My Nighttime Skincare Routine

A lot of you have been wondering you about my skincare routine, so I’d figured I’d share my nighttime skincare routine. First, let me give you a little background on my skin. I’ve always had sensitive skin growing up, but never had an issue with acne. I never really had a skin routine. I just washed my face in the morning and at night.

NOW… it seems like I can always count on getting a pimple on my cheek, chin, or bridge of my nose during ovulation and shark week (that’s what I call the week I get my period). Sometimes, I get one in all three areas. 

It doesn’t stop there! After the hormonal pimple finally goes away, it causes a dark spot. Like huh? Now I have hyper-pigmentation too? 

Since these changes have happened to me within the last 3 years, I have decided to do what I need to do  to take better care of my skin. In this post, I am going to share with you my 5-step nighttime skincare routine. So, lets get started, shall we?

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1.) Remove Makeup.

This step is so very important to any skincare routine. I don’t think people realize the damage makeup can do to your skin and eyelashes overnight. You skin needs to breathe at night because that’s mainly when your skin cells renew. Oh! Let’s not forget about mascara. PLEASE take it off at night! Since some mascaras strip the natural oils from your eyelashes it can cause them to become brittle and fall out. 

I actually use two forms of makeup removal in my skincare routine. The first product I use is DHC Deep Cleansing oil. I actually found out about this product while I’ve been here in Japan. It is one of their top cleansing oils, which is olive oil based. It  easily removes sunscreen, waterproof mascara, and that stubborn lipstick that seems to never want to come off. I love this stuff!!

Then I remove the oil with a makeup remover wipe. I usually use the wipes by Neutrogena. I used to only use makeup wipes, until I noticed that they don’t really take ALL of the makeup off.

2.) Cleanse

That brings me to the second step in my nighttime skincare routine. I use a facial cleanser after using the oil and wipes because I want to make sure there is no oil residue left on my face. This also helps to get deeper into my pores. 

I use REAL African Black Soap. I’m emphasizing REAL because there is a stark difference between the real and fake stuff. The real African black soap is multi-colored, not black. Now, you can use the black colored soap, just know it has dyes in it.

I started using African Black soap about 4 months ago and I fell in love with it. Some of the reasons why I chose to start using it are because it is all natural, reduces oily skin (which I have), helps tone skin and reduce dark spots! I will say, “Proceed with caution” because I’ve read that it can cause a burning sensation. It doesn’t for me, but I thought I’d let you know what I’ve read. 

3.) Tone

The third step in my skincare routine is to use a toner. Toners are meant to help remove excess dirt and oil, balance the pH of your skin, and control acne. My favorite toners are Thayer’s Witch-hazel and Pixi’s Glow Tonic . Witch Hazel is a classic toner and acts as an astringent. Glow Tonic is amazing because it contains glycolic acid, which helps diminish dark spots. (Seeing a pattern here?)

4.) Treat Acne

This is a step you may be able to skip if you don’t get acne. I mainly use the step in my skincare routine when those hormonal pimples show up. My favorite acne spot treatments right now are: Clean & Clear and Argan oil. I use Clean & Clear when it’s cystic acne and I use argo oil if it’s a little breakout.

5. ) Moisturize

Now for the final step in my nighttime skincare routine! After I have done ALLLLL of that, I moisturize my face with shea butter. Now you may think that shea butter should clog your pores, but guess what? It doesn’t! There are so many benefits to using shea butter on your face. The ones I’ve personally experienced are: itmakes my skin so smooth and moisturized; it fades dark spots; and it has anti-inflammatory properties.

So that’s all folks! I hope that you have enjoyed learning what I do for my nighttime skincare routine. Remember that this works for ME! Before you think you should go out and buy everything I wrote about, I need you to figure out what type of skin YOU have and what skin issues YOU have. What works for me may not work for you, and that’s okay! Keep doing your research.

If you do have oily, sensitive, and acne prone skin, what is your current nighttime routine? Let me know in the comments!