A nighttime skincare routine is critical for maintaining healthy and radiant skin. While we sleep, our bodies undergo a process of rejuvenation, making it an opportune time to nourish and repair skin.
During the day, skin is exposed to pollution, UV radiation, and environmental stressors which can lead to skin damage and premature aging. A nighttime skincare routine helps to counteract these effects, providing essential nutrients, hydration, and protection to promote skin regeneration. By incorporating a consistent night-time skincare regimen, you can optimize the health and appearance of your skin, waking up to a fresh, glowing complexion every morning.
Why Is Skincare at Night So Important?
Your face is your window to the world. And just like a windshield may collect pollen and pollution, your skin also collects makeup, air pollution, incidental dirt, bacteria or germs from your fingers or phone, and a range of other potentially breakout-causing impurities. While you likely can’t see this debris on skin, a good cleansing will reveal that even the cleanest-looking skin usually harbors hidden oil and grime.
On top of that, studies have suggested that your skin is most ready to repair in the evening. It’s even been shown that your skin may be best equipped to recover from damage due to UV rays overnight. Your skin is also most receptive to nutrients and anti-aging heavy hitters like retinoids or glycolic acid while you sleep.
Lastly, an evening skincare routine gives all those nourishing serums and creams you’ve just smoothed into your skin time to absorb fully. While it can be hard to provide every part of your skincare routine a chance to fully settle in before layering on your makeup, you’re not exactly getting up to much while you sleep, so it’s a way better opportunity to give your skin the love it needs.
What’s the Difference Between Morning and Evening Skincare?
So, you know you need to care for your skin at night - but why does this routine need to be different than your morning skincare regimen? In the morning, you’ll need different elements of skincare, like SPF, to protect your skin from daily wear and tear. Of course, SPF isn’t essential when you’re getting your zzz’s - and can even clog pores if it’s left on skin overnight.
Another factor to consider is that your skin’s pH level changes throughout the day. This means that morning cleansing should be gentler than evening cleansing to keep the skin’s pH level balanced.
You’ll also want to use any skincare products with ingredients that lead to photosensitivity — like retinol and retinoids — during your evening routine. These photosensitizing agents should not be worn during the daytime, as they make you more sensitive to the sun. On the other hand, brightening, antioxidant-rich vitamin C serums are ideal for daytime use as they provide additional sun protection.
The Perfect Nighttime Skincare Routine
1. Cleanse, and Cleanse Again
A cleanser should be a prominent part of your routine, but “double cleanse” is the operative phrase regarding your before-bed process. Start with a makeup remover — whether you prefer a cleansing oil, standard face wash, or micellar water, it’s all down to your and your skin. This step removes makeup, oil, and grime from the skin’s surface. Consider this step like rinsing a dish before placing in the dishwasher - it allows the second cleansing step to penetrate deeper into the skin and work better.
Follow up with another gentle cleanser. This ensures that you’re not just removing surface dirt and makeup but giving your skin the deep clean it needs to glow.
To make removing makeup, cleansing, and exfoliating super simple, try NuFACE Prep-N-Glow Facial Wipes. These dual-sided wipes gently remove makeup, cleanse skin and buff away dead skin cells to make cleansing a breeze.
2. Exfoliate
After cleansing, it’s time to exfoliate. Exfoliating helps to slough away dead skin cells and oil build up from the surface of skin to expose fresh, youthful skin. When searching for a chemical exfoliant, look for active ingredients like AHA or BHA.
Alternatively, gentle mechanical exfoliants like the polishing micro-dots in our Prep-N-Glow Exfoliating and Hydrating Facial Wipes can help brighten your skin while removing every trace of makeup, dirt, face oil, or impurities.
3. Treatments or Serums
Your evening skin ritual is an ideal time to add on targeted treatments and serums to address your major skin concerns. This gives the products extra time to work on skin and gives you desired results.
NuFACE Super Booster Serums are formulated to address specific skin needs while enhancing microcurrent treatment results. For a rejuvenating evening treatment, we recommend Super Peptide Booster which actively reduces the look of fine lines and wrinkles while refining skin's overall texture.
Skincare devices and treatments are great to use at night because you are likely in less of a rush than during a busy morning. Relax and unwind with a 5-Minute Facial Lift to tone, lift & contour down to the MUSCLES, or light up skin from within with LED Red Light Technology to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. The TRINITY+ Complete packs in the benefits of both technologies, with interchangeable microcurrent and LED Red Light Attachments for a holistic skin treatment you can tailor to your unique needs.
4. Hydrate Thoroughly
Your skin dries out during the day - so no matter your skin type, it will benefit from clean, deep hydration. 3-in-1 Supercharged IonPlex® Facial Mist is an ideal way to mist on supercharged hydration and layer into your PM skincare routine. This mist is formulated with IonPlex - a blend of glacial water and ions - to deeply hydrate skin and conduct microcurrent treatment, along with hyaluronic acid to lock in moisture and niacinamide to soothe skin.
If you’re looking for a lightweight moisturizer to help soften and smooth skin, consider Aqua Gel Microcurrent Activator. This dual-purpose product deeply hydrates for up to 24 hours while conducting microcurrent with your NuFACE Device. Or, if you’re looking for deep hydration and firming benefits, you may want to opt for Silk Créme Activator. This serum-créme hybrid conducts microcurrent while hydrating for up to 48 hours.
5. Check Your Sleep Hygiene
In addition to adjusting your skincare routine to ensure your skin is getting everything it needs to repair itself while you sleep - you should also examine your overall sleep habits to make sure you’re replenishing enough overnight.
Getting enough sleep is vital to your overall well-being. Adults should aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night and maintain a set sleep schedule by going to bed and waking around the same times each day. Creating a sleep-friendly environment is also essential to a restful night's sleep. Try minimizing your exposure to electronic devices before bedtime and avoiding stimulants like caffeine and nicotine to help unwind and relax.
Another important factor of sleep hygiene is, well, hygiene. Remember to wash your sheets and pillows frequently - at least once a week if not every few days - to prevent oils from transferring to skin and clogging pores.
Takeaway
A well-executed evening skincare routine can work wonders for your skin. Whether you’re battling fine lines, struggling with early-morning dark circles, or looking to even out your skin tone, consistent care and the right products can make a massive difference to your complexion.
Sources:
Therapeutic Implications of the Circadian Clock on Skin Function | JDD
