As rushed as our morning are, most women are dedicated to their morning skin and hair care routines. After a long day at work, or a late weekend night out however, it’s a completely different story.
Our daily night time routine is as important as our AM regime. For each expert tip and step to your routine, The Body Shop has you covered with the perfect product.
Our skin goes into repair mode while we sleep, and products are able to better penetrate when you’re not wearing makeup and when the skin can breathe. Commit yourself to giving your skin the beauty sleep it so deserves by following this simple 4-step skin care routine before you tuck in for the night.
- Remove your make-up
It is a golden rule that you absolutely have to remove your day’s make up before starting on your night-time routine, as you need clean, oil- and grime-free skin for ingredients to properly absorb.
If opting for a one-off make-up remover, the Body Shop’s Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter with its luxurious texture removes every last trace of make-up and can even be used on sensitive skin.
Alternatively, a simple two-steps-in-one cleanse-tone regime will have you rid of all the physical impurities before proceeding with the next steps of your night time skin care routine.
Regardless of your skin type, a gentle cleanser that won’t strip your skin of natural oil is necessary to lift and remove water based free radical damaging agents at the end of the day. For dehydrated skin types, the soap-free Vitamin E Cream Cleanser is the ideal light, creamy cleansing product to have your skin feeling instantaneously cleaner and more refreshed. The Tea Tree Skin Clearing Foaming Cleanser on the other hand, is formulated to be gentle on blemished skin, cleansing and purifying, without over drying.
While toner might seem like an unnecessary step to the routine, most beauty experts recommend using one as it helps calibrate the skin pH and moisture levels (especially for oily skin), and preps it for all formulas to follow. Vitamin E Hydrating Toner removes traces of cleanser, dirt and make-up without drying the skin, leaving it feeling soft, supple and refreshed. Another tea tree oil product from The Body Shop, the Tea Tree Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner, with shake-to-activate mattifying powders, removes any residual traces of make-up to help skin look visibly clearer and toned.
- Serum
Now it’s time to get serious. Probably the most vital step in your skincare routine, opt for a serum filled with hyaluronic acid, which pulls water from the air into your skin to plump it up and keep it hydrated and regenerated while you sleep. For almost instantaneous results, the non-greasy Vitamin E Overnight Serum-In-Oil combines the power of a serum and an oil, to replenish and recharge skin with moisture overnight. The Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Daily Solution is also clinically proven to help combat blemishes and improve the overall condition of skin.
- Night face moisturizer
The final step in your nightly routine should always be a viscous moisturizer to seal in the effects of all the hard work you’ve put in to the previous steps. A moisturizer not only infuses your skin with hydration, but also helps trap in all of the products underneath it to make the ingredients even more effective. The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Night Cream is a rich, yet easily absorbed, product that protects, replenishes and helps to prevent moisture-loss overnight for all skin types. For blemished skin, the gel-lotion texture of the Tea Tree Night Lotion provides light hydration throughout the night, whilst controlling excess oil and sebum.
- Weekly face mask
If you have the time and like to indulge, consider applying a mask once or twice a week after cleansing and before your other night-time routine steps. If your skin is on the dry side, consider using a hydrating mask, or if your skin is oily, use a clay mask. The Vitamin E Sink In Moisture Sleeping Mask is a leave-on formula that helps to infuse optimum moisture levels into the skin with intense hydration. As an option for oily skin, the breathable Tea Tree Anti-Imperfection Night Mask achieves clearer, smoother, and healthier-looking skin in just one sleep!
A daily night time haircare routine may sound a little over the top, but hair experts swear by the following steps if you want to wake up to near salon-fresh hair. It also gives you that extra bit of sleep by cutting down on your morning regime.
- Condition at night
This might come as a surprise, but washing your hair at night is key to healthy strands. To help improve manageability and detangling of dry and damaged hair, the Shea Butter Richly Replenishing Conditioner is the perfect overnight treat for your locks to feel healthier and richly replenished.The lightweight and Banana Truly Nourishing Conditioner for normal to dry hair is deliciously fragrant, and deeply nourishes the scalp to leave your locks feeling softer and looking shinier. All products in the Body Shop’s Banana haircare range is ultra-nourishing, and helps boost volume without weighing hair down.
- Nourishing Oil
Applying a thin layer of oil every night will smooth hair cuticles and make hair more manageable, not greasy, in the morning. For stronger, smoother, and softer locks, the deliciously-scented Coconut Oil Brilliantly Nourishing Pre-Shampoo Hair Oil melts effortlessly when massaged into hair, and as a treatment can be used either before your haircare ritual, or left on overnight.
- Weekly Hair Mask
This once-a-week treatment leaves hair feeling intensely nourished from root-to-tip. The Body Shop’s Truly Nourishing Banana Hair Mask for normal to dry hair promises locks that look less frizzy and instantly shinier, all without weighing them down. For dry and damage-prone hair, weekly usage of the nutty-scented Shea Butter Richly Replenishing Hair Mask reduces hair breakage by intensely nourishing hair giving it an overall healthier and shinier look.
- Pro-Tips
- Do not sleep with wet hair: Hair follicles are in their most fragile state when moist, and going to bed with wet hair can cause knots and breakage.
- Give yourself a scalp massage: This helps circulate blood and increase the blood flow to your hair follicles which promotes hair growth.
- Switch from cotton to satin/silk pillow cases: Experts agree that sleeping on a satin or silk pillowcase is not merely a luxury. Cotton roughs up the cuticle, causing friction and static, and as a result roughening up your hair.
Shop the Body Shop’s skin and haircare ranges from The Body Shop flagship store on Bagatale Road, Odel in Alexandra Place, the Kandy City Centre, and the newly opened store at the Colombo City Centre.