How you prepare yourself for sleep can really impact the way your skin will look and feel in the mornings. We're often surprised (but not really) when we hear from women who don't wash off the day at night and then explain certain skin issues to us. The first rule to beautiful skin: WASH YOUR FACE NIGHTLY! That is an order and an absolute must for the health of your skin. I can go on and give you a mini lecture about all the ways we spread bacteria across our faces on a daily basis, but for the length of this post I shall spare you. Night cleansing is more important than morning cleansing. We're sharing our nightly beauty rituals and we hope to influence you to try a few of these steps or implement your own for consistent skin health.
VICTORIA'S NIGHTLY SKIN RITUAL
Two hours before bedtime I eat a bowl of fruit. During the summer it's always berries. I buy organic strawberries, raspberries, aronia berries, and blackberries and they are always stocked in my fridge. When I can find them I also eat barbary figs as they're a source of plenty of vitamins and skin loving minerals. Watermelons and other water dense fruit are also excellent choices.
One hour before bedtime I make a cup of caffeine free tea. Sometimes it's chamomile, sometimes a ginger and lemon blend or on very stressful days I make a cardamom, turmeric, nutmeg, and cinnamon concoction with a little honey in almond milk. I feel it stimulates good endorphins, which help me sleep better when the world is going mad.
I cleanse my skin as close to bedtime as possible, but only because it's a ritual I enjoy and helps prepare me to sleep. I pile my hair up in a bun and take out the jar of manuka honey in my bathroom and scoop a teaspoon in a bowl with a few drops of barbary fig seed oil. I mix it and set aside. Once or twice a week I indulge in a facial steam. If I'm wearing eye makeup, a little argan oil on a cotton pad will wipe it off nicely and then I proceed to wash with the honey mixture, rubbing it in just like a soapy cleanser and rinse off with warm water. On days that my skin needs a little exfoliation I use our Bio Active Healing Mask at night after I cleanse. On days that my skin feels stressed I will use a charcoal and rose powder face cleanser. Once a week I also use a Vitamin C gel with Ferulic acid after cleansing and lightly pat it into my skin. After my skin is clean and hydrated I use Barbary Fig Renewal Serum because I feel it works its magic on me at night and contains a multitude of vitamins that really help replenish nutrients to the skin while you sleep. I apply Decouverte Under Eye Repair Serum under and around my eyes and allow it to penetrate the skin without rubbing it in for optimal results.
Right before bed I scoop either raw manuka honey or raw wildflower honey and eat it with the rest of my water or tea. I spray my pillows with a gorgeous mist we're working on that is instantly relaxing and soothing to the senses. If it is really dry and cold temperature I scoop a little Rainforest Hydration Treatment into my hands and "melt" it before patting into my cheeks to add extra moisture and lock in more nutrients. On summer days there is less need for a rich cream moisturizer. I like to watch a few minutes of something really funny or read something funny before bed. There is just something about laughing that makes my dreams more cheerful and optimistic. Jimmy Kimmell always does the trick and off to bed I go. I usually get about 6-7 hours of sleep and feel quite fine when I wake up. My skin is soft, well balanced, hydrated, and smooth and this ritual has allowed me to only need a few drops of pure barbary fig seed oil to my skin in the morning and get my day started. No extra washing necessary.
If you'd like to share your nightly beauty routine with us please write in: Info@labellafigurabeauty.com. We'd love to hear what you're doing or help you with some tips and get you on your way to beautiful, healthy skin.
6 Comments
Thank you very much
Thank you so much for the help Victoria. Can’t wait to see this cleanser you are concocting! :)
Hi Lindsay,
That’s a great question and certainly you don’t want to put sticky manuka honey on your eyes. I would recommend you use a cotton pad and wipe your eye makeup first. Sweet almond oil, coconut oil and my personal favorite for this is a half and half blend of camellia seed oil and barbary fig seed oil. You can also use olive oil. If you use the camellia/bfso blend make sure to rub the oil combo on dry skin, you can use it all over the face and rub in gently to break up dirt and bacteria, then splash warm water and it will become milky until you rinse off, pat your skin dry and viola! That’s all you need to do to use an oil cleanser. We love the manuka honey cleansing as well so stay tuned as we’re developing a new cleanser and we don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I find any detergent cleanser too drying and often the start of recurring skin problems. So glad you’re excited for our Vitamin C gel cream! Thank you Lindsay!
Cheers,
Victoria
Hi Victoria, I am completely in love with washing my face in the am/ pm with honey/ manuka now. I mean it’s the best! Specially for my acne-prone slightly oily skin. Everything is finally seeming to balance out. But I have a question about cleansing in the pm when you’ve worn foundation and eye make up. How can I cleanse at night to make sure it completely comes off? I’ve been washing with Earth Tu Face’s cleanser twice on days I wear makeup (once to take off makeup/ second to cleanse) but I still find when I wipe with witch hazel or acv mix toner I still am wiping make up off? Is sweet almond oil a good choice for makeup removal, then do a cleanse with that wash? (I will most likely not repurchase the ETF wash, it also seems a bit drying). Any tips or advice is much appreciated! Thank you Victoria, I am so looking forward to your Vitamin C product!!
Hi Marianne! I like to use either raw wildflower honey or manuka honey, which needs to have a UMF rating of 15+ for its optimal benefits.
The Vitamin C gel that I use is a formulation we’re currently working on. We test on ourselves first. :)
I do have a morning ritual, but I’ve noticed that my night ritual effects the way I care for my skin in the am. For example, I don’t always need to cleanse in the am if my skin is well balanced from my nightly treatments.
Barbary Fig Renewal Serum rocks and I use it everyday! Thank you Marianne.
This is such a fascinating routine. Do you have a preference of honey that you use? Also what kind of vitamin c gel do you use? Does this mean you rather cleanse your face at night than having a morning ritual? Thanks so much, I’m going to try some of these steps. I love the barbary fig renewal serum.