I can bet that every single person, who uses makeup on a daily basis, has gone to bed with it on at least once in their life. It's understandable, when you come home after a long day feeling exhausted, skipping the night skincare routine seems like a good idea. Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest rookie mistakes anyone can make.  

The main reason is that your skin enters the recovery mode during your sleep and heals it from the damages it suffered during the day. To make sure you avoid making such mistakes and know the best nighttime skincare routine practices and recommended products, I have prepared this guide. So, let's dive in!

Why Skincare Before Bedtime Is Important?

During the day, your skin is exposed to environmental elements and pollutants like dirt, oil, pollution, sun, and wind. These aggressors build up on your skin and clog your pores. And if you wear makeup, feel free to add another item to the list of things that stay on your face all day. 

When you go to sleep, your skin gets a chance to repair, rejuvenate and relax by actively producing new skin cells. If your pores are clogged, your skin doesn't get the chance to breathe and carry out its overnight repair process. Therefore, it's extremely important to cleanse your face before going to sleep, so it's free of dirt, dust, and other impurities. By developing a nighttime skincare routine, you can assist your skin in its restoration process. And, of course, wake up with a fresh canvas for your skin cells to work on the next day.

Morning vs Night Skincare: Understanding The Difference

Morning skincare focuses on protecting your skin from different environmental aggressors. For example, if you apply sunscreen in the morning (and you really should), you protect your skin from sunburns and help reduce the risk of skin cancer. But, night skincare focuses on letting your skin unwind, relax, and repair. 

The skin can absorb nutrients better during the nighttime, so it's the perfect timing for using rich and nourishing skincare products that might otherwise feel too heavy or greasy during daytime.

What Time Should I Do My Night Skincare Routine?

Generally, there's no scientific answer to this question. As long as you do it before going to bed, it's fine. But as a skincare expert and avid enthusiast, I can say that doing your nighttime skincare routine steps, 2 – 3 hours before going to sleep, is good timing. If you use makeup in your day-to-day, then I would also advise removing it the minute you are home and don't really have need for it. This gives your skin more time to restore and relax.

In What Order Do I Need To Layer Nighttime Skincare?

Regardless of your skin type, here are simple nighttime skincare routine steps that you can start implementing in your everyday life. 

Step 1 – Cleanse

If you're using makeup, start by removing it thoroughly with a gentle yet effective cleanser, like micellar water or cleansing milks. If you use waterproof makeup, make sure to use oil-based cleansers. Afterwards, it's important to wash your face using foam or gel based face washes. 

Step 2 – Tone 

Toner is an essential nighttime face care step that people often tend to miss. Toners help balance the pH levels of your skin and reduce the appearance of large open pores. This is particularly useful step if you have oily skin. For dry skin, the best options will be moisturising or hydrating toners.  

Step 3 – Serum

If you want to bring your skincare routine to the next level, incorporate a face serum also in your nighttime ritual. It's best to look for products that contain active ingredients like glycolic acid, hyaluronic acid, retinol, or others. Additionally, I recommend choosing serums that address skin concerns (like dark spots) or increases water content in your skin for a super hydrated, plump look. 

Step 4 – Eye cream 

This is another step many people are guilty of ignoring or skipping. Unfortunately, face cream is not enough to moisturise the eye area as well. The skin around our eyes is extremely thin and fragile, and it's the first to show signs of ageing. To protect this area, you need to use eye cream also at night to help refresh and brighten it. You'll thank yourself, when you're 50! 

Step 5 – Moisturise 

This is the final step – using a nourishing face cream or moisturiser to lock in all that goodness from previous skincare products and hydrate your skin. I recommend going for a night moisturiser that helps fight skin dullness, hydrates and boosts cell regeneration overnight. 

Bonus – Masks, exfoliators, and patches 

On nights, when you're feeling exhausted and like you need a bit more pampering than usual, treat your skin to a hydrating sheet mask and/or eye patches. I wouldn't recommend doing this more than 2 times a week, and you will see better results if you exfoliate, then apply serum and only then put on the sheet mask. Afterwards, don't forget to follow the usual remaining nighttime skincare routine steps.