Why is night care of your skin so important?
According to recent studies, some specialists ensure that the physiological age of the skin is determined only 25% by genetics. The remaining 75% is essentially due to our lifestyle. As a result, we must take action and do some things that can help us slow down the ageing of our skin. Today we will focus on the night care of our skin.
I’m sure you’ve heard about the importance of caring for your skin during the night; we could say that it is almost a mantra. But, why is it important? What is the difference with respect to morning care? In this post, we explain to you why we must overcome laziness during the night and devote some minutes to caring for our skin.
Why must we pay attention to skin care during the night?
During the night before going to sleep is a very important time of the day for our skin. And it is precisely that time of the day when we must pay most attention to looking after our skin. The main reasons are:
- Our circadian rhythm makes certain hormonal systems active during these hours before we rest and particularly during sleep, for which a cell regeneration and repair process starts. It is in this phase when tissue recovery of the skin occurs and this is when it needs most nutrients.
- Moreover, our skin is exposed to physical attacks of the weather during the day, such as sunlight, changes in temperature, oxidation and the production of free radicals, humidity or environmental toxins. The outer layers of the skin suffer flaking and a partial loss of the stratum corneum, which requires new cells to maintain its optimal protection. During the night, this accumulated damage is repaired through processes of regeneration and restructuring of collagen and elastin fibres.
Skin care before sleeping
Due to all the above it is important to take advantage of the night time to follow a correct routine and incorporate products with a long-term effect with a hydrating and nourishing basis. Don’t forget the following steps:
- Facial hygiene: Even though it is the most boring aspect to perform, it is essential to wash our skin with tepid water. We advise you to wash gently to remove the excess grease and the toxic substances left over from make-up or other unhealthy components. Daily facial hygiene is vital (both in the morning and at night) to clean our integumentary system (hair follicles and pores). It would be ideal to choose a product suited for our skin type. Remember that clean skin absorbs a higher percentage of nutrients that are the base of the night treatments so that they can perform their function: help in cell regeneration.
- Facial exfoliation: It is a good time to carry out a weekly or two weekly adjuvant exfoliation treatment that allows the skin to be cleaned more deeply. This process allows an increase in cell turnover and the oxygenation of deeper layers. It is key so that the subsequent treatment is more effective.
- Hydration and nutrition: After a correct cleaning, this is certainly the most important step of the whole process to help the regeneration process and the skin to recover hydration, elasticity and firmness. We will use a type of product that normally has a more greasy texture so that it is absorbed more gradually. It will provide a greater intake of nourishing and antioxidant components, such as vitamins C-E-A, collagen and hyaluronic acid and an anti-ageing effect such as retinol or alpha hydroxy acids stimulating cell regeneration and accelerating the natural exfoliation processes. We must take into account that these latter components of these creams cannot be used in the daytime since they require photoprotection (retinol can cause blemishes if we expose ourselves to sunlight after its use).
Although it is sometimes a bit frustrating… a good cleaning and hydrating routine before our well-deserved rest results in much of the success of glowing, healthy skin.
