Why is it better to use beauty products at night?

One of the ‘beauty’ trends is to apply treatments when you go to sleep. Not only the traditional specific creams, but also hair masks, ampoules with detox power or serums for the face that help to depigmenting or give the skin an unusual luminosity and hydration in the morning. Although not going to sleep without your night cream is not something new. Grandmothers advised sleeping with castor oil on your eyelashes to keep them long and thick, or with glycerin with lemon on your hands so that, well covered with gloves while you slept, they would wake up hydrated, with clear skin and without blemishes. Today, science proves them right. Among the reasons, one very important: while you sleep, your skin duplicates Best effect of cosmetics. The dream of beauty exists, but what exactly does it mean?

Sleeping beauties:

By decoding our circadian rhythm and the chromo-biology of our sleep, scientists have shown that sleep is essential for our skin. Human metabolism is regulated by an ‘internal clock’ that is adjusted by endogenous factors such as light (the most important), physical activity, food availability and daily activities. He marks the metabolic cycles that the human body experiences during the day and night phases: that is, the circadian cycles. “During the night, the skin absorbs cosmetic assets much better,” explains Veronica Fists, CEO and General Manager of Nature Bissé.

Day versus night :

During the day, the skin defends itself against environmental aggressors, such as wind, sun, cold or pollution, while at night it focuses on regenerating itself. “During the day the skin goes into ‘defense’ mode and enhances the production of antioxidant enzymes and at night in ‘repair’ mode, activating the regeneration and cleaning mechanisms”, explains Berta Lopez, educational manager of Forego. Irregular or poor sleep quality can result in a dull complexion and uneven skin tone. Night care in that case is even more necessary.

Sleep helps the skin :

While we rest, the skin is in the process of self-repair and regeneration. “Therefore it is advisable to apply a serum and a cream that optimize cell repair to get the most out of our rest,” explains Nestor Antonin, market manager for Spain at drbrandt skincare. “The most suitable products would be those that help these processes and those that lower the levels of cortisol, the so-called ‘stress hormone’, and raise those of melatonin, the ‘sleep hormone’, which decreases with age.”

Where to start the night routine?

First of all, by removing make-up and eliminating any remaining make-up, impurities and contamination with effective but gentle methods to respect the PH balance. “If our concern is to treat the first signs of aging, we will apply a treatment that stimulates cell regeneration, such as an exfoliate, two to three times a week, and a serum every day to hydrate and nourish mature skin. The eye contour area it requires nourishing formulas with a draining action if we have bags and dark circles under the eyes. The afternoon-evening is also the best time to use masks,” explains Berta Lpeznight wisdom. From eleven at night to four in the morning is when the skin reaches its maximum levels of cell regeneration and blood flow. In addition, the skin takes the opportunity to eliminate old cells and make way for new ones. All these processes allow the skin to prepare for the next day, when it restores its protective barrier function. However, given that these tissue regeneration processes produce a large amount of metabolic waste, Berta Lopez warns that “the nightly routine does not end until we cleanse the skin again when we get up, to free it of the dead cells that the skin produces when get rid of toxins.

What is the difference between a night treatment and a day treatment?

According to Mercedes Abarquero, scientific manager of Vichy Laboratories, the active ingredients and the texture differ: in the day treatments, light textures prevail that are quickly absorbed to allow the application of the foundation. They generally include moisturizing active ingredients and oils with a dry touch together with anti-aging active ingredients in the case of anti-aging treatments. In the night textures are more comfortable and enveloping. In addition, they usually include a greater amount of nutritional and active elements that help improve the effects of night mechanisms, such as LHA -catalytic lipohydroxy acid- that promotes exfoliation, or draining caffeine that gives the skin a rested appearance.