CLEANSE
Cleansing at night is essential whether you wear makeup or not. Cleansing helps remove what can impede skin’s overall health and prepares skin for the benefits of your next skin care steps.

Starting your nighttime routine with a thorough cleanse using a cleanser designed for your skin type—or double-cleansing using micellar water as your pre-cleanser step to help break down face makeup—helps remove the day’s impurities and stress away. To ensure all your makeup is gone, consider incorporating a dedicated eye makeup remover into your cleansing routine.

PAMPER
At the end of a long day, making time to pamper your skin—and yourself—is a great way to unwind. Masks are a common choice to deliver benefits to skin while providing a relaxing and indulgent experience. Though not all masks are designed exclusively for nighttime use, nighttime is the perfect time to work a mask into your routine since you’re less likely to be in a rush or worried about the day ahead. Apply, indulge, then rinse your skin clean before applying any leave-on products.

RECOVER
Nighttime can be an especially effective time for treatment products because they can help replenish skin’s reserves in harmony with its natural rejuvenation cycle and go to work when environmental stressors are less of a threat. In fact, there are products designed specifically for nighttime use due to unique or active ingredients like chamomile extract known to help bring a soothing calm* to skin while you sleep or retinol which recommends you avoid sunlight while using. The key is choosing products designed to address your specific skin needs.

HYDRATE
Another essential step is hydration. Since skin is about 60% water, keeping it hydrated—whether you have dry skin, oily skin or sensitive skin—helps ensure proper balance and function and keeps things like fine lines looking plump. Everything from cold weather, heat and air conditioning systems, wind and not drinking enough water can deplete skin’s moisture, making it important to replenish at the end of the day. A night cream is a perfect choice, but it’s not the only option. Choose any moisturizer based on what best suits your skin type, preferences and needs, which can be the same SPF-free moisturizer you use during the day. The goal is to lock in the previous step(s) in your routine and help keep skin hydrated while you sleep.

REVITALIZE
It’s also important to give special care to the delicate eye area with an eye cream. The skin around your eyes is thinner and often first to show signs of skin aging like fine lines in addition to dark circles and under-eye puffiness. Finding an eye cream specifically formulated to address the unique needs of your eye area is a key step when it comes to achieving your best skin. And if you spend all day looking at screens, gently massaging in your eye cream as you apply is a great way to relieve strain and truly revitalize.

SLEEP
Though it’s not typical skin care, sleep plays an important role in the appearance and function of your skin regardless of your skin type. While you sleep, skin is repairing, rejuvenating, and regenerating new skin cells. Getting enough sleep—ideally around eight hours a night—can contribute to brighter, clearer, less inflamed, healthy-looking skin. So, you could say beauty rest is real, and a good night’s sleep should be the final step in your nighttime skincare routine.