Beauty News

The Night Skincare Routine You Should Be Following

Oct 07, 2021 By Kinder Beauty

We’ll admit it—sometimes, we’re a little slack when it comes to a nighttime skincare routine.

At the end of a super long day, the last thing we feel like doing is removing our makeup and applying serums and creams.

If you’re tired from work, school, or just life in general, we feel you. But—and that’s a really big but—nighttime skincare is essential for keeping your skin looking healthy and keeping blemishes at bay.

We’ll give you all the insight you need so you’ll understand the importance of a nighttime skincare routine and how you can do it quickly and effectively.

Once you give it a shot, we promise you’ll never want to sleep in your makeup again.

Why do I need a different skincare routine for night and day?

Your skin does the majority of its healing and restoration while you sleep. The ingredients you put on your skin before you hit the sack matter. If your skin is covered with a thick layer of dirt and oil, you aren’t giving it much in terms of ingredients that can help it repair and rejuvenate.

You’ll also give dirt, oil, and makeup a lot of time to settle into your pores, press against your pillow, and cause irritation and blemishes. Trust us, going to bed with your makeup on is a recipe for a really inconvenient breakout.

Your nighttime skin routine should be different from the daytime routine. For one, you won’t need to apply sunscreen to your skin before you go to sleep. You’ll also swap out your primer for serums or oils that are deeply penetrating and can help target specific skin concerns.

One of the best times to use anti-aging creams and lotions is at night, too. Your body makes new skin faster while you sleep. Melatonin released to help you relax and go to bed triggers the production of increased human growth hormone, which can help your skin rebuild and repair.

What should I include in my nightly routine?

There are many products targeted for nighttime use, but there are a few essentials you should always make sure you have on hand.

You don’t have to make your nighttime skincare routine complicated, but a few extra products can give your skin what it needs to stay hydrated and functioning while you sleep.

Remove your makeup

Removing your makeup can be a chore. First, the eye makeup remover, then the cleanser; depending on what you have on your skin, taking off your makeup can take a lot of time.

Taking off your makeup is simple when you use a single tool to remove it all. The GLOV makeup remover tool is a microfiber cloth you slip over your hand that removes your makeup easily and gently, without any cleansers or tools.

We love the GLOV because it’s cruelty-free, vegan, and designed to be incredibly gentle on your skin, which is why it’s featured in our Kinder Faves Collection.

If you have sensitive skin, rejoice—this is the product you need in your life. No more wondering if your makeup remover will irritate your skin, or scrubbing product from your lashes or lips. The GLOV removes everything with ease, no scrubbing required.

Try double cleansing

Double cleansing is a method of cleansing your skin that operates on the principle that like kind dissolves like kind. It can be an effective way to treat overly oily skin and help reduce the number of breakouts you experience.

The first step in double cleansing is oil cleansing, which involves washing your skin with a plant-based cleansing oil. This helps slide makeup right off your skin and helps dive deep into your pores to balance your skin’s natural moisture levels and remove dirt and oil. You might also use micellar water for this step.

Oil cleansing helps restore balance to your skin’s natural microbiome, the healthy bacteria that live on your skin and work to keep it protected from external stressors.

After you cleanse with oil, follow up with a mild cleanser. We love Tropicgyal Naturals Guava and Watermelon Seed Oil Cleanser. It’s made to work on sensitive skin and remove makeup, dirt, and oil all at once.

Use a gentle cleanser

You don’t need a cleanser with harsh ingredients and alcohol, but if you have acne-prone skin, you might be using one. Traditional skincare products that treat acne and blemishes can be filled with harsh chemicals that dry the skin and leave it dehydrated.

A gentle, plant-based cleanser will remove dirt and oil and prepare your skin for any serums and treatments you use during your nighttime routine. This is ideal for both oily and dry skin.

One to try: Yes To Avocado Fragrance Free Daily Cream Cleanser. 98 percent of natural ingredients give this cleanser the ability to remove grime and nourish your skin simultaneously. Ideal for nighttime use, this creamy cleanser washes clean with no residue left behind.

Think about toner

Toners are rising in popularity (after seriously being MIA since the early 2000s). Toners help tighten your pores and clarify your skin. If you use a toner with glycolic acid or salicylic acid, they can also give you a quick exfoliation without the use of a scrub.

