Lin the evening, in front of the mirror, the beauty routine changes step: Longer rituels, layering and extra attention have become part of the evening skincare before sleep, even for the laziest, thanks to the longer time available and a boom in sales of products that adapt to every need for skin, texture and use.
March 18, 2022, World Sleep Day: why skincare matters
An indispensable condition to ensure that creams, serums and boosters reach their maximum performance is sleep, which also in 2022 it will be celebrated with World Sleep Day, or World Sleep Day, today March 18th.
Credits: Instagram @gisele
A date that also this year takes on a very important meaning: after the last two years of the pandemic and compared to the current world situation, we sleep less and less.
The nights are often animated by nightmares dreams, mirror of anxieties and fears, e in the morning the skin is dull, often marked by frequent changes in position, the eyes are swollen and dark circles marked.
Because the evening is the most important time for the skin
However, it is not only the rested aspect that we must aim for. «There is a clear correlation between the skin and the circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep-wake rhythms: normally between 11 pm and 4 am there is a peak of the somatoform hormone, and in this phase the skin is more receptive both to the substances it receives from the outside and to its own ability to regenerate“explains Dr. Magda Belmontesi, a dermatologist.
It is the so-called golden hour, which you must take full advantage of. The reason is simple. “When you sleep the main organs are at rest while the peripheral ones, like the skin, receive more blood flow and supply of nourishment “.
The stars know this well, who make no secret of their evening habits. Kim Kardashianfor example, he often stated that he went to sleep on time between 10pm and 11pm, Elle Macpherson told a Well + Good who falls asleep in five minutes thanks to a yoga position and never allows himself less than seven hours of sleep, for Gwyneth Paltrow the ideal is nine or ten hours.
Day skincare vs sleep skincare: the differences and the right assets
With such a receptive skin it is important to choose the right products: not by chance there is a difference between those for daytime and those for evening skincarenot pure marketing.
“During the day, the focus is mainly on active ingredients that protect from the external environmentsuch as radiation and pollution, while at night the antioxidants work against free radicalsoxidative stress and, in general, against everything that is produced by the body », adds Dr. Belmontesi.
“A targeted antioxidant, combined with a richer cream which restores the barrier action of the skin, it is perfect for the evening as well as the exfoliants, which stimulate epidermal turnover and the use of which does not involve the risk of photosensitivity », explains the specialist.
A few examples? “Resveratrol and Vitamin Ewhile between retinol and alpha hydroxy acids you have to choose, to avoid overly aggressive treatment “.
Turning off your pc and smartphone is good for your skin
It is also due to the mechanisms underlying the nocturnal regeneration of the skin that in the evening you should keep away from smartphones & co.
Staying at the PC until late or consulting the mobile phone when you should be sleeping, favors an alteration in the secretion of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep-wake cycleand consequently also the natural circadian rhythm of the skin ».
If you stay awake in front of a display during that precious time window in which the skin regenerates, “you lose a precious possibility: andmoved to artificial light, the cells “think” that it is dayand they skip the appointment with the moment when their regenerative capacity is at its maximum ».
Silk linings and accessories, details that help (and why)
To enhance the benefits of rest and the best performing night creams, many celebs also choose silk pillowcasesan increasingly popular habit among the pros of evening skincare: leaning the face on its textures, in fact, relaxes the skin and gives shine to the hair.
Silk is also a marvel for the skin, from a skincare point of view: thanks to carotenoids and flavonoids contained in the sericin, from properties antioxidants and antibacterials. There sericinindeed, stimulates the fibroblasts to produce hyaluronic acid, which guarantees elasticity and softness to the skin. A complete action, because it stimulates both the stratum corneum, the outermost one, and the deepest one.
And it is no coincidence that silk proteins have been used in cosmetics since ancient times. Today it is the basis of products skincare of the latest generation, from those signed Sensaiwhich are based on the precious Koishimaru silk, to those of Eighteen Ba brand launched by the same company of microsilk, the fabric that Stella McCartney uses instead of animal-derived silk.
The extra gesture? A pillow spray: based on relaxing essential oils, like that of lavender, they induce sleep. When it comes to skincare, you never stop learning. One thing (beautiful) leads to another.
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