The average woman spends $300,000 on skincare and beauty products in her lifetime.
That's a hefty investment! How many of these products are we actually using, and do we know the true difference between each of them? Have we just fallen sucker to the current skincare trends and marketing campaigns?
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between day cream vs night cream? Are you applying products to your skin every day because you think you should? Do you know the science behind each product?
For everything you ever needed to know about the different elements of your skincare routine, keep on reading.
Day cream is, as you can probably guess, the cream you should use in the daytime. You should use it in the morning after you have cleansed your face.
A day cream is specially formulated to be light and nonstick, so your makeup can easily glide on over the top of it. You can use a day cream every day to protect your skin from damage and from the sun's harmful rays.
Day cream is also extremely hydrating to give you a glowy, nourished complexion.
A day cream typically has hydrating ingredients in it to nourish and replenish your complexion after cleansing.
The best day creams are made with peptides (the proteins that are the building blocks of your skin), making your skin appear brighter and tighter. Another essential ingredient for day creams is Hyaluronic Acid which helps restore your skin's natural moisture levels.
Day creams need to protect your skin from the free radicals you're exposed to when going about your daily life. For this reason, you should choose a day cream rich in antioxidant ingredients such as avocado oil, lemongrass, and citrus extracts.
Vitamins A, C, and E are all essential for your skincare, as they contain the vital compounds your skin requires to stay healthy.
Day creams should also have SPF protection. The sun's rays are one of the most damaging free radicals that can have an adverse effect on your skin. Too much exposure to the sun's rays may cause premature aging.
You should choose a cream with SPF and wear it every day, even in winter when you can't see the sun. The rays can still penetrate the clouds and cause damage to your delicate skin.
Check out these nasty ingredients to watch out for in your skincare. These ingredients can cause more harm than good. You should be aware of them and know to avoid them when shopping for your skincare products.
There are hundreds of reasons to use a day cream, but let's focus on the most important.
Day creams moisturize your skin and help to avoid dry patches or uneven skin tone. When you use a day cream every morning, you will notice the texture and tone of your skin improve rapidly. There will be a big difference in your complexion when you use a day cream compared to when you don't.
The other important reason to use day cream is to protect you against pollution and free radicals. Free radicals are unstable atoms that can cause damage to our cells.
Free radicals can cause premature aging and the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Our bodies produce free radicals and antioxidants are the solution for eradicating them.
What causes the production of free radicals in the body? Exposure to pollution, air pollution, pesticides, smoking, drinking alcohol, and eating too many fried foods. Basically everything you get exposed to on a daily basis!
Using a day cream can protect your face from the pollutants in the air that cause free radicals to harm your cells.
You apply a night cream in the evening after cleansing your skin, ideally just before you go to bed.
Due to the restorative nature of your skin's activities while you sleep, a night cream needs to do a bit more heavy lifting than a day cream. You'll find the texture of a night cream to be thicker than a day cream.
Night vs day creams difference is that the night cream will contain ingredients that help your body with the healing and restoring process, as well as ingredients high in antioxidants.
When you sleep, your skin has a chance to restore and regenerate. Never underestimate the importance of sleep for maintaining healthy skin and a beautiful complexion! Try to always get 7-9 hours of sleep every night for beautiful skin.
Sleep is a vital ingredient to healthy skin. Think about it; dark circles under your eyes are one of the tell-tale signs you didn't get enough sleep. Your skin shows the world you didn't sleep enough.
While you sleep, the blood flow to your skin increases; your skin uses this extra blood flow to repair damage to the skin and prevent premature aging. During sleep, your skin also gets to work rebooting its college preserves.
As we age our collagen reduces which is why using a night cream is so important to keep our skin healthy.
You should use a night cream to nourish and deeply moisturize your skin while you rest.
Night creams and serums deeply moisturize your skin and can significantly improve the texture of your skin. They are also great if you want to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Using eye cream at night is also a great way to stop those dark circles and make you look less puffy and tired when you wake up in the morning.
