A good night’s sleep is essential to our overall health and well-being, but did you know it can also have a significant impact on your skin? When you rest, your skin goes into repair mode, which means nighttime is the perfect opportunity to give your skin the extra care it needs. So having a nighttime skin care routine is essential to enhance your beauty sleep and wake up with healthy, glowing skin. By developing an effective night-time skincare routine you can keep your skin feeling nourished, hydrated and radiant. To ensure you wake up with healthy glowing skin, it’s important to take care of it before you hit the sack.
Speaking to HT Lifestyle, Dr Rashmi Shetty, Cosmetic Dermatologist, said, “Night time in skincare is all about rejuvenation and repair. So it’s important to nourish your skin before hitting the sack. Your night time products are completely dependent on your skin type and your skin concerns. Depends. So, if you have skin concerns like pigmentation, dermatitis or acne, the first step in your routine should be the use of prescriptive creams followed by your dermatologist. With any other creams you want to use.”
(Also read: From sunscreen to clay masks: 9 essential summer skincare hacks for healthy and glowing skin )
Dr. Rashmi suggests some simple steps to develop an effective nighttime skin care routine:
- Sleeping and waking up on time is very important. When I ask about a patient’s sleep cycle, I get answers like, “I get my 8 hours of sleep a night. I go to bed at 2 a.m. and wake up at 12 p.m.” This is not healthy or beneficial for your skin in any way as it disrupts the circadian rhythm. In India, the sun rises and sets at 6 am and 6 pm respectively. Following this pattern, the rest of the hormones should be released by 8am in order for our bodies to release cortisol at the correct time for the rest of the day.
- Before going to bed, make sure to wash your face thoroughly, no matter how tired you are. It will clean the bacteria and toxins that have been sitting on your skin throughout the day. It’s equally important to be consistent with your skin care routine post-cleanse. If you change or skip any step in your routine, it can change the results accordingly.
- While most of us focus on our facial skin care, don’t forget your neck, legs and hands. The skin in these areas can become dry and take its toll during the day.
Dr. Batul Patel, leading celebrity dermatologist and founder of Bombay Skin Clinic, shares with HT Lifestyle, some simple nighttime skincare practices that can help you achieve glowing and healthy skin.
1. Using light therapy at home
Research shows that red light therapy can help refine your skin color, skin tone, and smoothness, and even improve the quality of your sleep. This device can be used on the face in the comfort of your home and is also resourceful in reducing wrinkles and fine lines and treating acne and related blemishes. It helps control the redness and itching associated with eczema, psoriasis and rosacea.
2. Lie on your back
Sleeping on your back has the following benefits:
● Prevents Wrinkles: When you sleep on your face, wrinkles and fine lines develop quickly. Sleeping on your back prevents this from happening.
● Reduces puffiness and dark circles under your eyes
● Reduces the appearance of wrinkles on your neck
● Reduces swelling of your face
3. Using cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp seed oil-based skin care
Cannabidiol provides the following benefits:
● Contains anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
● Helps in treating eczema and psoriasis because of its anti-inflammatory properties.
● Antioxidant properties help prevent skin aging
● Regulates sebum production and has antibacterial properties for acne prone skin.
Topical CBD products are available as creams, lotions, balms, salves and oils. It improves the health of the skin and relieves any pain which helps in a good night’s sleep.