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Beauty Sleep


Our Beauty Sleep is sooooooooo important, but if we don't do it right, the hours we spend each night in dreamland can actually be ageing us more than we realise.

Our natural body clock (or circadian rhythm) does more than we are aware of. Most of us believe that it only tells us when we need to go to bed and when we need to get up, but that rhythmic cycle also works on how our skin behaves and renews itself throughout a 24 hour period.

During the daylight hours, whilst we're busy getting through whatever it is we have to do during the day, our skin is just as busy. Although we may be wearing our sunscreen, BB cream and other antioxidant protectants on our skin, it is still working at fighting all of the external factors that seek to break it down. In other words, when we're working, our skin's working.

In the evening, as we wind down and relax after a day's exposure to the damaging effects of our environments (UV rays, air-conditioning, pollution etc.) our skin can relax as well. Our heart-rate drops when we're relaxed, our skin isn't as exposed and like we're ready to listen to a heavy conversation when we're relaxed and open, our skin is more ready to receive, absorb and not be overwhelmed by what we do to it at night.

If we do our night-time routine well, we can fight the damage of the day and prepare for the potential damage of tomorrow. Therefore, in this week's blog post, I'm going to share with you my nightly skin care routine as well as my twice weekly treatment routine. However, I have a disclaimer! This is a little of "don't necessarily do as I say." One of the pieces of advice I give my beauty coaching clients is the KISS (Keep It Stupidly Simple) principle when you're looking after your skin or it may become too cumbersome and overwhelming and you'll stop doing it. Therefore, as I take you through my routine, I'll offer you the KISS version as well, marked with a little meringue kiss image to guide you.

Yes, this looks super overwhelming, but these are all the products that make up my nightly routine, with the exception of a handful of them being for my treatments twice a week. Like I said, I don't always practice what I preach. This would definitely be too complicated for most, so I'll break it down for you.

1. Cleanse, cleanse, cleanse, cleanse & tone

The KISS step here would be cleanse & tone, but just one cleanse is rarely enough.

If you're wearing makeup, the minimum cleanse is twice, but if you want to make sure that the day's makeup, grime & nasties are completely gone, you'll need three cleanses to see that happen.

a) Always do a pre-cleanse and my favourite pre-cleanse is organic virgin Coconut Oil. It smells delicious and feels so beautiful and soft on the skin. You can gently massage it into your lashes to loosen mascara and eyeliner and it will keep the skin's mantle balanced to perfection. When I travel I use Dermalogica Precleanse but it really stings when you get it in your eyes (which I always do), so it's not my first choice.

b) Coconut oil does NOT rinse off. It's a thick, rich oil so needs help to remove it. Therefore my next cleanse step is with my favourite Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser. A dollop between a five and ten cent piece, foamed up with water between your fingers is enough and you can massage it all over your face and into the softened eye makeup from the oil. This step is never enough to completely remove all the oil and makeup, so I then apply the same amount to my Clarisonic and cleanse all over my face and neck to remove the residual oil and product.

c) As I usually wear a lot of eye makeup, it's not uncommon for there to be some residual smudging around my lower lashes, so I finish off my cleanse with a large cotton pad soaked with Bioderma Micellar Water. This is one of my most favourite products and is what I use for a pre-cleanse on my clients prior to prepping their skin before makeup application.

d) And then tone. So many people skip this step! It may seem unnecessary, but like you wouldn't skip conditioning your hair, you shouldn't skip toning your skin. It softens, can remove any product that you haven't cleansed off if you don't cleanse thoroughly and prepares your skin for the next steps of care. My go-to is Clarins Toning Lotion with Camomile which is now available in a large bottle. Yay!

2. Serum

To keep things simple, you can always skip this step, but as I'm maturing, when I do occasionally skip my serums, I notice it in my skin. It feels tight & dry in the morning.

When you apply more than one serum, it's important that you layer them properly. It's pretty logical, really. The heavier the serum, the later in the layering process it should be applied. Don't wait too long after applying your toner to use them. They will be absorbed faster and work more effectively when your skin is lovely and moist with your toner.