Night creams often contain retinol which is vitamin A and a well-known ingredient for reducing the appearance of fine lines. Retinol can also improve the radiance of your skin.
Another essential ingredient for night cream is caffeine which can help reduce puffiness and dryness.
Your night cream should also be rich in antioxidants which help heal the skin while you sleep.
The Aprisa Enrich Night Cream, for example, contains the antioxidant resveratrol, which is the antioxidant found in grapes and can help your skin seem lighter and brighter.
Another beautiful ingredient for night cream is jojoba oil which nourishes the skin without making it feel greasy.
As you've now learned, there's a big difference between night vs day cream.
Both creams have different jobs, and you should try not to use them interchangeably. To notice a significant difference in the appearance of your complexion, you need to use both creams regularly for a prolonged period of time.
Day creams are lighter, more manageable for your skin to absorb, and full of protective ingredients. They aren't greasy but still moisturize your skin and give you a dewy complexion.
Night creams usually take a little longer to be absorbed due to the density of their texture. They may feel a little more sticky when you apply them, but that's fine as your skin has the whole night to absorb them!
Your skincare needs will depend on the type of skin you have. Check below to determine which skin type is most similar to yours and which products you should use.
Your skin doesn't show any sign of breakouts, blemishes, or dryness. Lucky you, you have a normal skin type.
The only concern with normal skin is that it can show premature signs of aging. To look after it well and make sure you nourish it, go for products with age-defying ingredients and antioxidants such as retinol and resveratrol.
If your skin feels shiny or greasy, you have oily skin. People with oily skin often have larger pores that can get blocked and cause whiteheads and blackheads.
When using your day and night creams, you'll need a little less product than those with dry skin.
Try to avoid products that claim to clear acne, as these usually strip your skin of its natural oils. This, in turn, can cause your skin to overproduce those oils and make you even shinier than when you started!
Oil-based products also aren't ideal for your skin. Choose a day cream that's light and a night cream that isn't so dense in texture.
If you have dry skin, you'll know about it. Dry skin can make your skin feel tight or itchy after washing it, and you may have dry or flakey patches.
When you have dry skin, your pores are often tighter, and your complexion will be more matte than someone with oily skin.
Dry skin is more prone to aging and showing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. For a day cream, you'll want a nourishing product that gives your skin enough moisture for the day. You'll need to use a night cream rich in antioxidant ingredients and vitamin A.
Combination skin can be tough to manage because you usually have a shiny T zone and dry cheeks and jawline. You want to choose products that nourish your skin and can help it restore balance.
Try to go for products that contain natural ingredients which will be healing rather than irritating.
You should be cleansing your face morning and night at a bare minimum. You may also use a toner to tighten your pores after cleansing.
For day cream: apply it after you cleanse and tone. Apply any serum or eye creams you use in the daytime before your day cream and before your makeup.
The whole purpose of the day cream is that it's light and easy for your skin to absorb. It's also designed for your makeup to glide onto.
Once you remove your makeup in the evening, cleanse, and tone, it's time to apply a few drops of serum followed by your moisturizing night cream. You may also want to use an eye serum to protect and nourish your sensitive eye area.
The easy answer to this question is both! As we have established, there's a distinct difference between the two products and you should use them both every day.
Everyone can benefit from using a day cream and a night cream; you are never too young to start taking care of your skin! From your 20s onwards, you should start thinking about the products you use and how they will help you maintain a great complexion.
You should always make sure you have clean hands when applying your face cream. Apply the cream to slightly moist skin for the best results.
Take a small amount of product between your fingers and start massaging the cream into your skin from the center of your face outwards. You should also always moisturize in an upward motion.
So if you were always wondering what the difference between day cream vs night cream was, you now have all the information you could ever need!
You can make an informed decision when purchasing products that fulfill your skin's needs. Remember to look for ingredients that are important for your skin type.
Take a look at our thoughtfully formulated skincare products here.
