Establishing an effective night-time skincare routine
It’s not called “beauty sleep” for nothing. Our skin repairs itself when we sleep, the skin’s blood flow increases, and collagen rebuilds. More collagen = Plumper skin!
Hopefully, you’re getting a good 7 – 9 hours sleep a night. If you’re getting less than 6 hours it may eventually start to affect your appearance. I know it’s hard but do try to aim for at least 5 good nights of sleep.
There are many great products out there that can really work on a cellular level while you sleep.
Your night-time routine is much simpler than day:
- Cleanse – You MUST clean your skin. All traces of make-up need to be removed. I know for some women that can really be difficult due to life’s fast pace or just feeling exhausted. Saying that, there was a surge in buying cosmetics and skin care during lockdown. I reckon there’s a lot of fresh-faced women out there ready to mingle. Double cleansing is also good. Sometimes the first cleanse doesn’t remove everything.
- Retinol – Now your skin is ready for retinol that will get to work while you sleep. A little bit of info, Retinol is a Vitamin A derived topical application. Retinol has been proven to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles, reduce pigmentation, improve skin elasticity, tone and texture. This is an absolute necessity for women from as early as late 20s.
IMPORTANT INFO
If you are new to retinol, you will need to build up a tolerance to this type of product. Always use sparingly, trust me, you do not need to overload on this product. If you do, your skin will become irritated and appear red. Use only a couple of times a week at first and then increase when you feel your skin has adapted.
Please, please note that you MUST wear sunscreen while using retinol regularly. Retinol can make your skin super sensitive to the sun. It’s always best to take a break from using retinol whilst on your holiday in the sun.
ZO Skin Health Radical Night Cream
This is a brand you can trust. I have watched Zein Obagi’s videos many many times. He is incredibly passionate about skin and spent years formulating treatments and products. This is a great retinol to use nightly.
PCA Skin Intensive Age Refining Treatment 0.5% Pure Retinol Night
This night-time serum will target fine lines and wrinkles, increase cell turnover and improve texture while you sleep. All the good things we so so need help with. It also has hyaluronic acid which will hydrate as well as plump your skin.
This product is a cream and the retinol is slightly lower concentration than the above. If you haven’t used retinol before this is a brilliant one to start with. The retinol is released in a way to minimise irritation.
