My morning skin-care routine

I’m making a conscientious effort this year to take better care of myself. Starting by paying my skin some attention.

I’m an ‘all-or-nothing’ kind of girl. I’ll spend twenty minutes using everything I own. Or I’ll do nothing. As soon as my mood goes, skin-care is always right behind it. But having stopped a downward spiral a few times lately, I’ve also realised that feeling fresh, clean and hydrated is an effective way of snapping myself out of it. Not all the time, but it’s worth a try, right?

It’s time-consuming. True.

 But I need to stop that preventing me from doing it, even getting up a few minutes earlier to fit it in. My commute and working environment means my skin takes a painful hit each day – and it doesn’t take much for a break-out.

Having had a clear through of products, I’m making the point of writing up my routine. It then won’t look as daunting and, with any luck, I can persuade myself that it’s worth-while doing every morning, no excuses.

Night Creams

Over the last few years I’ve really been changing my skincare routine in order to get the best for me. It’s only been in the last two years that I’ve really discovered the idea of night treatments. Of course, it makes perfect sense; your body doesn’t have to worry about other things while you rest, so why not focus on waking up with a glow?

When it came to night treatments for my face, it will come as no surprise there was only one place for me to go: The Body Shop.

The first one I tried was the Teatree Night Lotion. I knew Teatree is a brand good for blemishes and spots, hence why this was the one I picked. However, it was a bit too strong for my skin. It left it feeling dry and if I hadn’t used the lotion for a few days, there was almost a burning sensation when I first put it on. It always settled and never gave me any problems, but I knew this couldn’t be doing my skin much good. On the weeks where I remembered to put it on during consecutive days, I often found I was having an outbreak of spots as well.

All in all, it quite clearly wasn’t suited for my skin type. I stopped using night lotions for a while. But then recently, I did The Body Shop skincare quiz in order to find out what I should be using for my skin type and that came back with the Nutriganics Smoothing Night Cream and this seems to be doing the trick.

Don’t be put off by the fact the first piece of information directs it at aging skin – which mine certainly isn’t. You don’t need much at all to hydrate and moisturise your skin while you sleep. My skin feels fresh and – no kidding – smooth each morning. I haven’t suffered from any outbreaks. As it does leave my skin feeling fresh, I’m also remembering to use it each night whereas before, I was a little dubious so kept “forgetting”.

Considering the battle I’ve been having with my skin lately, it’s really nice to find something that does seem to be suited to my skin. I’ve had no issues of it feeling greasy, although if you use too much there is the potential for that – same as any moisturiser. Rather than feeling like I just want to wash my face as soon as I wake up, I waken feeling fresh and still clean from the night before. It’s the small things in life that makes a difference, and that is one of the things that does it for me.

Night lotions are a great way of giving your skin a bit of a helping hand during the hours you can’t attend to it. It’s just important to make sure you find the ones that are suited for your skin type. If in doubt, ask someone in the know. It’s not worth making your skin wrong because of getting it wrong.

Do you have any you use? Let me know!