Why you should never use a face cream again.

…well only at night.

You have probably grown up educated to use a face cream morning and night. 

But before you reach for a cream at night, we’d like to challenge you to consider a different method to nourish your skin.

At Skin Juice, we prefer to use oils and balms to feed the skin at night and here’s why. 

What is a face cream and how do they work?

Most of us know to use a face cream to help retain the hydration in our skin and to improve the texture of our skin – got to love that smooth, silky, and bouncy feeling after applying a moisturiser.

That feeling is in thanks to a moisturiser containing both oil and water. But how does that work when they don’t mix? To make a moisturiser we need an emulsifier to bind the water and oil. There are different types of emulsifiers (some of which include undesirable synthetic types such as PEGS), but at Skin Juice we use healthy and natural emulsifiers – look for ingredients like Cetearyl Glucoside, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride or Potassium Stearate.

But did you know that a face cream also helps reinforce and support another major function of the outermost layer of your skin? That being protecting the deeper layer of your skin from pollution, irritation, and environmental drying.

To do this, and retain the hydration in your skin, a cream is formulated to provide a physical barrier on the skin.

And while we formulate all our face creams with natural oils and butters that do melt into the skin to some extent, they are still designed to provide a barrier to the elements when you need it most – during the day!

Not at night.

Why you should not use a face cream at night? 

At night, while your body rests and repairs, your skin is doing the same thing.

Your skin is biologically equipped to repair and rebalance itself, releasing natural secretions such as sweat and oils, to reinforce its protective barrier – the microbiome and acid mantle - all while you sleep!

It is therefore important not to use anything on the skin that might block or inhibit this natural function. And as face creams are designed to be retained on the skin’s surface as a barrier for protection, they will inhibit the skin’s natural oil flow which will interfere with the skin’s ability the repair any damage done throughout the day. They become a barrier for your barrier repair.

How to nourish your skin at night...

We recommend using a face oil or oil balm to nourish and feed your skin at night.

Your skin has oil pathways around your cells, so when you apply natural plant oils they can travel freely through these channels and feed the skin on a deeper dermal level. Each cell has a protective membrane lining, and the essential fatty acid-rich plant oils can help repair and strengthen these cells to ensure healthy skin is produced at a deeper level.

Oils and balms will also replace the lost oils on the surface of the skin to ensure you wake up to a soft dewy glow in the morning. Using oils and balms also means your skin is free from emulsifiers and occlusive ingredients, ensuring your pores remain clear so that the skin’s oil secretions continue to flow uninhibited at night. These secretions also contain good bacteria that form a healthy barrier against the bad bacteria that can lead to breakouts and irritation; fortifying your skin for the day ahead.

When you wake up in the morning, all you need to do it splash your face with water, refresh your skin with a skin drink and then use your face cream to support your natural barrier.

Yes, we said no cleansing in the morning. You can read more about that here.