[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e all know how important our skin care routines are and our evening skin care routine is of utmost importance since that’s when our cells repair and rebuild. Since sleep is so important to our skin’s health, let’s make the most of that crucial time and make sure we give our skin what it needs to look its best! Here are nine essential products for your evening skin care routine.
1. CLEANSER
The first step of your evening skin care routine is to cleanse your face to wash off all the makeup and dirt, and generally wash off the day. Going to sleep with your makeup on can age your skin, clog pores and cause sebum to build up, which can result in acne. Always use a gentle cleanser that’s suited to your skin type and wash your face at the end of the day.
2. EYE MAKEUP REMOVER
Using a separate eye makeup remover is optional. If you wear very light eye makeup and your facial cleanser already does a good job removing it, then skip it. But for the rest of us, we require a little more help removing all the mascara, eye shadow, eye liner and so on. Make sure all traces of eye makeup are gone to prevent irritation or infection.
3. TONER
Toner isn’t for everyone, in fact, most women have fabulous skin and don’t use it all. But there are some awesome benefits to using it as part of your nighttime skin care routine. Toner is actually meant to cleanse but it also does a plethora of other things, like moisturize, balance pH, refresh your skin, help tighten pores and help protect skin from minerals and chlorine in tap water!
4. SERUM
Another super helpful product in your evening skin care routine is serum. Serums come in a gel-like formula and contain a high concentration of active ingredients like anti-aging, brightening or moisturizing. Serum is best absorbed when your skin is still moist, so use it after your cleanse or tone so your skin can take in all the ingredients.
5. MOISTURIZER
After you apply serum to your skin, next up is moisturizer. No matter what type of skin you have, you can benefit from a moisturizer. As stated previously, skin does all its repairing at night, night moisturizers are aimed at recovery and moisturizing. Night moisturizers contain the highest intensity of anti-aging ingredients since there isn’t any intrusion from sunscreen.
6. EYE CREAM
Some people prefer to only use their facial moisturizer and not a separate eye cream. And that’s all good, some ladies are blessed with skin that only requires the bare basics. If you’re like me and have concerns about lines, puffiness or dark circles, a separate eye cream can really help penetrate the thin skin in the eye area and really make a difference in your appearance!
7. ACNE TREATMENT
If you experience occasional breakouts, you’ll want to include an acne treatment in your nighttime skin care routine. The best time to use acne treatments is on bare skin before you apply any serums or moisturizers. If you apply your acne treatment as the last step in your skin care routine, it won’t be as effective.
8. LIP BALM
Our lips are another area of our face with thin skin that needs extra TLC. If your lips feel a little rough, you can exfoliate with a lip scrub or take a damp, soft cloth and gently rub your lips. Then, apply a moisturizing lip balm to keep your pucker soft and smooth!
9. BODY LOTION
Last but not least, give your body some extra moisture by coating your hands, feet and body in body lotion before you hit the hay. You can also use concentrated hand or foot creams and don gloves or socks, or just use a regular body lotion to soften skin while you sleep!
Evening skin care routines are important to our skin’s health, but don’t feel obligated to use each and every one of these products! Everyone’s skin is unique so it requires different products and formulas to keep your complexion clean and clear.
