Pencil In a Nighttime Skin Care Routine

After a long day, you probably want to just throw your clothes into the hamper and roll right into bed. Trust me, I understand. But by doing so, you’re actually neglecting your body’s largest organ - your skin. A healthy skin care regimen isn’t just reserved for your morning routine. In fact, your skin could be missing out on quite a few benefits by ignoring a nighttime skin care routine. Discover what it means to achieve true beauty rest when you take the following into consideration.

Why is a nighttime skin care routine important?

Nighttime is made for rest and rejuvenation. Your body and mind can relax, and your energy can be restored. But, your skin and physical appearance are also major beneficiaries of proper sleep and nighttime self-care.

Evidence shows that cell regeneration takes place faster at night than during the day. The same rings true for your skin cells. Each day, your skin is getting rid of tens of thousands of skin cells. Proper hygiene, nutrition, and skin care enhance the body’s natural ability to regenerate dead skin cells. That’s why it’s important to take care of your skin both day and night.

Fun fact: Research shows that, early in a nighttime sleep cycle, people typically experience an increase in growth hormones that can stimulate collagen formation!

Establishing a nighttime skin care regimen

Let’s be honest - when it comes to finding a daily skin care routine that works best for you, there’s going to be a lot of trial and error. Personally, I’ve always been invested in the appearance of my skin, but I haven’t always had a regular skin care routine. I didn’t want to waste money, I was scared I’d harm my skin with the wrong products, and I didn’t want to carve out the time to execute a regimen.

That being said, once I sat down and actually took the time to do just a little research, I realized there are a few key tips that made the process less intimidating.

1. Know your skin

Whether you’re establishing a daytime or nighttime skin care routine, it’s critical to have at least a basic level understanding of your skin. Do you have dark spots? Is your skin dry? Knowing these things about your skin will help you weed out products that aren’t best for you.

2. Read the ingredients

If you don’t know what’s in your products, you won’t know if they are going to work for your skin type - or worse, you won’t know if they’re going to harm your skin.

3. Read the directions

This helped me the most! When presented with an entire line of skin care products, reading the directions will help you gain an understanding of what products should be used in combination with others. For example, most serums suggest you thoroughly clean your face first. Now you know, don’t forget to start with a cleanser.

4. Start with a manageable amount of products

Maybe you’re worried about the time spent. Maybe you’re worried about spending too much money. Start small and grow your collection. This will help you focus on products that work best together while saving money and time. The ultimate goal is to efficiently and effectively build a nighttime skin care product set.

Tips from an amateur

My current nighttime skin care routine looks like this:

• I start with a good cleanser that’s going to set the tone for the products to follow. After rinsing the cleanser off, I focus on my serums.
• First I apply a brightening serum all over my face followed by a retinol serum that focuses on the circles under my eyes.
• Then, to place a blanket over the serums (and because my skin is usually super dry), I apply a hydrating moisturizer.
• Last, but certainly not least, I give my lips some love by applying a hydrating lip balm. Simple, right?

As a rookie in the skin care game, I’ve already seen a huge difference in the way my skin looks and feels since I’ve started implementing a nighttime skin care routine. Why only show your skin some love in the AM? Show it some love after the sun goes down and get your glow up!