Rather than list all the serums that I would ideally use each night, I've shown you the three that I use without fail and in their order of application:

a) The first serum I apply is Clarins Shaping Facial Lift Serum and if you follow the application technique that you'll find below, the application will be far more effective. When I don't have time to do that, I warm three pumps between my fingers and gently smooth it over my face and throat, always moving upwards and avoiding the eye area.

b) The Clarins Double Serum is deeevine. It is two serums in one and when you pump it into your hand, the two products mix together. Warm two pumps in the palm of your hand and then rather than smoothing it across your face and throat, gently press it into the skin as the warmth of your palm and your skin will increase how quickly and deeply the product penetrates. See the video below.

c) One of my absolute favourite ranges is ASAP, which is what my Beauty Therapist Anita from (AAA Beauty) prefers to use. Whilst I Iove all their serums, the ASAP Vitamin B Serum is one that I can't do without. While your skin is glowing and full of the deliciousness of the previous serums, warm one pump of this between your fingers and smooth it over your face and neck, finishing by pressing it into your skin with your fingertips. Your skin will look at feel dewy and gorgeous and will be ready for the next step in your nightly skin care routine.

3. Moisturise & Nourish

To simplify, you can definitely skip the Treatment Oil in this step and smooth your night cream over your skin. But as you'll read below, definitely don't omit your eye cream.

One of the tasks of serums is to begin preparing the skin to receive your moisturiser and to be a conduit for absorption. So, after applying your serums, be sure to add the moisturising step immediately.

a) Although I often mix up my night & eye creams, alternating between ASAP, Clarins and Payot products, I always include Clarins Santal Face Treatment Oil in my night-time skin-care routine by mixing it with my moisturiser. I pump two pumps of ASAP Anti-Ageing Night Cream into my palm and then drop six drops of the Clarins oil, warming them together in my palm. Then, using the same technique as when applying the Clarins Double Serum, I press the warmed products into my skin. One of the pleasures of Clarins is the natural fragrances and inclusion of aromatherapy, so I'm also sure to breathe in the beautiful scent of all of their oils when I use them. Absolutely gorgeous!

b) Another step people skip in the moisturising routine is eye cream and substitute this product by simply applying their night cream around their eyes. This is definitely a no-no! The delicate skin around the eye has a completely different structure to the rest of the face. It produces no sebum, is much thinner and therefore far more delicate. A specific eye cream will provide the correct nourishment for not only the skin structure, but for the amount of movement the skin around the eye does. Currently I'm using ASAP Advanced Eye Complex and I always apply some around my lips as that area is always a line target on women.

 

So, there you have it, that is my regular, every night skin-care routine, with the KISS steps for those that heed my advice to keep your routine simple. If you're obsessive like me, though, you can make this as complicated as you like.

That said, even if you keep your nightly routine as simple or as extensive as suits you, at least twice a week, you should set aside a night for treatments.

What you choose to do is completely up to you. It can be as simple as exfoliation, or you can add some more steps similar to what I currently do.

 

Twice a week or every third night, after I cleanse, I apply Clarins Gentle Peeling Smooth Away Cream to exfoliate and remove the surface dead skin cells. This is ridiculously simple to use. Simply apply a generous layer to dry skin on your face and throat and leave it to set while you apply your body lotions and dress. Five minutes later gently rinse off with a damp face washer and your skin will be ready for the next stage of treatment.

Face masks will also be much more effective on fresh, newly exfoliated skin and at the moment I am loving the Josie Maran Whipped Mud Mask. I have the fragrance free mask (which was unintentional as I love fragrance), so the sensory experience isn't quite what it should be, but rather than simply coating this mask onto your skin, it's designed to be 'whipped' or massaged into your skin, which creates a beautiful, rich, creamy texture. I leave it on for about 20 minutes or so, although if I add a soak in the bath with oils at this stage of treatments, I'll sometimes leave it on for entire Netflix episode while I lie in the bath. Then, gently wash it off with a warm, soft face washer and you will notice the softness in your skin when you touch it and a visible glow. It's absolutely beautiful.

