What makes this cleanser different?
Cleansing is a non-negotiable in my skincare routine and something I do morning and night without fail. But with naturally dry skin, I’m very familiar with that horrible tight feeling some cleansers can leave behind. Medik8 wanted this one to be different, giving you that properly clean feeling without leaving your skin desperate for moisturiser the second you’ve rinsed it off.
Daniel Isaacs, Chief Product Officer and Founding Partner of Medik8, explains, “Cleansing is one of the most disruptive steps in a skincare routine, yet it’s rarely engineered with the same precision as treatment products. With Total Moisture Daily Cleansing Gel, we developed a hydration-first formula powered by our Smart Surfactant System™ and Moisture Magnets™, designed to cleanse thoroughly while maintaining moisture levels after rinsing. It’s a more intelligent approach to cleansing, one that removes everything but disturbs nothing.”
I’ve now been using it morning and evening for around a month and, judging by my almost-empty bottle, it’s safe to say it’s become a pretty permanent fixture in my routine. Keep reading for my full review below – the good, and the bad.
How I tested the Medik8 Total Moisture Daily Cleansing Gel:
One of the perks of being a beauty journalist is getting to try some products before they officially launch, and I got my hands on this around two weeks ahead of time. I’ve been testing it ever since, morning and evening, for roughly a month.
To give it a proper chance, I swapped out my usual cleansers and made this the main one in my routine so I could actually see how my skin responded to it over time. I’ve used it first thing in the morning, after full glam days, over plenty of SPF and on those days when my skin is feeling particularly dry and just a bit meh.
In the evenings, I’ve also tested it as the second step of a double cleanse alongside the Medik8 Lipid-Balance Cleansing Oil, because realistically that’s how I’d continue using it long-term. Read more about how we test at Glamour here.
Why you can trust me:
I’ve been a beauty journalist for more than six years, so testing skincare and figuring out what’s actually worth your money is a pretty big part of my job. And seeing as I have naturally dry, dehydrated skin, I feel like I was the perfect candidate to put this cleanser through its paces. I’ve also been dealing with a psoriasis flare-up recently, so I’ve been particularly conscious of what I’m putting on my skin and looking for something fragrance-free, gentle and, most importantly, non-stripping.
The thing with skincare – particularly something you’re using as often as a cleanser – is that it can take time to get a real feel for a product. I want to know how my skin reacts to it, whether it actually integrates into my routine and, ultimately, whether I still want to reach for it once the novelty of trying something new has worn off. That’s why I’ve been testing this one for over a month, using it every single morning and night, to give you as fair and accurate a review as possible.
And that doesn’t mean everything you’re about to read is positive. I like my reviews to be as fair and unbiased as possible, so if there’s something I don’t like – whether that’s the packaging, the price, the formula or something else entirely – I’ll be letting you know.
What makes Medik8 Total Moisture Daily Cleansing Gel so good?
There’s a lot of science behind this little bottle – as you’d probably expect from Medik8 – but the bit that caught my attention is what it promises to do after you’ve washed your face. Rather than taking all that lovely moisture down the drain with it, the formula has been developed to help skin hold onto hydration after rinsing.
That’s thanks to Medik8’s Smart Surfactant System™, which does the actual cleansing, and its aptly named Moisture Magnets™, which are designed to stay on the skin after you rinse to help keep hydration where you want it. There’s also prebiotic inulin to help support the skin’s microbiome. Sounds quite technical, I know, but essentially the aim is to leave you with soft, comfortable skin afterwards.
And, if you’re already a fan of Medik8’s Total Moisture Daily Facial Cream (I am), the two have basically been made to go hand-in-hand. The cleanser maintains hydration after rinsing to prep the skin, then the cream picks up where it left off with multi-weight hyaluronic acid and a barrier-supporting prebiotic peptide to help strengthen and nourish the skin barrier. For me, that’s the clever bit – and probably the biggest selling point of the whole launch.
A few other things worth knowing: it’s fragrance-free, dermatologically and ophthalmologically tested, and suitable for sensitive skin. Nothing particularly ground-breaking, but exactly the sort of things I’m looking for in something I’m going to be using on my face twice a day.
It’s fragrance-free, which my skin always appreciates, and it’s dermatologically and ophthalmologically tested too, so you can use it around the eyes without worrying about that horrible stingy, watery-eye situation. It’s also suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin.
Basically, it still gives me the fresh, properly-cleansed feeling I want, just without the part where my face feels two sizes too small afterwards.
My full review:
