Monday habit busters: Washing your face at night

Another Monday (Happy MLK day!) and another bad skin care habit to bust.

Bad skin habit to fix: Not cleansing your face at night.

Why this is not helping you reach your skin goals: Most cellular turnover happens at night while we sleep. In fact a lot of skin activity happens while we are at rest. It is arguably the most important time of the day to have actives (especially protective antioxidants) and powerful skin care present on our skin so that are skin cells can function at their best. Cell turnover in a nutshell is when new baby skin cells are “born”. We want these newborn cells to have the proper nutrients to be at optimal health. If we haven’t cleansed before bed, our skin is in essence suffocated with extra sebum, makeup, sunscreen, you name it. Thus these baby cells won’t perform at their best and will be sluggish and unhealthy.

How to overcome this bad skin habit: Wash your face and put on your serums and moisturizers before dinner. This way if you’re tempted to snooze on the couch after eating/watching your nightly tv show, you’re still ready to go! Otherwise, set an alarm or reminder or set up weekly challenges for your self.

Don’t forget that important double cleanse in the evening hours to remove sunscreen and makeup AND cleanse the skin.

Remember optimal, healthy skin is in essence building upon good habits one by one. It’s not from a magic serum or facial (although they are a part of that equation). So start working towards these goals everyday, so that you find true happiness in your skin.