Sukin Naturals Signature Hydrating Mist Toner is a skin-refreshing toner that can be used morning, night, and every hour in-between. Formulated to help revive the skin, aerate the pores, and keep your skin feeling just-cleansed fresh, its lightweight feel dries quickly before your head hits the pillow.

Or try Chiky Botanica's Cruz Azul Facial Toner for the ultimate antidote for aggravated skin. Given its striking blue color by super-detoxifying butterfly pea flowers, this toner is calming, antimicrobial, and promotes feelings of cool blue relaxation.

Chiky's toner is featured in Kinder Beauty's July 2022 boxes, as are Moonlit Skincare's Reusable Bamboo Rounds that are prefect for applying any toner you choose! All the more reason to sign up to receive Kinder Beauty's monthly boxes.

Customize your serums and creams

Here’s where you get to play. Whether you want to address crow’s feet, dullness, or areas of hyperpigmentation, or you’re looking to plump up your collagen production, there’s a serum or cream to accommodate.

Earth Harbor’s serum lineup includes a nighttime serum that literally resurfaces your skin while you sleep. Seaweed collagen and superfruit acids help encourage your own natural collagen production, so you wake up to more youthful skin each morning.

Apply eye cream

We love a good eye cream, and just before bed is hands down the best time to use one around the eye area. Eye creams have a chance to settle into fine lines and wrinkles and absorb into the thinnest skin on your face while it is relaxed, allowing it to access areas it can’t get to when you’re awake.

Two to try:

Veriphy Skincare 20-20 Eye Cream. Peptides and niacinamide (derived from avocados) help this lightweight eye cream smooth fine lines and wrinkles and even work to reduce the appearance of dark circles and puffiness.

Pro tip: You can use this cream both morning and evening—it does double duty.

100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream. What your morning coffee does for your body, this eye cream does for your eyes. Fake eight hours of sleep with this brightening and tightening eye cream that helps erase puffiness and correct dark hollows.

Moisturize

Hopefully, you’re already in the habit of using a moisturizer during the day. Your nighttime moisturizer is just as important as your daytime moisturizer, and it’s equally as important you remember to use it.

Daytime moisturizers may contain sunscreen, which isn’t necessary for a night cream. You’ll also want to use moisturizers that contain collagen-boosting ingredients as well as hydrating vitamins and minerals to help keep your skin quenched while you sleep.

Two we love:

Timeless Organics Skin Care Intense Hydration Vitamin E Facial Cream. This is not your grandma’s cold cream. This cream is truly luxurious and feels amazing on your skin. Formulated with vegan ingredients, it’s designed to work for even the most sensitive skin types. This facial cream helps soften and smooth skin as well as hydrate it, thanks to the presence of vitamin E.

Delia Organics Wake Up Moisturizing Lotion. A lightweight lotion that contains sweet orange and aloe, this is perfect for both daytime and nighttime use. If you prefer a lighter lotion (and an amazing scent), this is a solid choice.

Mask

You don’t always need a mask, but if you’re dealing with a breakout, notice your skin is drier than normal, or just want to pamper yourself, throw a mask on before you go to sleep.

100% Pure offers sheet masks that treat everything from blemishes to wrinkles.

Why do I need to apply my products in this order?

Correct product application is essential because the ingredients in some products form a protective moisture barrier on your skin. If you use a product that creates this type of lock on your skin before you apply your other products, the other products won’t be able to penetrate your skin as deeply, and they won’t be as effective.

Sleep tight!

A night skincare routine is simple once you figure out what you need, how to apply it, and then make it a habit. It will probably only take about five minutes of your day. Seriously, the benefits you’ll get from taking off your makeup and using nourishing ingredients on your face will be worth the five-minute hassle.

Go ahead and sleep in. We’ve also got a quick, ten-minute morning skincare routine that will keep your skin healthy in zero time.

If you still have questions, The Kinder Beauty Blog is your go-to resource for all things skincare and beauty. We talk about products that are vegan, cruelty-free, and powerhouse performers in the clean beauty industry.

Plus, the Kinder Beauty Box allows you to get the same great products shipped directly to your doorstep, which saves you from having to go to the store. We’d argue that will probably allow you to sleep a little longer.