Sleep Your Way to Great Skin with these Nighttime Beauty Rituals

We spend about a third of our lives sleeping, so that’s 8 hours of time to pamper your skin you could be wasting! Making changes to, or starting a nighttime beauty ritual is easy if you know the steps to take and products to use.

What to Know About Treating Skin at Night

Why At Night?

Sleep is a time of rejuvenation for the entire body, so there’s no reason to deprive your skin of that precious time for healing. The biggest reason for having a big skincare routine at night is the day you had leading up to it. All day, the skin on your face is exposed to dirt, dust and grime. It may be covered in makeup or other products, or just the oil your skin produced. Not only can all of these different factors contribute to acne, they also can age your skin and blemish it in other ways.

Nighttime is also important for your beauty routine because sleep is, as we’ve discussed, 8 hours of clean, pure skin. You’re not walking around outside or sweating under the sun. You aren’t wearing makeup or having dust blown in your face from a car driving by on the street. Your skin can use this time to repair and absorb the moisture that it may have lost during the day. As your body rests, your skin can do its best recuperating. Keeping your skin young and free of wrinkles and other signs of aging is not difficult with the right routine.

Planning and Executing Your Nighttime Beauty Ritual

So what does a nighttime beauty ritual look like? It will vary from person to person, and you’ll need to have a different ritual for the morning. With that being said, what you do before bed is equally important as what you do once you wake up. Let’s outline the steps and what you’ll need.

1. The most important thing you can do for your skin after a day is to clean it. Cleansing the skin, making sure to remove any makeup is crucial for the health of your pores. If you sleep in your makeup, you’re more likely to develop acne or expand your pores. This is because it gives the products more time to settle in the skin, and the pressure of the pillow on your face helps push it into your skin. To clean your skin, you’ll need to remove your makeup first. The most efficient way is with an oil-based makeup remover. Once your makeup is removed, use a gentle cleanser to clean the skin itself. Make sure to pat the skin dry once you’ve cleaned it, and use warm, not hot water.
2. There are a lot of areas to target when you’re moisturizing and treating. Regardless of whether you’re old enough to see the effects of age on your skin, you should consider the anti-aging benefits of a cream that contains vitamin A. Vitamin A promotes the development of collagen, which is a crucial building block in your skin that keeps it full and youthful. There are prescription and over-the-counter retinoids that contain vitamin A.
3. Treating problem areas requires focus and attention. One common problem area is the under-eye. Puffy and dark skin under the eyes is a common complaint, and it’s not just because you don’t get enough sleep. There are a number of causes for this, but you can address it in your nighttime skincare routine. While there are many over-the-counter products that can treat circles under your eyes, the best products are the ones you can have prescribed specifically for your skin. Talk to your dermatologist about the right prescription ointment, and then apply it each night once you’ve cleansed.
4. There are other areas you can focus on, but the best thing you can do for your skin is moisturize. Once all the cleansing is complete, use a moisturizer that works best with your skin. There are considerations to make when choosing a moisturizer for your skin, some work better for dry or sensitive skin. Others are best adapted for oily and/or acne-prone skin. Regardless of what works for you, regularly applying it at night is critical. Your skin will absorb and soften as night progresses.

Sleep is important for your body and your skin, and how you prepare your skin for sleep is equally as important. If you have questions about your routine or what products and prescriptions you may benefit from, contact the skincare experts at Northeast Dermatology Associates.