News and Events at Invigorations
Falling Asleep in Your Makeup
Yes, I know better. But ritually going through my routine of flossing & brushing my teeth, cleansing-exfoliating-hydrating-moisturizing, putting on body lotion, heel exfoliator, foot cream, oh and the cuticle cream — it’s too much. The best I can do is stumble into bed.
Foundation, blush, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick the next morning after— not pretty. Not only the site of your poor skin but take a gander at the pillow case.
There is a price to pay. Sleeping in foundation, pressed or loose powder (whether they’re labeled mineral or not), and blush (cream or powder) keeps skin cells from sloughing off as they should. Then the combination of makeup and built-up dead skin cells immediately clogs pores. A new crop of pimples or blackheads may appear first thing or by the end of the day. Or if you have dry or sun-damaged skin, your skin looks even more dull and ashy.
OK so it happened. Here’s what you can do to minimize the repercussions of falling asleep in your makeup:
- Wash your face twice (call it your Double Cleanse routine), and use a soft washcloth to be sure to manually (but gently) exfoliate your skin. Use a pre-cleanse first then a cleanser if possible.
- Use an eye makeup remover that has no chance of further irritating your eyes, and get every last fleck of makeup off.
- Use lubricating eye drops to soothe your eyes if needed.
- Go over your face with a well formulated toner without drying ingredients to add antioxidants to your skin and to remove last traces of makeup, particularly around the hairline.
- If breakouts or blackheads are a concern, it is essential that you use an exfoliant. The BHA’s are more gentle. Look for salicylic acids, fruit enzymes, or rice bran enzymes.
- If you can grab a minute, lie down with your head elevated and place a cool, wet towel over your eyes (it will feel great and reduce puffiness and swelling). The cucumber and tea bag tricks work also. Or a cooled eye pillow.
- At this point, the extra boost from a mask would really help. A clay based one works for oily areas, a hydrating one for dryness, and antioxidants for sun damage or aging skin.
- Apply a lightweight moisturizer or serum on your face and, if needed, a more emollient eye cream moisturizer around your eyes. It is best to customize your products to your skin type.
- Finally, it would help if you can wear a lighter makeup than you did the day before you fell asleep with your makeup on.
And for tonight: Don’t fall asleep in your makeup. Sticking to your nightly skin care routine will reap you rewards!
If you want the simplest way of all, use the Dermalogica Pre-Cleanse. You apply it to dry skin, with wet hands activate the emulsifiers, then simply rinse off all the sunscreen, make-up, pollution—all of it. Done. Or do like I do, take a shower before bed.
By Sharyn Madison, Licensed Aesthetician and Skin Care Therapist
