It’s no secret that sleep is a crucial part of maintaining a healthy mind and body, but did you know that it offers serious benefits for your skin, too? If you’re looking for another reason to start counting sheep a little earlier each night (and stop bingeing the latest Netflix series), here it is: a good night’s sleep — when paired with the right nighttime skincare regimen — can actually help make your skin look younger and feel more refreshed when you wake up in the morning.
Why is it so important to get a good night’s sleep?
After a long day, sleep is when your body and its cells recharge, reboot and repair. While you get your Zzzs, your body is busy rebuilding energy reserves and regenerating through cell repair, releasing certain hormones that can help positively impact your immune system. But your skin is prone to moisture loss at night thanks to transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which emphasizes the importance of a night skincare regimen.
Sleep also offers a much-needed time out for your skin. While you dream, your skin gets a break from the environmental aggressors it’s exposed to daily, like pollution and the sun. The functional ingredients in your nighttime skincare products don’t have to compete with those aggressors or other barriers, like makeup and sunscreen. Skin’s permeability also increases while we sleep, so applying topical antioxidants or treatments before bed allows their ingredients to absorb more effectively into the skin. Simply put, a good snooze can help increase the efficacy of your skincare regimen, leading to greater results and bringing new meaning to the idea of “beauty sleep.”
So, does the amount you sleep affect your skin? Not only do you wake up feeling tired and cranky, but your skin wakes up cranky, too. When skin cells don’t get enough time to fully rejuvenate, your complexion may look blah (to use the scientific term). Do skin cells recharge overnight? You bet they do! By not getting a good night’s sleep, your skin has missed its opportunity to repair damage from the previous day. Also, lack of sleep may cause your body to release excess amounts of the stress hormone cortisol. Over time, elevated cortisol levels can lead to skin dullness, sagging and fine lines.
The Importance of a Nighttime Skincare Regimen
While we can’t get you off to bed on time each night, we can help you create skincare night routine that will deliver maximum benefits while you hibernate for the evening. You may be asking yourself, “Why can’t I just use the same products I use each morning?” And that’s a good question. What skin needs to protect itself against the onslaught of daily aggressors is much different from what works most effectively while it rejuvenates overnight. This means your morning and evening regimens are as different as day and night. Your daytime products should primarily focus on protecting skin from the sun and free radical damage that comes from the environment around you. Day skin creams tend to contain protective antioxidants and sunscreen ingredients. At night, when your skin can let down its guard, it can focus on cell renewal. Just like you, your skin needs a “midnight snack” to help encourage and support its natural rejuvenation process.
So, where should you begin? We’ll help you choose your ideal nighttime treatment with overnight product benefits. First, decide which skin concern most aligns with what you’d like to address: fine lines and wrinkles, discoloration, loss of firmness or deep lines and dehydration. Then find the overnight product to add to your routine.
If your complexion issue is dryness or rough texture.
Your overnight product: Essential Fx Acyl-Glutathione Intensive Overnight Moisturizer
This night cream pairs intense hydration with powerful ingredients. It includes our patented Acyl-Glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant, to help smooth out the appearance of deep creases and lines. It also contains a vitamin F blend, derived from flaxseed, chia seed and macadamia seed oils, to deliver rich hydration and strengthen skin’s barrier function as you sleep. Upon waking, skin looks plumper and feels softer thanks to the intense hydration.
If your complexion issue is wrinkles or loss of radiance.
Your overnight product: High Potency Retinol Recovery Overnight Moisturizer
This rich, ultra-nourishing moisturizer works overnight with a unique blend of three highly stable forms of retinol (encapsulated retinol, retinol ester and phyto-retinol) to deliver powerful retinol benefits without irritation or sensitivity. Together, they support skin’s renewal process by replenishing and protecting skin’s moisture barrier while visibly minimizing wrinkles for a firmer, smoother, more rested complexion by morning.
If your complexion issue is sagging skin or loss of firmness.
Your overnight product: Multi-Action Overnight Intensive Firming Mask
This one’s different from the rest; it’s a mask you don’t rinse off. Formulated with Alpha-Lipoic Acid and DMAE, this super luxe overnight intensive firming cream helps visibly lift sagging skin. Coconut oil adds intense hydration throughout the night. Skin appears visibly tighter after wearing all night long.
If your complexion issue is deep lines and extreme dryness.
Your overnight product: Neuropeptide Night Cream
This ultra-rich moisturizer works overnight to nourish skin with essential hydration. Over time, it actively fights the appearance of deep lines and wrinkles, including nasolabial folds and marionette lines. To do this, it uses neuropeptides, protein-like ingredients and amino acids, while also visibly firming skin with DMAE.
How much sleep do you and your skin need?
Now that you have a solid regimen, all you need to do is go to bed. For best results, try to get at least seven hours of shut eye each night and keep a regular sleep schedule. Even on weekends. Exercising regularly, eating healthy and avoiding caffeine 4-6 hours before bedtime can help contribute to a better night’s sleep. And don’t forget to unplug. Turning off the TV, putting down the phone and logging off your computer up to an hour before bed can help you doze off faster.
Beauty sleep sounds like the stuff of fairytales, but there’s actual science that connects getting adequate sleep to healthy skin. And when you give your skin an added nighttime boost with an evening skincare regimen that’s customized to your skin’s specific needs, the benefits are the stuff of dreams. Now go get some rest!