What Does Night Cream Do for You?
Your go-to skincare routine could be straightforward: buy a few products and slather them on your skin as a daily moisturizer. It could also be complex and high-intensity: shelves stocked with different creams for different parts of your body, aside from the makeup, serums, and scrubs, of course.
Irrespective of your skincare routine, lotions have become a part of daily life that can improve how your skin looks and feels. However, there is this general belief that skincare companies sell both to make extra money because they are the same.
On the contrary, night cream serves a different purpose than day cream and has different ingredients, hence the term ‘beauty sleep.’
Difference Between Day and Night Creams
For starters, a day cream is lighter than a night cream (which usually contains SPF), which is helpful if you have to apply makeup after applying the cream. Day creams also refrain from using ingredients like retinol and Glycolic Acid, one of many exfoliating acids, which could potentially cause photosensitivity in the daytime.
During the day, using your night cream won’t protect you from the sun’s rays because it doesn’t contain the necessary ingredients. Using day cream at night won’t offer you ingredients like retinol which can help maintain healthy skin.
Active Ingredients in Night Creams
While daytime moisturizers focus on keeping you safe against the elements, night lotions soothe, offer hydration, and help your skin heal after a long day. While you’re asleep, your skin works on healing itself, and night creams aid it. Beauty sleep is important, and here are a few ingredients you’d expect to see in many night lotions:
Coenzyme Q-10
Coenzyme Q-10 is a coenzyme that’s naturally found in our cells. It’s important for energy production and aids regeneration and repair against free radical damage. CoQ10 is one of the antioxidants that aid the skin’s healing and cell turnover while giving you healthy-looking skin.
Retinol
Made from Vitamin A, this skincare ingredient helps fight against acne while slowing down aging with its anti-aging components. It reduces the appearance of wrinkly skin while boosting collagen production. It’s also known for treating uneven texture and hyperpigmentation while smoothing out your complexion.
Hyaluronic Acid
The body produces hyaluronic acid; it is great for keeping your skin well lubricated. It also improves moisture, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and can even soothe redness and dermatitis.
Night Cream Benefits
Based on their key ingredients alone, a night cream has clear benefits. Night lotions can be a great treat for your skin overnight with added ingredients like shea butter, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Here are a few benefits:
Provides moisture
With sun exposure and pollution affecting you during the daytime, dry skin is a very likely consequence. A night lotion will ensure that your skin is fresh with hydration at night time, and you’ll be looking replenished when you wake.
A night cream can give you supple and smooth skin, and they’re also capable of tackling those dark circles under your eyes. Dark circles are often caused by dehydration, and having hydrated skin will certainly reduce those unwanted circles.
Soothing to the skin
After a rough day, your skin wants to heal and feel much better by morning. Your skin can get irritated before bed, and a night cream can soothe it.
A night lotion can help remove any redness or irritation, giving your skin an even complexion when you wake.
Boosts collagen
When collagen has been depleted in the skin, wrinkles become more obvious, and fine lines become more notable.
A night cream can help you combat this because it boosts collagen production, ensuring your skin looks firm and plump. It minimizes sagging while reducing the appearance of wrinkles.
A night lotion can also improve blood circulation, which helps to stimulate the skin’s healing process, helping your skin look smooth and better by morning.
Fights dryness
While a night cream can keep you hydrated and moisturized, it also tackles dryness. When out during the day, your skin can feel very dry, but night cream can fix this. It helps you absorb the nighttime moisturizer better.
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How to Apply Night Cream
Before slathering on cream, it’s important to do a cleansing routine to remove any dirt. When your skin is cleansed and dry, here are the steps to applying night cream:
- Dab a generous amount of night cream on your skin with clean fingertips.
- Use a circular motion to massage it in.
- The massage helps to boost the absorption and circulation of the cream.
Different Night Creams for Different Skin Types
Like day lotions, a night cream isn’t like a pair of socks: One size doesn’t fit all. Figuring out the type of skin you have can be confusing, but it is important to do so. Your choice of night lotion before bed should be based on your skin type.
Dry Skin
If your skin feels flaky or tight and looks dull, you have dry skin and need to hydrate it. The additional layer of aging skin needs to be removed using gentle ingredients that promote hydration and cell turnover.
The best night creams for this have ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid and squalene, which act as a daily moisturizer and make the skin soft by binding water.
Oily or Acne-Prone Skin
With oily skin, chances are you have congested pores, and your skin feels greasy when you wake up the next day. A gel-based night cream will act as a moisturizer and help improve moisture without adding to the oil level of the skin barrier. Ingredients like lactic Acid or glycolic Acid can come in handy in a night lotion as they aid in unclogging pores with a non-greasy feel.
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Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin is easily prone to irritations, allergies, or even excessive dryness. A great night cream to handle this would contain antioxidants and ingredients that aid in repairing the skin, like Coenzyme Q-10.
Conclusion
Night creams aren’t just daytime lotions sold in different packaging. They’re available to improve your skin and help it repair itself while you sleep. Your nighttime routine should involve giving you the best care. Great, fragrance-free night lotions will leave your skin feeling moisturized, soothed, and protected when you wake up: the perfect beauty sleep.
Both day and night creams are important for your skin’s wellbeing. Before purchasing night lotion, it is important to seek professional medical advice. Speak to a board-certified dermatologist to understand your skin type and the right cream for you.
The goal is to hydrate and fortify yourself to fight free radical damage so your skin’s outer layer remains fresh, supple, and healthy.
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