Clean beauty products for your night skincare routine while you sleep
Put the ‘beauty’ in ‘beauty sleep’ with these clean skincare products
Text: Tiff H
Let’s talk about nighttime skincare routine; take your morning beauty routine and copy and paste, right? Turns out, it’s not as simple as that. Using your daily skincare products at night might not be doing much to improve your skin and it might be worth investing in some night-specific beauty products to boost your beauty sleep. With studies showing that maintaining a personal skincare routine reduces signs of skin ageing, a nighttime skincare routine that focuses on hydration and repair is essential if you want to keep your skin firm and clear.
What happens to my skin at night?
Our circadian rhythm kicks off cell regeneration during our sleep. This tissue recovery process means that we need the most nutrients during this time. Additionally, your skin's blood flow increases while it rebuilds collagen and repairs damage from UV exposure.
At night, in addition to being more active, skin is also more permeable, which means it’s more receptive to skincare products but at the same time, your skin will also lose hydration.
Why is a separate night skincare beauty routine important?
Our skin is exposed to the physical environment throughout the day, such as sunlight, oxidation, humidity and pollution. Helping your skin with natural rejuvenation at night will make it more durable during the day and keep damaging factors like the sun, wind, stress and debris from penetrating the epidermal layer.
What should I include in my nighttime skincare routine?
While some may swear by their 7-step nightly beauty pampering, it all boils down to facial hygiene, hydration and nutrition. Clean skin means excess grease and remnant make-up is removed and the skin is able to absorb a higher percentage of nutrients. Products that contain nourishing and antioxidant components, such as vitamins C-E-A, collagen or hyaluronic acid and an anti-ageing effect such as retinol or alpha hydroxy acids are ideal.
With this in mind, The Soothe team tried out a few nighttime clean beauty products that you can consider adding to your skincare arsenal.
Biossance Squalane + Antioxidant Cleansing Oil
“I’m usually sceptical when it comes to cleansing oils as I’ve had some bad experiences, but this Squalane and Antioxidant cleansing oil from Biossance really blew doubts out the window. The cleanser comes in an easy-to-use pump bottle, which means you can control how much product you’re using. The oil itself is lightweight and able to remove makeup (even my waterproof mascara), and other impurities. The oil feels much less harsh on my skin than other cleansers and leaves my skin feeling velvety soft due to the sugarcane-derived, sustainable squalane oil. A huge plus is that it’s cruelty-free, vegan, paraben-free, and synthetic fragrance-free, so you’re only putting good stuff on your face. No fragrance also means you’re getting the natural scent of the products, which takes time to get used to, but is not unpleasant.” 4.5/5
“For most of us over 30, our holy grail skincare almost always revolves around hydration. So, when I saw 'The Most Hydration' serum, I was sold. Gorgeous, millennial-esque packaging aside, the directions are simple: put a couple of drops on after cleansing and toning and watch it work its magic. First impressions were that the serum has a slightly gummy texture (reminiscent of cult fave The Ordinary's Hyaluronic Acid) and an almost herbal smell. I love that the ingredients in PSA's products are completely vegan and natural, although the untouched scent was not entirely up my alley. The serum absorbs fairly quickly and didn't leave a sticky residue like some other serums do. After using the product for a week, I felt that my skin was sufficiently plump even though I'm in an airconditioned space almost 24/7. It's easy to incorporate into your routine, and the price doesn't break the bank either. While it wasn't a life-changing product, it's a nice starter serum if you don't already have it as part of your skincare routine.” 3.5/5
PSA Midnight Courage: Rosehip & Bakuchiol Night Oil
“The product was very easy to incorporate into my usual skincare routine, as you simply apply it to your face, eye area and neck as the last step in your routine. Alternatively, you can add a few drops to your moisturiser and apply all at once. I also like that it doesn't have a super-strong smell, which I don't like in nighttime products. I really felt as though I was feeding my skin, and the extra layer of oils felt like a protective barrier, especially since I sleep with the AC on. Finally, I really liked the packaging — it looks really nice on my shelf, and I like that it came with the handy pipette to help measure how much product I was using. The only downside to this product is that it's very oily, so even if I just put a couple of drops across my face and neck, I was shiny for about 20 minutes afterwards! With this in mind, I started my skincare routine earlier so the product had more time to settle. After a few uses, my skin felt firmer and brighter. I don't have many marks on my skin, so it was difficult to determine whether the product would have helped with pigmentation.” 3/5
