As the temperatures drop, you always hear about people switching their skincare routines. You might be wondering why people do that since it sounds so extreme. Well, for one, as the temperature drops, the air around you is less able to retain moisture. In other words, your skin is going to be giving up its moisture much more readily to the ambient air. Not only that, but when you’re inside, the circulating air is also heated up and loses its moisture content. Again, bad news for your skin. That’s why during these colder months, you have to gear up with moisture-intensive products to keep your skin looking just as luscious as it did during the summer!
From beauty creams to bacteria, below is my nighttime routine. You’ll find that most of the products are “clean” beauty where they don’t harm animals, use harsh chemicals (like alcohol, hard preservatives, etc), and are typically fragrance free.
1) Face wash: Travertine Spa. I use this cleanser because it is very mild. I have written a review on it on my Instagram before and having used it for longer, I am still a fan. It gets the job done without making your skin feel super dry afterward. A lot of cleansers really strip all of the oil off of your face (in an attempt to get it clean), but that is literally the last thing that you need during the winter! With this cleanser, I feel like it gets my skin clean without harsh chemicals and my skin is not aching for moisturizer right after I clean it. One thing to note is that it has an herbal scent to it. It is only noticeable when you are lathering and it does not stay with you when you rinse it off. I also tried out their moisturizer, which 100% has the same scent that rocks with you for a while. Also, speaking of lathering, this doesn’t lather too much, which is something that I noticed a lot for products that are more natural and not nearly as harsh. Industrially synthesized detergents are much bubblier, which is why I accept this more natural bubbling.
2) Face scrub: True Grit from Jesse Jimz. Minty fresh! That is my first reaction when I first used it. It has a nice mild mint scent to it, which is refreshing from when you open up the bottle. For facial scrubs in general, I like to use physical exfoliants rather than chemical. Chemical exfoliants are much better when you have acne prone skin, but I am usually looking to prevent acne rather than to fix preexisting conditions. With physical exfoliants, you always have to make sure you read the ingredients to figure out what exactly is in it. Plastic beads? That’s a hard no. A lot of the time you want things like oats, ground up seeds, or similar naturally occurring products because remember, these things end up in the drain and ultimately, the ocean. Keep our wildlife happy! True Grit uses jojoba and rice bran as the exfoliants, which I am a big fan of. I’ll do a scrub 1-2 times a week. It is just to refresh your skin and get the youthful, radiant skin to the surface. There’s no need to do more – in fact, it might actually make your skin worse if you are constantly doing scrubs. Give your skin a break!
3) Toner: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Toner. To be honest, I am still not 100% sold on using a toner. Yes, I know it is supposed to prime your skin to soak up all of the next products. However, if you are already washing your skin beforehand, it is likely in a vulnerable state where it will easily absorb your next products. And in the interest of full disclosure, I actually only started using this because Kiehl’s accidentally shipped this to me rather than the product that I actually ordered. I have really liked how it feels when I put it on my face though. It is light, refreshing, and quick to dry. It also has some squalene in it, which is ALL the rage nowadays! I pour a little bit of it on a cotton pad and dab away all over my face, neck, and (weirdly) inner elbows – I get weird inner elbow rashes, so I apply toner and moisturizer there to help keep the flareups at bay.
4) Serum: Brickell Repairing Night Serum. I still use this little guy! When I first reviewed this product, I talked about how the pumps barely covered my face. Well, it’s still true, but I have become more accustomed to it. It still doesn’t provide nearly as much coverage as I would like, but I really do like the way it feels and the ingredients in it. Having a good serum is important in giving your face the necessary moisture and micronutrients that you otherwise would not get. I invest in serums (with active ingredients) and use moisturizers that are kind of basic.
5) Moisturizer: Elementary Balancing Moisturizer. Yeah, this is supposed to be a two-part process with their cleanser. I wasn’t blown away by their cleanser at all, but their moisturizer? That’s a different story. I am much more of a fan. This is a monthly subscription-based company that is pretty cheap at $18/month I think. What I really like about this is that it has ceramide in it, which is helpful in keeping skin elasticity. I actually use this both in the morning and night (I’ll cover my morning routine in a bit!).
6) Night cream / anti-aging cream: ATEM Life Super Cream. I stumbled upon this little company a little while back and I loved reading about their science. This cream has a peptide in it that has shown in vitro that it can inhibit the synaptic vesicles from being exported. #science, I know. But basically what it means is that it prevents or inhibits your motor neurons from firing, preventing you from getting wrinkles. Think Botox, but not nearly as permanent or as strong of an effect. I use just a tiny dab of this every night and it goes on super smoothly! And if you’re afraid of jars, don’t you worry, I have covered that here!
7) Eye cream: Yon-Ka Under Eye Gel. It’s a clear product that spreads on well. It is super light and gives your sensitive under-eye area the extra love and support that it needs to not make bags. Why is it different from a moisturizer? It is much more targeted for your eyes, and it is thicker, really helping it concentrate to your eye region. How do I put it on? I put a dab on my ring finger and swipe under each eye 6 times one way and 6 times the other. And all done!
8) Lip balm: Nivea Milk & Honey. The funny thing about this product is that I got it from my mom because said it was way too scented for her. But it smells so delish to me! I like to wear this at night because it goes on much thicker than other lip balms that I use, so I use it when I don’t notice that it is on my lips AKA when I am dead asleep. Why do you need a lip balm at night? Well, you breathe through your mouth a lot when you sleep, surprisingly. All of that air passing back and forth means your lips are drying out REAL quick. Throwing on some lip balm will help you out here to stop that drying process. No one likes cracked, chapped lips. Get you some kissable lips and put on some balm at night!
9) Bacteria: Mother Dirt AO+ Mist. I recently met with the President of Mother Dirt at the time about the science behind this product. I was blown away by both the product and the company. It is incredible the amount of press that they have gotten and what the uses of this bacteria Nitrosomonas eutropha are. It was originally used as a treatment for eczema, but has since been used much more widely from facial care to a substitute for shower products. I use the mist as a final product in addition to all of the other things I use. One thing that is important here is to let all of your products soak in (I usually wait 5-10 minutes) before putting the bacteria on. Most products have some sort of preservatives in them, which render bacteria inert. However, for the mist, you want to make sure that your bacteria are as potent as possible! And yup, you are spraying live bacteria on your face, which is why you have to store the product in the fridge! What are the bacteria actually doing? They are basically converting ammonia (an irritant and also smell-producing chemical that your body produces in sweat) into something much more inert. Our ancestors actually had these bacteria on them, but we have since lost them due to our obsession with sterility. Introducing it back onto your skin gets your skin back to how evolution intended it!
I know, a 9-step process sounds like a lot, but it really flies by! It doesn’t take too long, and you want to put in little bits of work daily to save your skin in the long-run, whether that is preventing acne or to prevent signs of aging. Treat your skin the way that you want to be treated: The Golden Rule of Skincare, I say! Thanks for reading!
See ya later,
Spencer