Slap moisturizer, apply makeup, run errands the entire day at home or at work and cleanse your face to remove makeup before you sleep. Has this been the skincare routine you have been following? Did you just say a yes? Well, then it is time to change this and give your skin what it actually deserves.

We understand that with your schedule jam-packed with daily chores you would not want another thing to worry about. That is why we are here. All you have to do is read this blog and voila! By the last line at the bottom of the page, you would know what your skincare routine should be.

Day photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash, Night photo by Kym MacKinnon on Unsplash

Day time versus nighttime skincare routine.

Just like your skin has different needs and responds to different seasons differently, it needs different kinds of care at day and night.

Your day time skincare routine differs significantly from your nighttime for the simple reason that the former is all about protection from the external forces, the dry weather, the bright sun, the environmental pollution. Nighttime is about the treatment that you give to your skin that it needs to revive and repairs itself. While you are fast asleep your skin works hard by switching from “protect mode” to “repair mode”. In the daytime, your skin braves all the stresses that it has undergone throughout the day and during the night, it works towards producing hormones that facilitate the replenishment and rejuvenation of your skin.
Because your skin functions differently during the day than at nighttime, the skincare routine also complements it so that you end up getting a flawless and gorgeous skin.

Remember, whether be it day or night, the order of the products that you use is important in ensuring the best for your skin. The right order will lead to the products working harder for your skin.

Day time skincare routine

1. Cleansing

It is not enough to apply a cleanser before you go to bed. Your bed and your pillowcase is a playground for many microscopic germs. They move to your face while you are asleep like a baby unaware of what is happening. Washing your pillowcase often does not make it totally germ-free. Also, while you are tossing and turning in your sleep, the oil from your hair get transferred to your face. So yes, a morning cleansing is a good idea. Daily use of a gentle cleansing cream is the best start for your skin.

2.  Weekly Exfoliation

Your skin is its own doctor. It repairs itself and creates a new layer every month. This process slows down due to age and a few external factors leaving your skin looking dull and lifeless. Experts recommend weekly exfoliation of the skin. This gives back the sheen that your skin had lost by exposing the fresh layer of skin from underneath the dead skin cells. Use gentle circular motions to let those pores breathe and focus on problem areas where you find acne and blackheads.

3. Essence

Most daytime skincare routines forgets this important step. Applying a skin essence restores your pH balance and prepares it for absorbing the creams, gels, etc that you would apply as subsequent steps of your skincare routine. It is a highly concentrated lotion that provides hydration to your skin. They also restore your skin post the cleansing routine. Use essence to provide comprehensive nutrition to your skin.

4. Serum

Serum is a skincare product that addresses the many signs of aging like wrinkles, dark spots, uneven skin tone, and other skin imperfections. A heavy nutrient-rich lotion, serum also counterbalances the effect of the harmful UV rays. Vitamin C enriched antioxidant serum provides the best care your skin needs.

5. Eye Cream

If you thought that an under eye cream is meant only for dark circles around your eyes, think again. The skin around your eyes is the thinnest and the most delicate part on your face. Maintain the elasticity of the skin around your eyes by regular use of eye cream. The eye cream also delays the appearance of fine lines. Dab the eye cream around your eyes and use your finger pads for gentle circular motions.

6. Sunscreen

The last step is to protect your skin from the harmful UV rays and other environmental damages including heavy metals. Moisturizing your skin with sunscreen does not only act as a barrier between you and the sun but also helps lock in the products that you have used till now as part of your daytime skincare routine.

Nighttime skincare routine

1.  Makeup Removal

Removing makeup is as important as putting it on. Makeup removal is the first step towards your nighttime skincare routine. Since most brands have waterproof products, a basic cleanser does not work fully. Use a makeup removal cream or a cleansing wipe to wipe off the lipstick, mascara, and eye shadow, etc.

2. Cleansing

Just like cleansers are not the best for makeup removal, makeup remover is not the best-suited product for cleansing your skin. Use a cream cleanser to remove everything that your skin has been exposed with to brave the day, the sunscreen, serum, the eye cream and the residue and dirt that your face has accumulated throughout the day.

3. Exfoliation

Whether you exfoliate in the morning or nighttime depends on your personal preference. However, if you wear makeup, it is advised that you exfoliate at night as the process will help clean any residual makeup particles from the skin.

4. Essence

As a rule use essence every time you wash your face, particularly before going to bed. Essence provides the first round of moisture to a clean skin and helps absorb all the other products that you would use as part of your nighttime routine.

5. Eye Cream

As part of your nighttime skincare routine, use the eye cream after the essence and an hour before you go to bed.

6. Serum

Vitamin C enriched antioxidant serum at night will help you replenish and regenerate while you dream away in your sleep.

7. Moisturize

While you are sleeping, the moisture of your body is pulled out leaving it dehydrated. Moisturizing your face at night helps minimize the loss of the nighttime moisture.

In short:

The skincare routine at night and day severs two different function. Daytime routine helps as an amour to fight with the day’s stresses and pollution and nighttime is all about repairing. Therefore, just like your skincare routine different for summers and winter, so should it be for day and night. Lastly, what also is the key to your skincare routine, both at day and nighttime is the order of the products you apply on your skin. A random order application product would not the desired affect on your skin.

Follow the steps above for a splendid and gorgeous looking skin.