Yes, when we’re asleep our skin goes into repair mode, undoing damage caused during the day. In fact, science shows that our skin – a living organ – regenerates a whole three times faster at night than during the day.
As we approach bedtime, specifically around 9pm to 11pm, our skin winds down just as we do. It shakes off the defence mode it’s been in all day, protecting itself from pollutants etc, and gets ready for a night of restoration and repair.
This means that skincare products penetrate better in the evening than at any other time of the day – and this is something to take advantage of to give your skin a helping hand before you head to bed.
Below I’ll share some of my top product picks to get you started, and there’s something in there for all budgets.
With World Sleep Day coming up this Sunday, there’s never been a better time to begin.
We’re all busy, and sometimes by the time it gets to bedtime it can be about all we can muster to brush our teeth. But taking just one minute to massage in a night cream (after an initial minute to cleanse your skin of the day, of course) is a relaxing and worthwhile habit to get into.
In those 60 seconds, massage in your chosen cream or serum, sweeping your fingers (or a tool like a jade roller or gua sha) from the centre of your face outwards to drain any toxins and puffiness. Feel the product, noticing its texture and smell, and creating for yourself a tiny moment of mindfulness amid the madness.
Nuxe Nuxuriance Global Anti-ageing Night Cream, £55 (uk.nuxe.com) is a potent line-buster checking off all the r’s as it revitalises, renews, and resurfaces, containing alfalfa extract, hyaluronic acid and hemerocallis fulva.
Curel Replenishing Night Cream, £25 (Boots) is like a tall glass of water for parched skin on the sensitive side, with glycerin and squalane to deeply hydrate and replenish skin as you sleep.
Nip+Fab Ceramide Fix Overnight Cream 12%, £29.95 (nipandfab.com) is – as the name suggests – packed with ceramides to repair the skin barrier, which in turn protects against water loss and helps defend against environmental aggressors.
Bare Minerals Ageless 10% Phyto Procollagen Firming Sleeping Mask, £46 (John Lewis) is a real workhorse, plumping, hydrating and smoothing the skin with its hero ingredient, hibiscus flower.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Night Cream, £13.99 (Boots) packs a moisture punch, replenishing water loss effectively with hyaluronic acid, amino acids, electrolytes and peptides.
Olivanna Bakuchiol Miracle Night Serum, £110 (olivanna.com) contains superhero ingredient bakuchiol, which is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial. The luxurious formula calms skin and encourages cell turnover and rejuvenation.
L’Occitane Overnight Reset Oil-In-Serum, £55 (uk.loccitane.com) has a lovely amount of slip to it, making it a great massage companion. It combines soothing, antioxidant immortelle sap, alongside rejuvenating marjoram.
