Moisturization is an important step in your skincare routine. So should you moisturize your face at night?

Moisturize your skin at night and in the morning. Moisturizing your face at night is beneficial because the nutrients, minerals and moisture in your moisturizer will boost the skins nightly rejuvenation process. If you exfoliate your skin at night, then use your moisturizer, it will penetrate the skin and give you superior moisturization.

Does moisturizing your face at night make a difference in your skincare routine? Does it give you better skin? The answer to the question “Should I moisturize my face at night?” is in this article.

Night routines have their own sets of products. From night serums, night creams, night masks and the list goes on.

Why are there so many products for the night time? The reason is that our skin is different at night than it is during the day.

Should I moisturize my face at night?

Importance of moisturization:

Any good moisturiser will be designed to hydrate and moisturise the skin.

Moisturisers do this in two steps, firstly by penetrating into the skin to bring hydration into the lower layers of the skin. Then by sealing in the hydration.

This process is necessary to ensure that the skin cells are hydrated, moisturised and thus work efficiently.

Moisturizers can also give you the added benefit of protecting your skins moisture barrier.

The moisture barrier can be damaged by environmental irritants. You will need to use a moisturiser based on your skin type to get the maximum benefits.

Moisturization is one of the steps that everyone needs in their skincare routine.

What we need in a moisturizer slightly differs but across the board, we all need a moisturiser that will hydrate the skin and prevent it from becoming dry and cracked.

Unfortunately, if you don’t moisturise, your skin will have less lustre and it will look dull.

If you have oily skin then moisturising will not only hydrate your skin but it will also prevent sebum from being overproduced in an effort to hydrate the skin itself.

Why you should moisturize at night:

Skin works harder at night:

At night time, our skin changes the way it does business. During the night time, the skin replaces dead skin cells with new ones.

This rejuvenation process works best at optimum conditions when the skin is hydrated and moisturised.

Your moisturiser has hydrating ingredients that will help this process along.

Increased absorption:

At night, the blood flow to your face, skin and body changes. When this happens your body sends more blood to the skin.

This allows the ingredients in your skincare products to work better, the skin absorbs the ingredients better at his time.

You can use photosensitive products:

Photosensitive products are products that work differently when exposed to sunlight. These include products such as retinol.

Retinol is a great ingredient for the skin, it aids in the production of collagen which keeps the skin looking young and supple.

Unfortunately wearing retinol out in the sun will make your skin more sensitive to the suns rays.

Depending on the formulation this can damage the skin. If you use a moisturizer with your retinol at night you will get the benefits without having to worry about the sun damaging the skin.

How can I moisturise my face overnight?

If you can, you should use one of the many overnight moisturisers available.

These will boost your skins hydration and moisture levels while allowing it to work at its optimum overnight.

There are a variety of ways to moisturise your face overnight.

These can include using sleeping masks (like this one) and using a humidifier (like this one) at night. You can also use products like coconut oil and face oil.

Note: Don’t use coconut oil if your skin is oily or if your skin doesn’t take well to comedogenic ingredients.

Tip: Be sure to get a good night sleep every day. There are so many things that can go wrong with your skin if you don’t sleep well.

Do I really need a night cream?

Using a specific cream made for the night time might seem unnecessary but they have their place.

Having a moisturizer designed for the nighttime will further help your skin regenerate itself as these creams are usually thicker and have more nutrients designed to help with regeneration.

Some night moisturizers are also made to be a companion to your other night products.

This can be in the form of a night moisturiser that works well with your retinol cream or anything else that makes your skin sensitive or is photosensitive.

Never skip moisturization

I sometimes hear people say they don’t moisturise their face at night or don’t moisturize their skin at all because they want their skin to “breathe”.

This is not something that does your skin any good. Your skin cells don’t need to breathe, what your skin needs is hydration of the cells.

If they are not given the adequate hydration the cells will not function as they should.

Use a moisturizer but a good one for your skin. If you need a moisturiser that isn’t heavy then you can find a thinner moisturizer that will suit you. This moisturiser works well.

Should I moisturize my face at night if I have acne?

Yes, you should definitely moisturise your skin if you have acne. You may think that because your skin is already oily that you don’t have to moisturize after washing your face, this isn’t true.

In fact not washing your face after cleansing your skin will cause it to dry out.

Dry skin will trigger your sebaceous glands to secrete more sebum making your face oilier.

The excess oil on your face will mix in with the dead skin cells on your face and create more pimples

In addition, if you have acne you’re probably using medications that treat acne. These medications can be quite drying on the skin regardless of what skin type you have.

The products themselves can cause dryness and irritation and this can result in more acne on your skin.

To avoid this and to keep your skin moisturised at all times you should moisture your face at night.

This article looks at how to take care of your skin while on acne medication.

What is the best night cream?

Picking the right night cream is just like picking the right skin treatment for your skin.

You need to pick the right one for your skin type for it to give your skin the best result.

If you pick the right cream for your face you’ll wake up with beautifully hydrated, moisturised, supple soft skin. Here are great night creams for your skin type:

Oily/combination skin: Your skin type needs a night cream that will hydrate well but won’t leave your skin feeling oily or greasy.

The best night cream for you is the Herbivore Moon Fruit Super fruit Night Treatment.

This night cream is not just a moisturiser, it’s also a gentle exfoliating cream that will get rid of your dead skin cells while you sleep.

The mask is also hydrating, the formula contains hyaluronic acid which hydrates without giving you a greasy look

For dry/normal skin: If you have this skin type you know you’ll need something that really packs a punch on the hydration and moisturisation front.

