If you are anything like me your bed starts calling you after 9pm. The last thing I want to do is spend an hour in the bathroom doing an elaborate skincare routine. But skipping a nightly routine is a recipe for disaster down the line. Just like anything good - healthy skin takes work. Night time routines are more important than morning routines because through out the day our skin is exposed to environmental stressor like dirt, oil and air pollution. If we neglect taking care of our skin properly before we lay down at night then all of that bacteria and debris will skin deep into our skin, clog our pores, create fine line and possibly worse. This is a simple and relatively quick routine you can follow so you can finally sink into that inviting bed and get some z's.
Step 1: Wash Your Face
Wash your face to remove all of the accumulated gunk from the day. Use a gentle oil based cleanser like liquid African Black soap. Before you wash your face make sure to wash your hands. The proper cleanser will get deep down into the pores without irritating the skin or stripping it of its natural oils. African Soap is also a gentle exfoliant so it is a two for one - yay for skipping a step!
P.S. A common mistake is washing our face with dirty hands. This is counter productive.
Step 2: Apply a Toner
After washing we need to prepare our skin to absorb all of the moisturizing, healing and correcting products we are about to apply. There are several good toner recipes on the internet but in my experience Green tea is an excellent choice. Make the tea as you normally would and let it steep until the tea is lukewarm. Place the tea in the refrigerator and let it chill. Pour three parts tea and one part apple cider vinegar into a small shampoo bottle or a spray bottle. Use twice daily.
Step 3: Use Serums
Night time is the best to address issues like acne, hyperpigmentation and fine lines because the most potent ingredients are vulnerable to sunlight. Feel free to layer up to three serums. After 3 serums your skin will not absorb it as well and it will begin to rub off when you apply your moisturizer. Make sure to wait about 3 minutes between each application to give the serum time to absorb into the skin completely. Also, instead of spending umpteen dollars on expensive serums you can create your own at home with a few ingredients. You can find DIY serum recipes here.
Step 4: Apply Moisturizer
We saved the best for last - the moisturizer. To lock in all of the goodness you just applied on your skin you need to thoroughly moisturize it. Because it is nighttime you can slather on a thicker moisturizer as it will have time to absorb through the night and you will wake up with a fully moisturized and hydrated face. Shea Butter comes in as the clear winner for a night time moisturizer. Shea butter is an extremely moisturizing emulsifier. This means that not only is it feeding your skin natural vitamins and fatty acids it is also locking in all the good stuff you just applied as it acts as a moisture barrier. There are other options for your nighttime moisturizer. You can find a list of good nighttime moisturizers here.
Leave a comment