Bookending Your Day With Great Skincare Makes A Big Difference
The way that you start your day can have a huge impact on everything that follows. The habits that you put into practice as you get ready in the morning can leave you looking and feeling great, ready to take on the day ahead.
It may take some discipline and consistency to build those healthy AM habits, especially if you’re not much of a morning person. But when it comes to skincare, making an effort to take good care of your skin in the morning is worth the effort.
In the same way, how you end your day matters, too. Taking great care of your skin after a long day may be the last thing you want to do.
Worn out after a tough day, it’s often tough to make the effort to go through your nightly beauty routine. However, practicing good beauty habits at night will leave you with brighter, clearer, and more youthful-looking skin in the long run.
Building up a strong skincare routine for both morning and evening is one of the biggest keys to successfully obtaining dewy, fresh, glowing skin. In this post, we’ll discuss five key reasons why morning and evening skincare matter, and how your AM and PM skincare routines should differ for the best results.
1. Cleansing Before Bed Gets Rid of Leftover Makeup and Grime From the Day
After a long, tiring day, using a gentle cleanser is one of the best things you can do for your skin before bed. Not only does cleansing your skin leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed, it can also help to prevent clogged pores, breakouts, and other skin issues by removing dirt, grime, and leftover makeup before you hit the pillow.
Cleansing your skin in the morning and evening is the perfect way to bookend your day.
When you wake up in the morning, using your cleanser will get rid of impurities on your face to prepare your skin to receive the beneficial ingredients in the rest of your beauty products.
Always start your AM and PM skincare routines with cleanser, then move on to lightweight products like toner, exfoliator, and serums.
2. Some Ingredients, Like Retinol, Work Best When Used Before Bed
While some products, such as cleanser and moisturizer, are best used in the morning and evening, other products work best when they are used only in your PM skincare routine.
Retinol, a highly beneficial antioxidant, is one ingredient that should be saved for the evening.
When you put on retinol, your skin may become slightly more sensitive to exposure to the sun. Letting any products that include retinol work their magic overnight is the way to go – this way, your skin will be protected from the sun.
In addition to retinol, sheet masks and other types of face masks work best when incorporated into your PM skincare routine. Some face masks, as is the case with products with retinol, can make your skin more sensitive to the sun.
Save your refreshing, hydrating sheet mask for the evening for a little bit of self-care at bedtime!
3. Sunscreen is Essential in the AM
The best way to finish up your morning skincare routine is by using a generous amount of mineral-based sunscreen. Sunscreen protects your skin from the damaging effects of the sun’s UV rays. Overexposure to the sun can leave your skin’s pigment looking uneven, and the sun’s rays can even cause hyperpigmentation, also known as dark spots. Sun damage can also worsen the appearance of wrinkles, lines, and other aging-related skin issues.
To keep the damaging effects of UV rays at bay, it’s always wise to apply sunscreen daily before you leave the house. Even if you are not directly exposed to the sun throughout the day, sunscreen will protect you from the effects of any indirect sun exposure as well.
When using sunscreen in the morning, it’s best to put it on last, after you have used all of your other beauty products.
Sunscreen is one of the heaviest products you’ll be using in your beauty routine, and any heavier products are best saved for last. Saving sunscreen as the very last product that you put on in the morning will prevent it from inhibiting your skin’s absorption of the ingredients in your lightweight products.
4. Your Skin Needs Moisture in the Morning and at Night
Moisturizing is one of the most important aspects of your beauty routine, both in the morning and at night. Consistently moisturizing your skin – at least twice a day – helps to keep redness, dryness, and irritation at bay.
When your skin gets too dry, your skin cells can start compensating by producing higher amounts of sebum (oil) to stay lubricated. However, this excess oil can end up clogging your pores, leading to breakouts. Clogged pores from dried-out skin can also cause wrinkles and lines to appear more prominently.
Keeping your skin moisturized is one of the most effective ways to maintain soft, glowing, even skin. Dry skin is uncomfortable, and it can make you look older – just two of the many reasons to use moisturizer frequently!
In addition to using moisturizer multiple times a day, you can also use hyaluronic acid serum as part of your morning and evening skincare routines. Hyaluronic acid is a natural ingredient that can help keep your skin nourished, hydrated, and refreshed.
For dry skin, pairing a high-quality moisturizer with hyaluronic acid serum makes for a highly effective combo!
5. Some Products Can Be Used Twice A Day For Added Benefits
Many beauty products are perfectly safe and beneficial to use twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.
Using some serums, moisturizers, creams, and other products that contain beneficial ingredients like antioxidants and acids twice daily can compound the effects of these ingredients for your skin.
Not every product can be used multiple times per day without having a negative effect on your skin. However, some antioxidants and acids, including vitamin C, vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, and more, are mild and gentle enough to be used on your skin in the morning and the evening.
To provide your skin with enough moisture and nourishment for the entire day, you can apply hyaluronic acid serum, vitamin C serum, cleanser, toner, and moisturizer twice daily. For other products like exfoliator and products with retinol, one application at night is best to prevent any unwanted side effects.
How Your AM And PM Skincare Can Be Different
When you are putting together your lineup of products to use to take great care of your skin, it’s always wise to set aside specific products to be used in the morning and others for the evening.
Some of your beauty products can be used as parts of both your AM and PM skincare routines, but others are best set aside for one daily use. Some products can even be used less frequently – exfoliator, face masks, and other products can be used just a few times per week for best results.
When your main goal is keeping your skin refreshed, hydrated, and nourished throughout the day, you can benefit greatly from using certain products in the morning and the evening.
Multiple uses of your moisturizing products – certain serums, moisturizing cream, and other hydrating products – can keep your skin looking and feeling great all day long. Whether you are aiming to minimize signs of aging like wrinkles, lines, dark spots, providing your skin with the hydration that it needs can make a world of difference.
What Your Skin Needs in the Morning and Evening
For an ideal morning skincare routine, start out with a gentle cleanser.
Once you have cleansed your face, getting some refreshment after you wake up, you can use toner. Toner can help even out your complexion, minimize the appearance of your pores, and remove any leftover residue from your cleanser.
After toner, move on to any hydrating, brightening serums. Once you’ve applied these products, you’re halfway through your AM skincare routine!
To wrap up your morning skincare, apply any heavier products you are using – moisturizing cream, eye gel, and sunscreen are all heavier than the first few products you’ll apply to your skin in the morning. Once you have put these heavier products on, you’re all set to get to the rest of your day!
In the evening, you can use all of the same products you used in the morning, but can skip sunscreen. Your PM skincare routine can also include any products that include retinol, exfoliator, and face masks every few days. Saving these products for the evening will help to reduce the risk of any unwanted irritation or other side effects. With a strong evening skincare regimen, you’ll be well on your way to having skin that is nourished, hydrated, and fresh all the time!
Sources:
https://europepmc.org/article/med/2572123
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190962201584303
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15432919