Yes, this is what it looks like. An instrument of torture. But ... beauty is pain!

Actually, it's not that bad, but I caution you to consult with a beauty therapist before you begin using a Dermal Roller, as you can damage your skin terribly if you use it incorrectly. I have worked my way up to 1mm from 0.2mm and it is still bringing tears to my eyes when I use it in certain areas of my face. When they cease, I'll increase to 1.5mm and continue moving to 3mm.

The purpose of Dermal Rollers is multi-fold, but basically, the trauma they impose on the skin cells provokes the skin into producing the collagen that it would produce in the instance of a burn or a cut or the like. As the needles penetrate the dermis, the skin's collagen starts to repair the damage by sending extra collagen to those areas of the face. As such, I concentrate on areas that I visibly notice I'm ageing, such as the nasolabial folds, the crease in my chin, between my eyes and my upper lip. (those are the most painful imho)

This process also helps the absorption and opens the carriageways for your serums, so choosing a serum with stem cells is advisable if your budget allows (mine doesn't at the moment, sadly) . When I'm able to, I'd love to review some stem cell serums for you.

As such, I apply my two Clarins serums before using my Dermal Roller and then finish with my Vitamin B serum afterwards. It's definitely a bit ouchy after using the roller when the ASAP serum is applied, but that's because the skin in open and receptive to the product.

Then I continue with the moisturising step of my treatment.

 

Last, but not least, just before I turn off my lamp, I add a couple of little luxuries to my routine to help me settle into that beautiful sleepy zone of oblivion.

My La Mer Lip Balm is a little bit of luxury every day for me and considering it's price, I'm glad I only need to apply the slightest amount and my lips still feel moisturised and plump in the morning.

Depending on how my skin is feeling, I'll either apply a generous misting of Mario Badescu Facial Spray (which I also love to spray on throughout the day for a spritz of moisture) or my favourite product that gives the most visible results, Skincerity Renew Serum, which is amaaaazing.

The Renew serum works to seal in all the moisture in your skin and provide a protective barrier overnight. The scent is overwhelming when you first apply it (smells like acetone), but then settles down to smell like apples and dries to a second skin on your face. In the morning (after you get the pleasure of frightening your family with your peeling face), just loosen the mask with water in the shower or gently wash off with a face washer. You will be amazed how plump and soft your skin will be.

Last, but not least, I like to spray the bed linen with This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray which is a heavenly fragrance of Lavender and Patchouli. I always take it with me when I travel so I can spray it on my pillow wherever I am and I drop right off. Well, not really, but I sleep a lot better.

 

As this post has been lengthy, you may not recall that at the beginning I mentioned that beauty sleep can sometimes be the opposite, but I'm not going to use the 'u' word. When we sleep, we put pressure on our faces that we wouldn't usually do during the day and I can often tell when a client sits in my chair what side they sleep on by the depth of their nasolabial folds. Back sleepers, I envy you!

As I predominantly sleep on my left, the nasolabial fold (the crease from the side of your nose to the corner of your mouth) on my left side is most prominent, so I'm careful to concentrate more on this area of my face with the dermal roller and also to massage it each morning when I apply my morning skin care products.

Something I'm very keen to try, though, is Nurse Jamie's Beauty Bear.

This illustration shows the damage that we do to our facial structure when we sleep and how the Beauty Bear can help. When I eventually invest in one, I'll definitely let you know what I think. It certainly looks like it ticks all the boxes!

So, there you go. These are steps and products that definitely work for me, but I encourage you to develop a routine and find products that you not only like to use, but that are effective.

With my new Studio/Beauty Room almost finished, some of my followers have mentioned that they would love a tour, so I'll be sure to make that the topic of my next post.

Stay beautiful girls!

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