Night Time Skin Care Routine During Lockdown
Hi everyone – my name is Lytsa and I am an aesthetic therapist here at Hannah London, having a Bachelors Degree in Aesthetics and Dermatology. In this blog post, I explain to you my night time skin care routine and how the current lockdown and social distancing environment have affected it. Personally it has been a huge challenge – especially when it comes to my selfcare and beauty routine. We can no longer get that perfect hair cut or touch up our roots every two weeks for example. Even if there are loads of tutorials and DIY videos on YouTube; for some techniques and results having a professional treatment is a must. With skincare it is no different. How long has it been since you sat on our treatment bed in the medispa and had one of the amazing therapists taking care of you with a professional skincare treatment and relaxing music? I know, me too . . .
We can feel that our skin can’t get any worse with missing vitamin D and a good facial, but there are some tips that can help. Many skincare brands in the market can promise you a complete spa experience at home. However some are not just to take selfies and post a clear skin picture on Instagram, but some are actually developed by doctors and dermatologists and can actually have some medical grade impact on your skin – having long lasting results and treating your concerns too. Alumiere MD is a Canadian brand for example with a large range of products and protocols for every skin concern. They bring the most effective formulations using optimal medical grade ingredients. The home care kits are very complete, to me the packaging looks glamourous and the online portal they have has all the information you need for each product (such as how to use it, formulations and much more). Guinot is another brand I love. This has been on the market for several years, bringing an even larger range of products with an unbelievable anti-aging selection treating even younger skin types, starting from age eighteen all the way to sixty plus. I find that the products smell amazing and they help to give that feeling of a complete spa experience to home.
Here I explain to you the five steps that form my night time skin care routine during lockdown:
Click / Tap here to watch a video of my night time skin care routine
Step 1 – Cleansing
Since I have combination skin, I opt to use isClinical Cleansing Complex. This is a deep clean cleanser that does not dry out the skin and includes vitamin C and E (a powerful anti-aging duo that will also work to protect against free radicals). It also contains salicylic acid which is well known for being anti-inflammatory / astringent to help with enlarged pores and oily skin.
Step 2 – Hannah London Workout Mask
Sheet masks are such a popular trend and my favourite has to be the Hannah London workout mask. Even though it was designed to work out and exercise in, the combination of ingredients in this mask are so impressive that I include it in my night time skin care routine. It will leave your skin looking and feeling completely refreshed as you go to bed – just like the feeling you can get after completing a nice workout. It has vitamin B3, vitaminc C, hyaluronic acid and honeysuckle too. These ingredients work to help fade age spots, rejuvenate the skin, work in antioxidant action and hydrate your skin too. Made from microfibres for a non-slip and no mess application, it is also antiseptic and anti-inflammatory to help smoothen and tighten the skin. I personally like to use an ice roller every time I apply a sheet mask as they can help to shrink the size of your pores and reduce clogging your pores. Always apply in a crescent movement from the inside out – lifting the skin to help in performing some lymphatic drainage massage as this can reduce redness from congested skin, improve collagen production and even give you a temporary face lift appearance. It is particularly important to remember that the roller should always be kept inside a plastic zip bag to prevent contamination while being stored in the fridge to keep it cool.
Step 3 – Toner
My favourite part of my routine, toning the skin at any time of day will keep it hydrated and revitalised. It is also a hydrolipid compensator, which brings even more skin hydration benefits. For this part I used the Hydra Beaute Mist from Guinot – it is so easy to apply and smells like no other.
Step 4 – Retinol
For me, retinol has to be the superstar of this list. Not only for the professional MD background but also for the skin benefits long term, the Alumier Retinol Resurfacing Serum 1.0 is my favourite. This is a pure retinol formula that will dramatically improve the skin texture, help with collagen production, combat the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes and help to even skin tone. If you are not used to this product, you can start using it two to three times a week staring with a either 0.25 or 0.5 (you would build up to 1.0 like I have over time). It is important to note that any retinol can leave your skin dry when you start to use it, so it is important to be followed by your regular moisturiser (which should definitely contain an SPF of at least 30). It is best to use before bed so you are less likely to be exposed to sunlight after using it. Retintol is a bit more of an advanced skincare product, so book in for a complimentary skincare analysis when we are back open to learn how to use it properly – or see details on our Instagram page about booking in for a complimentary online consultation while we are closed.
Step 5 – Eye Gel
A common mistake most people can make is to use the same face moisturiser on your eye area too. This is a very delicate area with great importance and is often one of the first to show signs of aging and dehydration. With that being said, Alumier couldn’t exclude eye creams from their vast product selection. My favourite at the moment is the Retinol Eye Gel as it is specially designed for the delicate surface and contains a gentle microencapsulated retinol to work at keeping the area hydrated, firm and to help prevent signs of aging. As tocuched on in the point above, the magic of retinol works best overnight in my opinion.
So this is what I am completing now during lockdown and I am loving how my skin looks and feels so much that I will most likely continue with this routine afterwards too! While I am missing skincare treatments at Hannah London (like Dermapen and Hydrafacial); I know that we all have our part to play by keeping to social distancing for now until the outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus) is better contained and more manageable for our amazing NHS (of which our very own Dr. Kaywaan is working on the front lines to help in the fight).
