Essential Night Skincare Routine You Should Not Miss

Is your desire for flawless skin unfulfilled despite having a proper skincare routine? Then you might be missing something very important: A night-time skincare routine!

Yes, not just during the daytime, your night skin care should also be well-suited to your skin type.

Take a look at detailed night-time skincare routine steps in this article, which will help you achieve remarkably healthy and youthful skin.

Our Ayurvedic Doctor Speaks

‘’Our bodies love routine. Ayurveda deeply acknowledged this now established fact. Guidelines compiled in Ayurvedic texts for daily, night time and seasonal routines help us keep ourselves gleaming in good health. ’’

-Dr. Zeel Gandhi (Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine & Surgery), Chief Ayurvedic Doctor, Vedix

Highlights:

• Why Is The Night Skincare Routine Important?
• What Should Be A Night Skincare Routine?
• What Time Should You Do Your Night Skincare Routine?
• What Should You Include In Your Night-Time Skincare Routine?
• Daytime Vs Night Skincare Routine

Why Is The Night Skincare Routine Important?

Your skin gets exposed to UV radiation [1], pollutants, smoke, dirt, and grime throughout the day. These environmental aggressors along with your stressful lifestyle, increase the free radicals, which damage your healthy skin cells to stabilize themselves. Hence, during the daytime, your skin is in a constant defense mode to protect itself from the free radical damage.

But your skin goes into repair mode at night time when you sleep. It produces melatonin [2], which is a powerful antioxidant, in higher amounts during night time. Also, your body makes more collagen, and the activity of growth hormones, which help in repairing your damaged skin cells increases during the night.

Thus, it is very essential to build a good night skincare routine that boosts your skin's natural rejuvenation process. Also, a good night skincare routine can bring your skin the following benefits:

• Less moisture loss
• Control over skin damage
• Reduction in wrinkles
• Control on acne
• Enhanced skin glow

Dr. Zeel Gandhi, Chief Ayurvedic Doctor at Vedix, says, “Our bodies love routine. Ayurveda deeply acknowledged this now established fact. Guidelines compiled in Ayurvedic texts for daily, night time and seasonal routines help us keep ourselves gleaming in good health. ’’

What Should Be A Night Skincare Routine?

Before proceeding with your night skincare routine, you need to keep the below factors in mind while choosing your products:

A. Your Skin Type

• If you have oily or acne-prone skin, then you need to opt for lightweight lotions or facial oils instead of heavy creams that make your skin more greasy.
• If you have dry skin, then you should opt for nourishing moisturizers that can help you maintain adequate hydration levels in your skin.

B. Your Skin Concerns

• For skin concerns related to aging, such as wrinkles, fine lines, spots, dry skin, etc., you need to pick products with Vata dosha controlling herbs.
• To deal with issues such as pigmentation [3], dark circles, pimples, etc., you need products with Pitta dosha controlling herbs that soothe your skin and balance the hormonal activity.
• To deal with pus-filled acne, dull or greasy skin that’s prone to acne, you need skin products with Kapha dosha controlling herbs.

C. Steps For a Night Skincare Routine

Here are the steps you should follow in your night skincare routine:

1. Remove Makeup

Begin your night skincare routine by removing your makeup. You can use a makeup removal solution or a little amount of cleansing oil such as coconut oil to dissolve the makeup first. Then, remove the makeup residue using a cotton pad.

2. Cleanse

Wash your face properly using a gentle cleanser. Take a pea-sized amount of cleanser and massage it into your damp skin using your fingertips. While doing so, focus more on the T-zone which is likely to have excess sebum build-up. Later, wash your face with lukewarm water. This step is essential to clear off all the dirt, excess sebum, other pollution, and product build-ups from your skin pores, before applying the vitalizing products.

3. Use Toner

A toner is a water-based formula that helps in boosting your skin hydration and removing any leftover dirt and build-ups from your skin pores post-cleansing. Toners are packed with humectants or antioxidants which lock the moisture in your skin and tighten your enlarged skin pores. Prefer using toners that do not contain alcohol. Rosewater and witch hazel can be used as natural toners for your skin.

4. Use Serum

A serum is a concentrated solution that has the necessary ingredients to resolve your skin problems. Choose the facial serum depending on your skin type and its concerns.

• If you have premature aging, then your serum should be rich in peptides and retinol.
• If you want to deal with acne, then you should use a serum that has anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and pH balancing agents.
• To address hyperpigmentation, your serum should include ingredients that are rich in vitamin C, niacinamide, and yashtimadhu [4]. Also, wait for 2-5 minutes after applying the serum before proceeding with the next steps in your night skincare routine.

Vedix Tip: Do not use retinol-based products [5] in your night skincare routine on the day when you exfoliate your skin.

5. Moisturise

Your skin needs adequate water content for healing. Moisturizing your skin during nights forms a protective layer, which prevents water evaporation from your skin while you sleep. In general, night moisturizers are heavier and slightly thicker than day moisturizers as they are designed to be absorbed slowly. However, ensure that your moisturizer does not clog your skin pores. Moisturizing your skin at night keeps it softer and plumpy.

6. Eye Cream

Besides addressing the fine lines around your eyes and dark circles, eye creams can also aid in protecting the delicate eye surroundings from other skin products. Applying a good eye cream helps in relaxing your eyes and prevents puffiness when you wake up.

7. Lip Balm

Applying lip balm during the nights prevents your delicate lips from going dehydrated and keeps them softer. Remember to apply lip balm only after you are done brushing your teeth before bedtime.

8. Masks

If you can allocate some extra time once or twice a week, you can apply a herbal mask on your face for 20-30 minutes and rinse it off between step 2 and step 3 of the night skincare routine. Exfoliating masks or clay masks are a better choice if you have oily skin. Nourishing and hydrating masks are the best choice for people with dry skin.

What Time Should You Do Your Night Skincare Routine?

Dr. Zeel recommends finishing with your night skincare routine at least half an hour before your bedtime. This gives sufficient time for your skin to absorb the applied products well, thus, preventing them from ending up on your pillowcase.

What Should You Include In Your Night-Time Skincare Routine?

As discussed above, your night skincare routine should include a makeup remover, cleanser, toner, moisturizer, serum, masks, and eye cream, which are most suitable for your skin type.

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Dr. Zeel says, “Ayurveda recommends taking medicines at different times of the day for specific health benefits. Medicines taken at night specifically benefit Urdhvanga - regions above the shoulder. Taking herbal supplements like Majishtha, Kumari, Brahmi, or Amla at bedtime can also keep up your skin health.”

Daytime Vs Night Skincare Routine

While your daytime skincare routine is all about protection from pollution, sun, dirt, seasonal changes, and other environmental aggressors, your night skincare routine focuses on treating and providing your skin with what it needs. In other words, the day skincare routine deals with preserving your skin from external factors, and the night skincare routine boosts the reparation and regenerative processes of your skin.

The Last Word

When you are asleep, your body works to fix your skin's barrier by repairing the damaged skin cells. Following a night skincare routine not only aids in revitalizing your skin but also makes it better prepared to deal with the environmental aggressors the next day. Hence, choose the right products for your skin for the night skincare routine and wake up to healthy skin.

At Vedix, we customize an Ayurvedic skincare routine for you by analyzing your skin needs and its elevated doshas.