Introduction
Many are unaware of the difference between products formulated for daytime and nighttime usage. Also, many don’t care about following a consistent skin care regimen at night.
Why Should You Have A Night Skincare Routine?
After a hectic day, pampering your skin with the TLC it needs is key to having a fresh, well-rested, bright appearance when the morning greets you.
A night skincare routine is crucial as soon as you step into your 20s. During the night, your skin gets the chance to repair the damages it goes through in the daytime.
A consistent night skincare routine may give you the glowing, red-carpet skin you so desire. However, when it comes to skincare, there are no one-size-fits-all ways.
There are different types of skins with unique issues and need attention. A product formulated for oily, acne pore skin won’t benefit a person with dry, sun-damaged skin.
So finding the right products is the first step you need to take while creating a skincare night regimen by skin type.
Why Is It Crucial To Have A Night Skincare Routine?
Just how important is a skincare night regimen by skin type? Dermatologists say you can’t afford to miss it if you are conscious about skin health and appearance.
Our skin is exposed to many environmental aggressors during the day, and the skin’s regenerative mechanism repairs and restores the skin from the damage caused by the aggressors.
The skin undergoes many physiological changes during the night. Our skin has circadian clock genes, and these circadian variations are linked to skin temperature, trans-epidermal water loss, skin blood flow, and keratinocyte proliferation.
The skin’s blood flow rate increases at night. Study[1] shows that skin permeability peaks during the night. Topical skin penetration is maximum at around 04:00 hours in the morning. Therefore, skincare products applied at night produce the best results.
Night Skincare Steps You Should Never Skip
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Cleansing – Do you find it too tiring to remove your makeup after a hard day at the workplace? Do you slump into bed with your makeup on after returning from a late-night party?
Dermatologists and estheticians won’t approve it. Sleeping in your makeup is the worst thing you do to your skin. Why? The makeup you wear may contain silicone and oil. The blend of makeup, dirt, and excess oils makes the skin a breeding ground of bacteria and may cause breakouts. It is, therefore, necessary to thoroughly cleanse the face.
- Toning – An alcohol-free toner removes any residues of the cleanser.
- Serums / Treatments – As the skin becomes a clean palette after cleansing and toning, it is ready for a PM serum or a product that addresses specific skin concerns, such as sagging, spots, lines, etc.
- Eye Cream – The extremely fragile skin around your eyes needs some special attention. Give it its due TLC with the best night cream for the eyes to help improve the appearance of common signs of aging.
- Moisturizer – Moisturizers formulated for nighttime use maintain skin hydration and help actives work better. You can’t skip a night cream or a moisturizer.
Know Your Skin Type Before You Start A Night Regimen
While setting up a night skincare routine, you need efficient products to target your concerns. The first thing you need to consider while buying a product is your skin type. Since each skin type demands unique attention, you should know your skin type before buying a product.
Additionally, you have to think about your age and specific skin concerns bothering you the most. For example, you may have oily skin with breakouts and need to address aging issues. Or you are struggling with dry, damaged, tired, aging skin. Here we will discuss what works best for each skin type.
The first thing is to set the order right. The products are layered from thinnest to thickest. A derm-approved night skincare routine often looks like this:
- Cleanser
- Toner
- Serum
- Eye cream
- Treatment (if any, hence optional)
- Moisturizer
- Mask (optional)
Remember, skin type may alter as you age. With aging, our skin undergoes many changes. What works in your 20s will change in your 30s and 40s, and you will need a different approach to skincare. So it is all very fluid.
Hormonal swings as you age and stress as life moves on may affect the skin to a great extent. Women suffer from estrogen deficiency during the menopausal period. In the 40s, the body produces less estrogen, the oxidative stress on cells increases, and collagen production decreases, resulting in thinning of the skin, and wrinkles appear.
In your 30s and 40s, your night skincare routine may need some tweaking, depending on the changes that appear on your skin. Dermatologists recommend using nighttime skincare products that offer anti-aging benefits.
For example, products formulated with hyaluronic acid may help the skin with adequate hydration and stimulate collagen and elastin production, which prevents concerns such as dryness, lines, and sagginess associated with aging.
If you think your skin sleeps at night with you, you are wrong. The skin tries to fix the damage done by external stressors during the day. Your night skincare routine may make the skin do the job better.
Dermatologists and estheticians recommend using products formulated especially for nighttime use. If you ask why you need to invest in both A.M and P.M products, here are the reasons:
- Daytime products are formulated with ingredients that protect the skin from sun exposure and external stressors. Nighttime skincare products are meant to aid rejuvenation and regeneration processes. Therefore, the ingredients of the night skincare products vary from that of daytime products.
- Night creams or moisturizers tend to be heavier or thicker than daytime products.
- Night skincare products are formulated with humectants, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging ingredients. The products help repair the skin barrier, improve hydration, lower inflammation, and stimulate collagen production.
