Why You Shouldn’t Skip Your Nightly Skincare Routine

Ready to fall into bed after a particularly long and tiring day? While following your evening skincare routine may be the last thing you want to do, giving your routine a miss will most likely have you full of regrets come morning.

Read on as Lionesse explains exactly why your nightly skincare routine is so important, along with a few tips on how to put together an effective yet indulgent routine that you’ll never want to skip.

Why is a Nightly Skincare Routine So Important?

So, what’s the big deal about skipping your nightly skincare routine? Surely it won’t make that much of a difference to your complexion?

That’s where you’re wrong…

During the day, your skin experiences so much damage from environmental aggressors. Between UV r ays, pollution, the weather, and everything else around you, your skin has a lot to deal with!

Once evening rolls around, things somewhat calm down for your skin cells. However, rather than resting, this is when they turn their attention to repair and regeneration. There’s a large body of research out there confirming that the time during which we sleep is when skin cells are working their hardest. However, in order to do this, they need certain nutrients, which a nightly skincare routine can help to provide.

That said, it’s not only nutrients that your skin cells need at night. Water is important too. However, with sebum production decreasing at night, transepidermal water loss is at its highest. This is the speed at which moisture evaporates out of the skin, meaning that a large percentage of the precious water that your skin cells need to function each night ends up in the air. This is enhanced by how the skin heats up in temperature overnight, while also turning a little more acidic, all of which also contribute to dryness. Again, by supplying the skin with hydration, an evening skincare routine can help to keep thirsty skin cells quenched overnight.

It’s also worth noting that skin penetration is at its highest at night. This means that your skin will readily absorb any products that you apply much faster than if you were to use them during the day.

The Difference Between a Daytime and Nighttime Skincare Routine

Wondering if your regular daytime skincare routine can also double up as your nightly regimen? Technically, yes. However, if you want to experience maximum benefits from your routine, then a dedicated evening regimen is the best way to go.

As we explained, the skin performs very different roles in the daytime compared to at night. During the day, it needs ingredients that will leave it feeling protected against all of the environmental damage that it faces. However, at night, it would benefit from feeling supported as it works on regeneration and repair. 

Certain skincare ingredients are able to do both, but most will be better suited to either daytime or nighttime use, making it well worth having separate routines for each.

Building a Quick and Effective Nightly Skincare Routine

Now that you know exactly why a nightly skincare routine is so important, let’s talk about how to create an effective one that won’t take you too long to carry out:

Start By Removing Makeup and Cleansing Your Skin

Cleansing is arguably one of the most important steps of a nightly skincare routine. It enables you to clear away all of the dirt, dead skin cells, oil, pollutants, and other impurities that have built up on your skin’s surface over the course of the day. You may not be able to see them with the naked eye but, trust us, they’re there. Leave them on your skin and they’ll only sink into your pores, where they’ll cause a deeper degree of harm.

While the other skincare products that you use should differ at night vs during the day, it’s absolutely fine to use the same cleanser. Our top pick would be the Lionesse White Pearl Facial Cleanser, which can be found in our White Pearl Gift Set. This cleanser removes makeup as well as dirt and oil, making it perfect for both morning and night. It gently cleanses the skin without drying it out, so it’s great for all skin types too.

The gift set also includes our popular White Pearl Skin Toner. Suitable for all skin types, this toner is packed with hydrating ingredients. From aloe vera leaf juice to cucumber fruit extract, this formula will rebalance and hydrate your complexion while leaving it feeling even more receptive to the rest of the products that you’re about to apply.

Apply a Serum

If you’re trying to speed through your skincare routine as quickly as possible, then you can skip the serum. However, if you’ve got an extra minute or two to spend on your skin, then applying a serum will make a huge difference to your complexion.

How? Well, serums may look lightweight and watery, but they’re actually packed with a very high concentration of active ingredients. That lightweight texture enables them to quickly sink into the skin. It does this much faster than a heavier product, such as a cream, would. This makes a serum ideal for targeting specific visible skin concerns.

