Antipodes | Blog | Perfect Night Skincare Routine

Let’s be honest. More often than we care to admit, our night skincare routine consists of splashing a bit of water, throwing on our pyjamas and making a beeline towards bed – makeup be damned! We could all use a little love in our evening routine. Night is not only a critical time for rest, it’s also a critical time for skin recovery. A thoughtfully curated night skincare routine does more than care for our skin. It enhances our overall state of being.

Your skin at night

In the evening we give our skin a break. Skin gets time to recover, repair, and restore. Our biological processes are geared towards optimizing recovery during the night. Mitosis, the process by which cells grow and repair, peaks at 11.30pm. Our production of melatonin is at its highest at night, as well. This is the molecule that helps to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation. The most effective night skincare routine uses products that contain antioxidants. These give your skin the best chance of recovery, so you can wake up to a healthy-looking complexion, ready for the day ahead.

Night Skincare Routine To Relaxing Ritual

An evening skincare ritual requires a different mindset than your morning routine. Trade rushing for relaxation. If we’re lucky, this is the one moment of our day when we have time to breathe, re-centre, and show our skin some love. Take time with your night skincare routine. Your skin will love the extra attention.

Step 1: Double Cleanse

“Double cleanse” is a buzz-phrase in the beauty industry, but it’s a trend worth adopting. Our skin builds up a variety of impurities throughout the day, even when working from home. Double cleansing ensures we’re not only removing our makeup, surface impurities, and excess oils. It helps us shift lifeless skin and replenish skin with nutrients. Plus, evening is perfect for double cleansing as we have a bit of extra time.

Cleanse with richer formulations first

Start with an ultra-nourishing cleanser for skin hydration. Massage Grapeseed Butter Cleanser into the damp skin of your face and neck. Certified vegetarian, the balm texture is perfect for melting hard-to-shift makeup. A blend of nourishing cacao butter with organic oils, such as antibacterial harakeke oil, clears impurities while replenishing moisture. Hibiscus bloom gently exfoliates lifeless skin. Using a soft touch, wipe away any residue with a warm washcloth.

Finish with a light cleansing gel

With makeup gone, you can follow with a lighter formulation to remove remaining residue. Massage Juliet Anti-Blemish Gel Cleanser into face and neck using upward strokes. Exfoliating extracts from the New Zealand superfruit kiwi join hibiscus bloom to reveal clean and clear skin. World-famous manuka honey helps to balance oil, while a compound of antioxidants, Vinanza® Grape & Kiwi, contributes to a brighter visage. Rinse with luxuriously warm water.

With antioxidants for glowing skin, the ingredients in this certified vegetarian cleanser leave skin feeling more than soft and nourished. Skin is prepped for the products to come.

Step 2: Decongest & unwind with a mask

Once or twice a week, decongest skin with a mask such as Halo Skin-Brightening Facial Mud Mask. This is an essential step in your night skincare routine, especially if you’re going through a period of stressed skin. New Zealand’s thermal mud is packed full of minerals such as sulphur, calcium, sodium, and silicon. Together, they make this special volcanic mud a powerful detoxing agent. The mineral-rich mud binds to oils in your skin, helping to carry away dirt and residue once rinsed.

The formula also contains Jojoba esters, an exfoliating compound that leaves skin brighter and fresher by shifting lifeless skin. Avocado oil, rich in antioxidants for skin, keeps skin moist and hydrated during this process.

Lavish a thick layer of the creamy mud mask over your cleansed face and neck, avoiding your eye area. Leave for 15 minutes while you switch off and meditate, read, or rest. Before the mud has completely dried, rinse thoroughly with warm water.

Step 3: Hydrate skin with a night serum

A glass of water on your bedside table is a must for keeping hydrated. However, it’s a myth you can hydrate skin by drinking more water. Instead, topical products step into the breach. Achieve skin hydration with a water-based day and night serum like Hosanna Collagen-Plumping Water Serum. It grants your skin an immediate water boost.

With a gentle touch, press a few drops into your face and neck. The formulation contains mamaku black fern, a native New Zealand fern with glycosides (natural sugars) to encourage a renewed complexion. Spring water is high in natural minerals for pure skin hydration.

Step 4: Lock in moisture with a night cream

Skin loses moisture during the night, so a night serum is only one piece of the puzzle. It’s also important to seal and hydrate skin with a high-performing moisturiser. Culture Probiotic Night Recovery Water Cream is the crème de la cream for healthy hydration. The night cream optimises skin recovery, supports the microbiome, and helps to restore the skin barrier.

Massage the probiotic night cream softly and slowly into your face and neck before turning in for the night. Take time to breathe in the pure plant fragrance of deep, fresh rose. Feel the sensation of the cloud-soft night cream on your fingertips. While you sleep, innovative Kalibiome AGE Probiotic helps to calm skin and balance levels of good and bad bacteria. Harakeke flax gel, a water-boosting New Zealand bioactive, joins plant hyaluronic acid to hydrate skin. The result: pillowy soft skin in the morning. Awake to a calm, clear, hydrated visage – and clarity of mind and soul.

Relaxation is critical to our mental and physical wellbeing. That means cultivating a night skincare routine that instils a sense of deep calm. Thirty minutes before bed, turn off your screens. Dim the lights. And settle into an evening ritual that prepares your skin for the restorative power of sleep.