Why nighttime is the best time to apply your skincare products

Most of us have watched TV and seen a woman applying her favourite skincare products as she prepares for bed. Even more of us have experienced this at home as well, seeing family members moisturise their skin before bed, but have you ever stopped to wonder why this is?

One would assume that it is because it is the end of the day, and that’s probably the only time they have to do something so time-consuming.

But, it turns out there are some fascinating scientific reasons as to why nighttime is the best time to apply your skincare products. 

The Citizen recently sat down with two experts from Avon/Justine to get clarity on this. We spoke to Programme Lead of Research and Development at Justine, Mucha Mutasa, and Head of Beauty Category, Edwin Kodinye. 

Skincare concerns faced by women

According to Mutasa, skin changes in a woman’s early twenties, this coincides with her entry into the workforce, changes in her social life, moving to new environments and the stresses associated with all this.

While there are different factors that affect women in this category, Mutasa says stress has a major impact on skin.

“The stress can lead to things like bad eating habits, and other bad habits like smoking and drinking.”

However, one of the most important things that such a lifestyle can affect is your sleep quality and quantity.

“With the stress, lack of sleep and bad habits as well some environmental factors, you’ll find that some women in this age group are experiencing some early signs of ageing,” she adds. 

These signs include things like fine wrinkles and dry skin.

Another risk factor in the lives of women in this age group is the amount of sun exposure that their skin gets, while others have to deal with the skin changes that come about as a result of pregnancy. 

“Your skin and body, in general, are under more stress during pregnancy. The hormonal changes mean that your skin may become dry, itchy, irritated, and more sensitive. Your skin is also under pressure because you’re stretching,” explained Mutasa.

Another one of the changes most pregnant women report is uneven skin tone caused by the hormonal changes women experience during pregnancy.

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Pregnant women also suffer a decline in sleep quality and quantity for a number of reasons. 

“Sleep remains the most important during this stage because you’re growing a human.”

The final stage covered was menopause, also referred to as “the change of life.”

Basically, what happens at this stage is that your skin is losing estrogen. With this loss of estrogen, the skin becomes drier, and rougher because of the dryness. Elastin and collagen decline results in less elasticity in the skin, taking away the “bounce back effect.” 

Skin also becomes dull during menopause because of a lower blood supply to the skin.

When your skin is drier, you’re more prone to fine lines and wrinkles.

As if things aren’t bad enough, the regeneration rate of your cells slows down during menopause. In addition, skin decreases in sebum production causing immense dryness. 

Cell turnover peaks during menopause and sleep quality and quantity also lessen.

So, how do you care for your skin?

Before incorporating any products into your skincare routine, Mutasa advises working on getting more sleep and better sleep.

“We know that at night, that’s when your body is really trying to recover from all the stresses of the day, it’s trying to repair any damage that happened during the day.”

“The basis of the efficacy of any product within the cosmetic industry is hydration.”

Your skincare routine, therefore, has to provide adequate hydration.

How seasonal changes affect skin

“Depending on where you are in the country, the humidity in your environment does affect your skin,” says Muatsa.

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“When you’re in arid areas and your skin is adequately moisturised, there’s a time when the environment starts drawing moisture from your skin just to create that balance between yourself and the environment.”

She advises seeking out products that not only keep your skin hydrated and supply hydration to the skin, but products that also lock it in.

“People in humid areas need less help, but you never know what that balance is like day-to-day. Bottom-line, you need to look after that hydration.”

In the warmer months, UVA and UVB exposure is more of a concern. Especially, UVA exposure which might result in a more sallow and saggy appearance, referred to as “leathery-looking skin.” UVB on the other hand is what can be blamed for instances of sunburn. 

“It tends to promote the free-radical formation and free radicals are molecules that cause skin damage. They’re basically oxygen that went wrong. In the summertime, you need products that have antioxidants because antioxidants mop up free radicals or bad oxygen molecules.”

Problems arising from these factors included uneven skin tone, dark spots and dryness. 

In the colder months, people tend to experience drier, itchier and more sensitive skin, which can then feel rough.

“Because it’s sensitive, you’re going to need a product which can reduce the inflammation.”

What happens with your skin at night

When you’re sleeping, there’s an increase in blood flow and that means there’s an increase in nutrient distribution. There’s also an increase in skin permeability.

According to Mutasa, the good thing about skin permeability is that if you have active ingredients in your skincare products, that’s the best time for them to be applied. That’s when they’ll be permeated the most.

Nighttime, specifically when one is sleeping, is also when skin renewal is at its peak and there is an increase in the repair of damage to skin cells.

Unfortunately, at night, there is also transepidermal water loss which is linked to itchiness, sensitivity, dryness and less sebum production, which means that your skin barrier is drier due to the lack of oil.

Your skin pH goes down during the night time, which means your skin is more acidic.

Justine has launched what they call a new sleep therapy oil that is aimed at creating the kind of environment to get you ready for sleep.

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