At Lionesse, we have several potent serums for you to choose from. If your aim is to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, go with the Black Onyx Serum. It’s filled with vitamins, which will leave your skin cells feeling supported as they repair daily damage.

If you have dry skin, then try the Opal Sheer Collagen Serum. The amino acids in this formula will help to thicken the feel of your skin barrier. Since skin barrier function slows down overnight, which contributes to transepidermal water loss, giving it a firmer and more resilient finish will help your skin cells with moisture retention.

For an all-rounder serum that does a little bit of everything, our White Pearl Vitamin C Serum won’t disappoint. Vitamin C is an ingredient that can help with everything from the appearance of wrinkles to skin that looks discolored and hyperpigmented. It will tighten and firm your complexion too while also reducing the look of damage. Even better, this serum contains two forms of vitamin C, meaning double the benefits!

Moisturize Your Skin

The final step in your nightly skincare routine should be to apply a moisturizer. While a serum penetrates into the skin, a moisturizer will work on the surface layer. Not only will the right nighttime moisturizer leave your skin feeling softer and smoother in the morning, but it will also help to reduce moisture loss so that your skin cells feel capable of functioning to their full potential.

The Lionesse White Pearl Night Cream is perfect for this. With a blend of humectants, emollients, and occlusives, this formula not only feels ultra luxurious when applied to the skin, but it will also work wonders for your complexion.

If You Have Some Extra Time…

While you may be in a hurry to complete your nightly skincare routine as quickly as possible on most nights, there will hopefully also be at least one night a week when you can spend a little more time pampering your skin. On these nights, there are a couple of extra products that are well worth adding into your routine:

Exfoliation

Exfoliation can help with just about every visible skin concern. Whether you’re dealing with visible fine lines, rough-feeling skin, the look of dark spots, or anything else, regular exfoliation can help to get your complexion back on the right track.

For most people, exfoliation only needs to be done once a week. That said, if you have oily skin, you may need to exfoliate a little more often. However, don’t go overboard as over-exfoliation can leave you with even more problems.

Using an exfoliant that’s too harsh can also cause symptoms of over-exfoliation. So, pick a gentle, skin-loving formula, such as the Lionesse White Pearl Facial Peeling. It will slough away dead skin cells without stripping your skin’s surface dry. Use this exfoliant after cleansing before continuing on with the rest of your evening skincare routine.

Face Masks

Although a weekly face mask may not be quite as essential as a weekly exfoliant, it still offers a wide array of benefits. Just like serums, face masks are designed to hold a high concentration of actives, enabling them to help with a number of visible skin concerns.

For example, if you’re hoping to diminish the appearance of skin aging and damage, then our Black Onyx Mask can really boost your efforts. This formula is perfect for evening use because of how its ingredients help to repair the look of daily damage. Its thermal properties feel super relaxing as well, which can really help if you have trouble falling asleep at night.

Our Opal Sheer Melting Mask is another great formula to use at night. It’s a leave-on mask that starts off with a creamy texture that later transforms into liquid droplets that sink into the skin. It’s ideal for dull and dry skin as it will deeply hydrate and plump up the complexion, leaving it looking brighter and more radiant.

Where exactly does a face mask fit into your nightly skincare routine?

As always, begin by cleansing. If you plan on exfoliating too, then do this next. Then, follow up with a toner and then your face mask. A face mask is always more effective when applied to freshly exfoliated skin as this enables it to penetrate into the skin without having to deal with any blockages in the pores. Once you’re done masking, you can then continue on with the rest of your skincare routine.

Summary

No matter how tired you may feel in the evening, skipping your nightly skincare routine should always be avoided. You don’t need to spend long on it – a quick cleanse followed by a moisturizer will be enough to give your complexion a little extra support while you snooze. However, if you have time, adding in a few extra steps will enhance your skincare routine even further, enabling you to directly target your visible skin concerns so that you can wake up looking refreshed, radiant, and smooth.

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