8 Nighttime Habits of People With Great Skin
Updated: Jul. 15, 2017
The best evening skin-care practices to help you wake up with your best face forward tomorrow morning.
They take their makeup off. All of it.
“Always take all of your makeup off at night—the last thing you want is residue of last night’s mascara on your face in the morning,” says Christine Choi Kim, MD, a board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist based in California. This will help prevent clogged pores and breakouts that may occur from leaving makeup on while you sleep.
They cleanse gently
While you’re removing makeup and dirt and oils from the day, cleanse your skin gently, with a cleanser and your fingertips or with a soft washcloth. The idea is to remove the bad particles that can be harmful to your skin, while leaving enough of your skin‘s natural oils behind. If you cleanse your skin too vigorously or use overly harsh products, you could strip all of the oil off your skin, which makes skin dry and irritated and can lead to future skin problems.
They use products that suit their skin type
If you have dry skin, you shouldn’t use the same type of cleansing products as someone with oily skin. “Knowing your skin type can help you choose the right skincare cleanser to enhance your skin’s appearance,” says Joshua Fox, MD. “You can help avoid adverse effects and improve your skin texture by knowing which ingredients to use for your specific skin type.” If you aren’t sure of your skin type, consider making an appointment with a dermatologist. A derm can make sure you’re taking care of your skin properly during the nighttime and day (as well as make sure you don’t have any signs of skin cancer).
They use products with anti-aging ingredients
Retinols are often recommended as part of a skincare routine to slow down the signs of aging and help skin repair. Retinols increases the production of collagen (the protein in your skin that gives it support) and decreases collagen breakdown, says New York City dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD. But stick to a pea-sized dab of your retinol to prevent over drying. (These are other daily beauty habits you might be screwing up.) Peptides can also be helpful when it comes to having beautiful, younger-looking skin: These short chains of amino acids slow the aging process by acting on collagen in various ways, possibly encouraging skin cells to create rather than break down collagen, says Deirdre Hooper, MD, a New Orleans-based dermatologist, on HowStuffWorks.com. “Using face creams with peptides can help you reverse or prevent the signs of aging,” says Dr. Hooper. You might also want to use eye cream as part of your daily evening skincare routine, suggests Debra Jaliman, MD, author of Skin Rules and an assistant professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told Reader’s Digest. “The eyelid skin is the thinnest and most delicate skin and shows age the fastest,” she said.
They skip that extra glass of alcohol
Staying hydrated is an important habit of people with great skin. Be sure to have a glass of water before bed if you’re feeling thirsty, especially if you’ve been drinking alcohol that night, suggests Dr. Kim.
They apply a Korean sleeping mask
“I’m Korean and a big fan of those sleeping packs or Korean sleeping masks to moisturize my skin,” says Dr. Kim. Especially if you put one on at night when you’ve been out late or drinking alcohol, she says it can help your skin look healthier in the morning. Some of the K-beauty or “Korean Beauty” masks are super-duper moisturizers you sleep in; others are one-time use disposable masks that you apply then take it off after 20 minutes, says Dr. Kim. They can be called sleeping packs or sleeping masks but sometimes are actually gels or creams. You can find some at Sephora or Korean beauty online retailers.
Want to work on looking your best with minimal effort? Try these 7 Miracle-Working Overnight Beauty Products.
They log quality sleep
Aiming for eight hours of sleep (or enough to wake up well rested) is essential, says Dr. Gohara. “Otherwise blood cortisol levels go up, causing a pro-inflammatory state in the skin,” she says. Try these few sleep tricks.
They sleep on their backs
Sleep on your back to drain away fluid from the face so you’ll be less likely to look puffy in the morning, suggests Dr. Gohara. Being a back sleeper may also help prevent “sleep wrinkles,” those lines that form on your face when you’re resting against a pillow night after night. “If you’re a stomach sleeper, use a satin or silk pillowcase—this helps to avoid fine lines. Steer clear of coarse cotton,” suggests Dr. Gohara.
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