creams are rich and decadent (they’re made with ingredients from an organic farm in Italy), and the application is truly an indulgent experience—the products feel just as expensive as their $250+ price tags imply. I’ve been using them day and night for a little less than a week, and now wake up every morning looking like I’m fresh from a luxury facial. In the a.m., I feel tightened yet bouncy and dewy, and at night I feel positively quenched. One note for anyone new to fragrance-free, natural skin care: The lack of perfume (and the scent of plant-based ingredients) may catch you off guard, but keep in mind that that’s often the marker of an ultra-potent skin booster.
The packaging is beautiful, the formulation is *chef’s kiss,* and the experience is elegant. Truly, without question, these moisturizers go beyond “beauty sleep” to give you beautiful skin 24/7.
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