The best night cream for you will be the Korres Greek Yoghurt Sleeping Facial.

The product really does leave your skin feeling like it’s just had a facial done. The product contains Greek yoghurt, hyaluronic acid and jojoba oil.

The greek yoghurt moisturises and soothes the skin. The hyaluronic acid is a great deep hydrator and the jojoba oil gets rid of any dryness, chaffing, flaking and eczema caused by dry skin.

For sensitive skin: If you have this skin type you need to be looking for products that won’t irritate your already sensitive skin. The Toleriane Ultra Night Cream for Sensitive Skin is just the night cream for you.

It will hydrate your skin without irritating it or causing an adverse reaction. It has been developed for and tested on sensitive, allergy-prone skin and works well.

The product is free from fragrance, preservatives, parabens and alcohol which can be drying.

Do night creams really work?

Yes, night creams do really work, within reason. Not all night creams are made equal and some night creams have really outlandish claims.

For the most part, you can expect night creams to increase hydration in your skin, improve your complexion, giving you deeper moisturization and simply making you skin more replenished and radiant.

Night creams are thicker and heavier than day creams so they’ll give you a richer skincare experience. The day creams we use are lightweight and protect against the elements of the day.

Night creams are much thicker and offer hydration and replenishment  If you’re taking care of your skin and you take note of what products do, you’ll realise that night reams do work and make a difference.

Should you put lotion on every day?

Yes, you should definitely put lotion on every day.  You should apply lotion onto your body as often as you wash your body.

If you do wash your body every day (not everyone does this, read more here) then you should use your lotion right after the shower.

This will ensure that you bring moisture back into your skin after your shower and after the products and hot water have stripped the moisture and sebum from your skin.

Tip: After you get out the shower you shouldn’t dry your skin off completely. Rather pat the skin until its barely dry almost damp then use your moisturising lotion on top of your wet skin.

This will ensure that the water is trapped in your skin and you seal it in with your lotion, this will give you better hydration and thus softer and more supple skin.

Is it good to apply oil on face at night?

Yes, it is good to apply oil on your face at night. The skin generally produces more of its own oil (sebum) during the day.

The skin will be less likely to absorb oil during the day because it already has its own supply.

You should be using oil on your face when your skin is producing the least amount of sebum, that being during the night time.

The skins sebum production decreases from midday and will be the lowest at the end of the day in the evening, this is the best time to be applying the oil. So yes it is good to apply an oil to your face at night.

Should I use night cream every night?

Yes, you should definitely use your night cream every night. For the best skin, you need to be using your products consistently for a long period of time. 

In fact, your night cream needs so be a part of your regular nightly routine.

You’ll see the benefits of using your night cream in a shorter amount of time than you would if you skipped some nights and weren’t using your cream as consistently.

The compounds in the night ream will change your skin in measurable ways.

Is lotion bad for the face?

Yes, lotion is bad for your face. The skin on your body and the skin on your face are different, to hydrate these two you will have to use different products.

Just as you wouldn’t use the same exfoliator you use on your body as you would on your face, you can’t use the same lotion on your body as you would on your face.

There are some exceptions where lotions are made for the face and the body (like this one) but in general, is a no-no

In addition, lotions may contain a variety of ingredients that will irritate your face for example fragrance.

Fragrance in lotions are usually much heavier than those in facial products. Using it on your face is a big no, no.

When using products on your face mask sure the products are designed for the face and that it’s a gentle product.

What is the best time to apply night cream?

The best time to apply your night cream is from 9 pm to midnight. This is the time that you would have already gone home and started to wash your face.

Using these products at night at this time will create a favourable environment for your skin to repair and rejuvenate yourself, getting rid of old dead skin cells creating new fresh skin cells.

The night cream will do the job of moisturising and hydrating and this will allow the skin to rejuvenate at it’s best.  

In addition, at night, you won’t have to worry about any sun, dirt, external irritants, pollution or harsh temperatures on your face at this time so this won’t affect how your night cream works.

What are some natural moisturizers?

If you’re not keen on picking up a conventional moisturiser at the store and would like more natural  options to moisturise your skin then here sure some options of some natural moisturisers you can reach for:

Oils: Oils are a great way to moisturise your face, this alternative will not only moisturise your skin but it will nourish your skin as well. You just have to use a good hydrator before you apply the oil.

Oils locks hydration and moisturise into the skin. Good options are jojoba oil, argan oil and olive oil. Make sure you’re picking the right oil for your skin type.

Shea Butters: This works similar to oils as it locks hydration in your skin as well as softens the skin.

Shea butter is derived from the African shea tree and has been used to moisturise and nourish the skin for years.

This product helps to improve the appearance of eczema, psoriasis and dry skin. This is a well-loved shea butter.

Aloe Vera: If you desire, you can keep a live aloe Vera plant in your home and use the fresh sap to moisturise and hydrate your skin.

Aloe vera is not only great at hydrating your skin and getting rid of dry skin but it is also helpful as it as soothing and anti-inflammatory properties.

The plant contains a variety of vitamins,  mineral, amino acids, sugars that will nourish your skin helping you develop and maintain your healthy skin. This is a favourite aloe vera gel

In conclusion:

Moisturizing at night is necessary for amazing, supple-looking soft glowing skin.

If you are washing your face only once a day and you need to pick between night or a morning moisturization then wash your face and moisturize at night. This will yield the best results.

If you are thinking of not washing your face read this article. Read the article if you are interested in knowing about people who don’t wash their face.

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