Now you know your skin type and products to buy, let us talk about the steps. Depending on your skin’s issues, age, and budget, you may opt for an elaborate night skincare routine. Here we explain the steps.
8 Essential Steps Of Skincare: Night Regimen
1. Removing Makeup
Sleeping in makeup is the worst way to treat your skin. You invite the risk of trapping pollutants and dirt inside the skin when you sleep with it. Makeup remover wipes are a lazy girl’s best option for removing makeup.
After a hard day at work, makeup remover wipes make the job easy for you. If you have the time and diligence, opt for micellar water and emulsifying oil to remove all that should not be on your skin.
2. Cleansing
Once you wipe all traces of makeup, the next step is to wash your face. A gentle cleanser effectively removes dead cells, dirt, bacteria, and excess oil from the skin and unclogs the pores. Derms recommend using a cleanser without sodium lauryl sulfate. Sulfates have a bad rep of stripping the skin. If you have sensitive, dry skin, look for a cleanser without alcohol and fragrance that may irritate the skin.
3. Toning
There’s a toner for you whether you have dry, oily, or sensitive skin. A good toner helps balance the skin’s pH, gently exfoliates, and resurfaces the skin making it ready for the next step.
While buying a toner, look for an alcohol-free, fragrance-free, hydrating, gentle formula. Advanced toners are formulated with active ingredients and may offer youth-boosting benefits.
4. Acid Treatment
Though washing your face with acid may sound scary, face acids are particularly good for improving your skin, and derms recommend them. AHAs, BHAs, and PHAs are different types of skin-friendly acids. AHAs are water-soluble and help improve the skin’s texture.
They are good exfoliators and remove dead cells from the skin’s surface and boost cell regeneration. BHAs are oil-soluble and help unclog pores. Treating your skin with acids may change the skin’s appearance.
Products with glycolic acid are excellent for smoothing the skin’s surface. Lactic acid is a mild alternative. Products formulated with Maltobionic acid may help improve the skin’s texture and structure.
5. Applying Eye Cream
Applying an eye cream should be on your skincare night regimen as the skin around your eyes needs special TLC. The skin around your eyes is the most delicate and thin.
Eye creams help you improve the dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines that appear around the eyes. For the best results, dermatologists recommend using eye creams formulated with hydrators, caffeine-based eye creams, and eye creams with peptides.
6. Applying Serum
During the night, your skin becomes busy with repairing tasks. And face serums are the best things you can gift your skin. Serums are lightweight and formulated with actives that address various skin issues.
A serum travels deep into the skin’s layers and delivers the active ingredients. You will find a serum whether you want to address acne or anti-aging.
7. Moisturizing
Do you need a moisturizer formulated for nighttime use? Derms say, yes, you do. Nighttime moisturizers are usually thicker than daytime moisturizers and formulated with ingredients such as retinoid or GA that you can’t use during the daytime.
Night creams assist in skin repair and regeneration. The best night creams on the market are packed with skin-nourishing ingredients. The good ones hydrate the skin intensely without clogging the pores. Hyaluronic acid and ceramides are excellent hydrators. Night creams with vitamin E could be the best option if your skin looks dull.
8. Applying Face Oil
Whether you have dry, oily, sensitive, or normal skin, there are face oils that may help you have the bright, healthy and glowing skin you so desire. Even if you have acne-prone skin, acne-safe face oils can nourish your troubled skin.
Natural oils are rich in anti-itch, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial compounds. They also play a role in enhancing skin-barrier functions[2]. Face oils are occlusive, and applying face oil is the last step of a night skincare routine.
Applying face oil helps form a protective layer on previously applied skincare products and increases their stay and efficacy. Depending on your skin type, you can choose from a wide selection of face oils.
The Best Time To Shower TLC For Your Skin
Now that you know the steps and products you need for a skincare night regimen by skin type, it is time to know the ideal time to start the process.
The skin has a circadian rhythm, and skincare is linked to this rhythm. A 12-week study[3] shows how a unique dual serum system was beneficial in protecting and restoring the skin exposed to environmental factors.
So when you slather the PM formulas on your skin, do that before you hit the bed. Skin permeability increases at night that helps the topicals penetrate the deeper layers and deliver the best result. Here is another interesting study[4] that confirms how skin barrier function is connected to circadian rhythmicity.
Conclusion
Skin regeneration processes have a direct connection to the body’s circadian clock. So, the next time your friend talks about a new night cream or shopping for PM skincare products, don’t be surprised.
These products contain potent actives, and they penetrate the skin layers when the skin permeability is high at night. But how many products do you need? Depends on your night skincare routine.
Do you really need a 10-step skincare regimen? There’s nothing wrong with pampering yourself if you have the time and budget for this.
But you must at least follow the basic cleanse-tone-moisturize ritual along with a serum to address skin issues that crop up as you age.
Dermatologists suggest layering a night cream over a serum so that it works overnight and gets you the maximum benefits. However, talking about benefits and results, consistency is key. Follow a night skincare routine for six weeks, and thank us for telling you.