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After facing dust, pollution, harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun and sweat throughout the day, our skin needs the most care at night. According to Dermatology, at night when we are in deep sleep, our skin goes into ‘repair and regeneration mode’. During this time, new skin cells are formed and the damage caused throughout the day is compensated. This is the reason why in today’s era, ‘Night Skin Care Routine’ is being given utmost importance. But do you know that sometimes despite applying the most expensive beauty products, acne, wrinkles or dryness start appearing on the face? The biggest reason for this is the basic mistakes made during night care, which cause deep harm to the skin instead of benefits.
The most common and disastrous night skin care mistake is falling asleep without removing makeup or simply washing your face with water due to fatigue. The foundation, concealer, compact and dust from the environment applied on the face throughout the day combine together to form a sticky layer. When you sleep with it overnight, the facial pores become completely clogged. Due to this, the flow of oxygen in the skin stops, due to which big pimples, blackheads and whiteheads appear on the face as soon as you wake up in the morning. Additionally, not removing eye makeup (mascara or kajal) increases the risk of eye infections and eyelash breakage. Dermatologists always recommend ‘double cleansing’ at night (first with micellar water or oil cleanser and then with a gentle face wash).
Many people have this misconception that scrubbing the face vigorously at night will remove all the dead skin and the face will start glowing. In fact, skin is quite sensitive at night. Daily use of harsh physical scrubs or excessive chemical exfoliants (such as salicylic acid or glycolic acid) breaks down the skin’s natural protective layer i.e. ‘skin barrier’. As a result, redness, severe burning sensation, excessive dryness and symptoms of pre-mature aging start appearing on the face. Exfoliation only once or twice a week is considered sufficient, and that too in a very gentle manner.
Nowadays, there are many active serums available in the market like Retinol, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide, but applying them together on the face without knowledge can prove to be the biggest mistake. For example, combining vitamin C or AHA/BHA with retinol at night can throw off the skin’s pH levels and cause serious chemical burns or allergies. Also, if you have oily skin and you are applying too thick or comedogenic oil-based serum, it will directly encourage acne. Always choose only one or two active ingredients as per your skin’s needs as per the advice of your dermatologist.
Often people with oily skin think that they do not need moisturizer at night, because their skin already releases oil. This is completely a myth. At night, when the AC or fan runs in the room, the moisture of the skin starts to evaporate rapidly (Transepidermal Water Loss). If you do not apply a good moisturizer after applying the serum, then the effect of the serum evaporates and the skin starts producing more sebum (oil) to protect itself. This makes the face more sticky and breakout-prone. No matter the skin type, it is essential to apply a lightweight, non-comedogenic night cream or gel-based moisturizer to keep the skin hydrated throughout the night.
Night skin care is not just limited to what you apply on your face, but also depends on what your face comes in contact with throughout the night. If you do not change your pillow cover every week, then the old saliva, hair oil, dead skin cells and bacteria deposited on it keep getting transferred directly to your face. No matter how expensive serum you apply, a dirty pillow will definitely cause acne on the face. Along with this, sleeping on the stomach or on the side with the face pressed into the pillow puts pressure on the facial skin, due to which sleep wrinkles and fine lines start forming on the face prematurely. Using silk or satin pillow covers and sleeping on the back is considered best for skin health.