Just as important as what you apply is when you apply it. Your skin, like the rest of your body, has a circadian rhythm. This means that it acts differently at rest than it does during the day, and these changes in its functions mean that your products work differently on your skin at different times of the day.

And, according to Chech, honoring the skin at night is the most important. “The main moment of self-care is the night. The effectiveness of products applied to the skin increases by 50-60%,” she says. “However, we also experience more water loss, so we need to use more hydrators so we don’t wake up dry.”

She is not wrong. Studies show that the skin is more permeable while we rest2, meaning more water can escape (what we call transepidermal water loss). But it also means that the products are able to penetrate deeper and be more effective.

Night is also a time when you the skin goes into recovery mode3— doing the hard work of absorbing free radicals, restoring collagen, and repairing damage done throughout the day. That’s why it’s so important to focus on recovery in the evening to help your skin do its job.

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