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Bedtime routine

The skin care routine that precedes the night’s sleep has immense significance in maintaining the healthy, beautiful appearance of the skin.

During the night, our skin works hard to repair the damages caused by free radicals and sleep enables it to do so through cell renewal. During deep sleep, the skin restores its ability to fight off environmental and natural damages, a regeneration which translates into a brighter, healthier skin appearance. Sleep reduces the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which causes the skin to become thinner and increases the tendency for a lack of uniformity in the skin tone. At the same time, the secretion of the hormone melatonin is increased – the sleep hormone which acts as an antioxidant that fights free radicals – as well as growth hormones that repair and restore the cells that produce collagen and elastin, which are responsible for the firmness and elasticity of the skin. Furthermore, during the night sleep, the facial muscles are in a state of complete rest, a process which assists in relaxing the skin and enables a better penetration of the active ingredients in the skin care products.

How can the process of the rejuvenation and rehabilitation of the skin during the night be assisted?

 * Make sure to thoroughly cleanse the skin before going to sleep – cleansing the face before bedtime is extremely important for the removal of debris which has accumulated on the skin during the day and for cleansing congested pores.

 * Use a cream which is dedicated for the night – night creams have a richer texture than day creams.

* Take advantage of the night hours in order to use products which contain active ingredients that are not recommended during the day because of exposure to the sun – an important advantage of the night cream is that active ingredients which are not recommended for use with the exposure to the sun, like Retinol and  acids, can be included in it. These ingredients have been proven as especially effective in their ability to rejuvenate and rehabilitate the skin.

* Before the night cream, it is advisable to use a serum that contains a concentration of active ingredients like Vitamin C – in a resting state, the skin absorbs the active ingredients of the serum better. In addition, during the hours of the night the serum does not need to compete with the rest of the products we apply onto the skin during the day, like makeup and sun block, with air pollution and other environmental factors which surround us.

* If your skin is sensitive, select a night cream which contains  soothing,  anti-inflammatory  actives – it is  advisable to take advantage of the  hours during which the skin is in a state of rest in order to lessen inflammatory processes and to soothe the skin. Ingredients like Azulene, Cornflower, Echinacea, Calendula, Chamomile and Jojoba, act as anti-inflammatory factors helping soothe sensitive skin, and strengthen the natural immune mechanisms.