Does your skin really know it’s nighttime? A word on night creams

In this smart beauty series, I already looked at the myth of eye creams, the truth about anti-aging, whether double cleansing really works, and what vitamins we should actually use in our skin care routine. This one is all about night creams and night products.

Another topic that I think rightfully raises the question: do we really need separate products for day and night? Can our skin even differentiate between them? Or is this another dirty little marketing trick to make us buy even more products?

We’ll see.

Usual disclaimer still applies: I’m STILL not a doctor or dermatologist. I just ask them a lot of questions (it helps when you have some in the family) and do a lot of research.

Do we have to let our skin “breathe” at night?

I had to start with this, as it’s practically impossible to find a beauty article about night skin care without mentioning this “skin breathing” issue. I don’t know who came up with this dumb idea, but they definitely should go back to elementary biology class.

So, once and for all, let’s debunk this myth.

The skin is not breathing because it doesn’t have anything to breath with. Yep, some animals, like amphibians (Word of the Day alert for us non-native English speakers) can breath through their skin. Last time I checked though, there are a couple of evolutionary differences between us, and breathing through the skin is definitely one of them. The skin is not a respiratory organ, moreover its last layer is composed of dead cells.

I don’t wanna overdraw this, you get the gist.

So, what does the skin actually do during the night?

While breathing is not one of them, sleep and nighttime are essential for a couple of other important vital functions.

While we go through different cycles of sleep each night, it’s mainly important because this is the time the body recharges itself from and for the daily activities. Many physiological activities change while we sleep: some functions are slowed down (like kidney or muscles), some are maintained or increased, like cell repair and the production of Human Growth Hormone (that stimulates cell regeneration and reproduction).

While during the day our skin in in full protection mode (against UV rays, environmental pollution), during the night, as it doesn’t have to warn off these effects, the body can focus on regeneration and renewal. Research actually shows that skin cell regeneration almost doubles at night, peaking between 23:00 and 4:00.

Oxygen circulation and blood flow is also stronger during the night (it is diverted from other functions), which means that absorption of active ingredients increase as well (so it’s actually better to save those serums for nighttime).

To sum up, the skin does work hard during the night, repairing and renewing itself. I think most of us can attest to this – just remember the smoothness and firmness of your skin after a good night sleep vs. the dark circles, rough patches, and tiredness showing after a bad night. Which also means that using special nighttime products might be warranted to aid the skin in its reparative activity.

What’s special about nighttime products?

Usually, night creams and products contain special active ingredients that help the skin in its natural healing process. That is, if they are not simply glorified and overpriced moisturizers. Always go through the ingredient list and look for antioxidants, vitamins, hyaluronic acid, retinols, and peptides.

Some products are also recommended to be used at night, because they make the skin more sensitive to burning and sun exposure – like acids or retinols.

Other products are heavier and take more time to be absorbed by skin – like some oils and heavier moisturizers. We’re better off at using these at night, rather than in the morning, trying to pair it with SPF and makeup.

What’s the ideal nighttime routine?

A very basic nighttime routine should look something like this

Step 1: Cleansing! Or even better, double-cleansing.

If you’re not cleansing your face properly at night, do not even bother with anything else – you’re just wasting your money. It’s so interesting how much time people are willing to spend on putting makeup on – and then nothing on taking it off. We must always cleanse the skin to get rid of the sweat, dirt, makeup, SPF, and everything that has piled upon it during the day. Otherwise, it will lead to clogged pores and spots and pimples as a not so nice morning surprise.

Step 2: Toner/acid/essence/Face mist

This is the time to use AHAs and BHAs to exfoliate the skin and shred away the dead skin cells. I usually use the Pixi Glow Tonic, because it’s gentle enough for everyday use, or the Alpha-H Liquid Gold once/twice a week. Years ago, I read about double toning on Caroline Hirons’ website, so I stick to that: use an acid and then follow it up with a hydrating spritz. I also like the Missha Time Revolution Essense to add one more moisturizing step.

Step 3: Treat with serums

I don’t want to go too deep into the specifics in this post, but this is the most important stage (along with cleanser) in a nighttime routine. Find serums with good active ingredients, this is the time to use retinols, Vitamin C, E, or B3 (one of my faves), antioxidants, hyaluronic acid – anything that stimulates cell renewal and turnover.

Step 4: Hydrate

I do use some night creams for moisturizing (the ones with seaweed and niacinamide are my faves), but sometimes a regular moisturizer is enough at this stage, provided you used good serums/treatments before. Sometimes I use oils instead of moisturizers. You gotta experiment with what your skin can handle in terms of product layering and heaviness.

To be honest, I quite enjoy writing these research-based beauty posts. I feel like I’m always one step closer to being a smarter consumer (hope you find them helpful as well).

Is there any beauty/skincare related issue or myth you’re curious about?

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