The sleep and skin connection: How to find the best night skin cream

Not all night skin creams are created equal. So how do you find the best one? The key is to recognize the connection between sleep and skin. While you may be fast asleep at night, your skin is hard at work – repairing from the day’s damage. Very specific changes in the skin happen when the sun goes down, and the best night skin creams take advantage of these changes.

THE SLEEP and SKIN CONNECTION

While you’re dreaming, your skin is working the night shift. Here’s what’s happening overnight – the sleep and skin connection in action:

• Trans Epidermal Water Loss (TEWL) increases, causing the skin’s protective barrier to weaken, allowing for greater penetration of active ingredients.

• The skin’s own natural antioxidant levels increase.

• Skin repairs from the day’s damage from exposure to environmental aggressors such as UV rays, smog, nicotine, etc. and rejuvenates itself.

• Stress hormones decrease during sleep, so skin is better able to repair itself.

• The hydro-lipid barrier weakens at night.

• Oil production is 2x lower at night than during the day.

Here are my essential tips to take advantage of the sleep and skin connection:

1. Start Clean. Give your skin all the help it can get in order to repair from a day of damaging UV rays, smog, and pollution. Make it a habit to cleanse your skin before bed – and don’t skip a single night. Sleeping in your makeup pushes dirt, oil and grime right into your pores – leading to congestion, breakouts and dullness.

2. Focus on your Eyes. Use a targeted eye wrinkle creme to improve the appearance of wrinkle length and depth around the eyes and increase the feel of firmness. Hyaluronic acid will help bind moisture to the skin, smoothing surface lines. Try: Sleepwear for Eyes night skin creme.

3. Look for a Night Skin Cream with Retinol. Derived from Vitamin A, retinol is light-sensitive and therefore most effective at night – because it’s light-sensitive. It’s an essential ingredient to help the skin look more youthful. Try: Bioelements Sleepwear or Oil Control Sleepwear night skin creams.

4. Don’t forget your hands! They often age even faster than your face. There’s little fat on the back of hands – so it’s noticeable when collagen and elastin breaks down there. Use a dedicated night skin cream that’s formulated just for hands – one that will recover the look and feel of volume and smooth rough, dry texture. Try: Sleepwear for Hands.

5. Lie Back. Did you know wrinkles across the forehead and down the side of the nose and chin can be caused by sleeping regularly on your side or stomach?  They’re the result of constant pressure from sleeping on a pillow. Try sleeping on your back to avoid them.

6. Create the right environment. Make your room a comfortable, quiet, peaceful space. If it’s noisy, consider adding a white noise machine; if it’s dry, add a humidifier – it will help prevent your skin from drying out.

Do you take advantage of the skin and sleep connection? Tell me your nighttime skin routine in the comments!

One of the first-ever licensed estheticians in the U.S., Barbara Salomone is the architect of the modern American facial. Since launching Bioelements Professional Skin Care in 1991, she has trailblazed the industry, incorporating nutritional supplements into topical skin care products, and pioneering the introduction of antioxidants, calcium, probiotics and lutein. Visit Bioelements on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube.