Essential beauty tips before you sleep. These aren’t just beauty tips—they’re little rituals that make a big difference.
How you treat your skin and body before bed can completely transform the way you look and feel when you wake up. After plenty of trial and error, I’ve fine-tuned a nighttime routine that’s all about waking up fresh, glowing, and totally ready to take on the day. These aren’t just beauty tips—they’re little rituals that make a big difference.
Here are my 12 essential beauty tips before bedtime to wake up looking my best.
Essential Beauty Tips Before You Sleep
1. Cleanse
After a long day of battling makeup, pollution, and life in general, your skin is begging for a proper cleanse. I always double cleanse because, trust me, one round just isn’t enough. I start with an oil-based cleanser to melt away my makeup (even the stubborn waterproof stuff), and then follow up with a water-based cleanser to get rid of any leftover dirt and grime. Waking up with a fresh, clean face? Priceless. My skin literally thanks me in the morning.
2. Moisturize
One thing I never, ever skip: moisturizer. Before bed, I slather on a hydrating serum (I’m obsessed with anything that has hyaluronic acid) followed by a rich moisturizer to lock it all in. If my skin is feeling extra parched, I’ll use a heavier cream or even a sleep mask. My skin feels so soft when I wake up, and I swear it helps me start the day with a little extra confidence.
Bonus tip: the more you hydrate overnight, the less makeup you’ll need in the morning.
3. Drink Water
Yes, drinking water is an essential beauty tips before you sleep. As they say, hydration starts from the inside. I always make sure to drink a big glass of water before bed as it helps flush out toxins and keeps my skin hydrated while I sleep. The mornings when I don’t do this? Let’s just say my skin shows it and my body feels it. I swear, I wake up feeling more tired, even if I got a lot of sleep. Just make sure to tinkle before you sleep so you’re not woken up in the middle of night with the urge to pee!
4. Exfoliate—But Don’t Overdo It
Exfoliate about 2-3 times a week to keep your skin smooth and glowing. I like to use a gentle scrub or sometimes a chemical exfoliant with AHAs. It’s like hitting the refresh button on your skin. But take it from someone who learned the hard way—don’t go overboard. There was a time when I exfoliated daily, thinking more was better, and my skin freaked out. Less is more when it comes to exfoliating. Your skin needs time to chill too.
5. Eye Cream
I used to think eye creams were just an extra step in the routine or something for much older ladies, but now they’re a must. The skin around your eyes is super delicate, so I always dab on an eye cream before bed to combat puffiness and dark circles. It’s essential if you wear heavy make-up, which requires soaps and scrubbing to remove.
6. Lip Care
If you suffer from dry lips, you know how most lip products’ effects are short-term. Some even seem to make your lips dryer the more you use them. I’ve found exfoliating my lips with a sugar scrub or gently brushing them with a toothbrush a few nights a week, followed by a slather of a lip cream or creamy lip balm does wonders. You’ll wake up with bright, plump, baby soft lips, where you can just throw on some gloss and go.
6. Face Massage or Gua Sha
Gua sha is another essential to my beauty routine. A quick 5-minute face massage with a gua sha stone or tool before bed helps with lymphatic drainage, reduces puffiness, and gives me a more defined jawline by morning. It helps with skin tightening and reducing the appearance of sagging around your forehead and cheeks. Plus, it’s super relaxing. I can get lazy at times, but I feel like if a slack in gua shaing my skin starts to look a bit swollen and sagging a bit.
So I try to gua sha at least 2-3 times a week. Sometimes when I’m feeling hardcore, I’ll gua sha before bed and before applying makeup in the morning so that my face is extra snatched.
7. Bonnet For Sleeping
Whether you have curls, braids, or even straight hair, a satin or silk bonnet is so helpful when you sleep. It helps protect your strands from friction, preventing breakage and frizz. My hair is generally healthy and strong but I try to avoid over washing it and using too many heating devices on it. Sleeping in a bonnet helps keep a blow out looking and feeling like fresh so you can go days longer without having to wash it out. Plus it’ll help preserve your hairstyle, so you can just wake up, brush away flyaways, and go.
8. Don’t Forget Your Neck
It’s easy to focus on your face and totally forget about your neck, but this area ages just as quickly (if not faster). I always extend my moisturizer or anti-aging serums down to my neck as well as include it in my gua sha routine. It’s all about preventative care, and your future self will thank you for taking the extra minute to do this now.
9. Silk Pillowcase
If you’re not a fan of sleeping in a bonnet, you can try a silk pillowcase. Unlike cotton, silk is way more gentle on both your skin and hair, reducing friction that can lead to frizz, breakage, and even fine lines. My hair stays smoother, and I wake up with less creasing on my face, which results in less wrinkles. Plus, the luxurious feel of sleeping on silk just makes bedtime feel a little more indulgent.
10. Sleep on Your Back
It might sound simple, but sleeping on your back is a major beauty secret. It took me some time to adjust, but once I did, I saw the difference. When you sleep on your side or stomach, your face is pressed against your pillow all night, causing those dreaded creases (you know, the ones that stick around well into the morning). Over time, those pillow lines can turn into permanent wrinkles. Sleeping on your back also prevents your face from being pressed against a pillow, which can cause your skin to lose collagen and elasticity.
11. Elevate Your Head
Sleeping with your head elevated helps with fluid drainage, so you’ll wake up looking less bloated and swollen. Just an extra pillow under your head makes a big difference, and it’s a super simple fix. It’s also super helpful if you suffer from GERDs symptoms time-to-time, like me.
12. Avoid Late-Night Snacking
This one was probably the hardest for me, but I’ve learned the hard way that eating late at night messes with my skin and my sleep. These days, I try to avoid heavy snacks before bed. If I’m really craving something, I’ll go for something light like a handful of almonds or a piece of fruit. It helps me fall asleep easier than say, if I ate a sugary snack, and wake up feeling less bloated and way more refreshed.
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