Okay, be honest: How many times do you sleep in makeup?

We all know how it feels to want to drop into bed after a long day. The last thing we want to do is go through a lengthy skincare routine.

But before you snuggle under those covers with a full face of makeup, let’s review a few reasons it’s not the best idea for your skin.

Spoiler alert: it’s not just about the occasional breakout!

Sleep in Makeup: What Happens To Your Skin?

Picture this: your skin, covered in a layer of foundation, concealer, and perhaps some eyeshadow, mascara, and lipstick. You may imagine that it’s not a big deal to leave it on overnight, but your skin begs to differ.

While you’re catching those Z’s, your skin is hard at work repairing and renewing itself. It uses sleep as a time to recover from the various stresses during the day and to shed and regenerate its cells.

When it’s suffocating under a layer of makeup, though, this natural process is disrupted.

Clogged Pores

One of the primary issues with sleeping in makeup is clogged pores. Throughout the day, our skin accumulates dirt, oil, and environmental pollutants, which can get trapped under makeup. When left overnight, these impurities mix with makeup and sebum, leading to the dreaded clogged pores.

This can result in acne breakouts, blackheads, and dullness as your skin struggles to breathe and regenerate.

Disrupted pH Balance

Moreover, makeup can disrupt the skin’s natural pH balance. Many cosmetic products, especially those with long-lasting formulas, contain chemicals and preservatives that can alter the skin’s acidity levels. This imbalance can weaken the skin’s protective barrier, leaving it more vulnerable to irritation, inflammation, and infections.

Dryness

Your makeup may feel fresh when you first apply it, but think about how it feels as you go through your day. Have you noticed tightness? Itching? Irritation?

That’s because over time, makeup saps moisture from the skin. The ingredients in your mascara and eyeshadow can also separate and dry out, making your skin feel uncomfortable, at best.

Leave all that makeup on overnight, and you’re likely to wake up with skin looking dry and dull and less than refreshed. That will also make any fine lines or wrinkles appear more noticeable.

Pollution

In today’s urban environments, pollution is a major concern for skin health. From exhaust fumes to industrial emissions, our skin is constantly bombarded with airborne pollutants that can wreak havoc on its delicate balance.

These particles—including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and particulate matter (PM)—can deposit on the skin’s surface throughout the day.

If left to sit overnight, these pollutants can penetrate the skin’s barrier and trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and DNA damage. This can lead to a range of skin issues, including premature aging, hyperpigmentation, and a compromised skin barrier. Additionally, pollution has been linked to an increase in acne severity and a decrease in the skin’s natural ability to repair itself.

Eye Effects

Leaving eye makeup on overnight can clog the tiny hair follicles and oil glands around the eyes, leading to inflammation and irritation. This can manifest as redness, itchiness, and even swollen eyelids the next morning, making you look tired and puffy.

Additionally, mascara and eyeliner residue can flake off and get into your eyes while you sleep, causing discomfort and potentially leading to eye infections or styes.

The skin around the eyes is thinner and more delicate than the rest of your face, making it more susceptible to damage. Sleeping in eye makeup can exacerbate this vulnerability, leading to premature aging signs like fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin.

Over time, the repeated friction and irritation from leaving makeup on overnight can contribute to the breakdown of collagen and elastin fibers, accelerating the appearance of crow’s feet and under-eye bags. So, if you want to wake up looking refreshed and youthful, it’s essential to give your eyes the care and attention they deserve by removing makeup before hitting the hay.

Sleep in Makeup: The Price of Convenience

Skipping your nighttime skincare routine once in a blue moon will probably not have dire consequences. Consistently neglecting to cleanse your skin before bed, however, may lead to accelerated aging.

That’s because prolonged exposure to makeup—particularly overnight—can repeatedly subject your skin to all the problems listed above, including dryness, disrupted pH balance, and free radical damage. Over time, this may result in more visible fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging skin, prematurely aging your complexion.

Furthermore, sleeping in makeup can exacerbate existing skin conditions, such as acne and rosacea. The combination of occlusive ingredients in makeup and the accumulation of bacteria on the skin’s surface creates an ideal environment for inflammation and flare-ups. This can lead to persistent redness, swelling, and irritation.

Don’t Sleep in Makeup: The Importance of a Nighttime Routine

Prioritize your skin’s health by adopting a consistent nighttime skincare routine. If you’re too tired, we have some tips for that below. But most of the time, try to complete the following steps before bed.

1. Gently Cleanse

Start by removing makeup and impurities with a cleansing oil, makeup remover, or micellar water. Follow up with a gentle cleanser to deep clean your pores and leave your skin feeling refreshed.

If your skin is acne-prone, try a clarifying cleanser. If it tends to be dry, choose a creamy cleanser. Either way, avoid alcohol and fragrances and ask yourself how your skin feels afterward. If it feels tight, you need more moisture in your cleanser. Your skin should feel soft and smooth.

No matter what type of skin you have, it’s also helpful to use a skin brush when cleansing. For sensitive skin, use a silicone facial tool that tends to be gentler on skin. Both help get all the dirt and debris out of your pores.

2. Tone

Restore your skin’s pH balance and prep it for the next steps by applying a toner. Look for alcohol-free formulas packed with hydrating and soothing ingredients. We suggest our Rescue + Relief Spray as it is moisturizing and anti-inflammatory, and will set the stage for your nighttime moisturizer.

3. Treat

Address specific skincare concerns, such as acne or aging, with targeted treatments. Incorporate products containing ingredients like retinol, hyaluronic acid, or vitamin C to promote cell turnover, boost hydration, and combat free radical damage.

4. Moisturize

Lock in moisture and nourishment by applying a rich, hydrating moisturizer suited to your skin type. Opt for non-comedogenic formulas that won’t clog pores or exacerbate acne. Try our Calming Moisture for lasting, deep-penetrating moisture that calms redness and restores the skin barrier, helping you wake to smooth radiant skin.

If You’re Dead Tired

If you’re thinking about heading straight to bed without your nighttime skincare routine, don’t do it! Maybe you can start earlier if you tend to get too tired later.

If you’re too tired to go through your usual routine, try and follow through with at least two steps:

1. Use a cleansing balm or oil. Apply and rub all over the face, neck and lashes. Then remove with a facial cloth or cotton pad to wipe away excess product, impurities, dirt and makeup along with it.
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3. Follow with our Rescue & Relief Spray. It will provide a multitude of benefits all in one, like moisturizing and soothing, while helping to balance of your skin’s barrier. Its soothing aloe base will help calm skin. Other healing ingredients will promote regeneration overnight. Since it’s non-clogging, it won’t inspire breakouts.

Leave a Calming Moisture by your bed and smoothe some on before your head hits the pillow!

Don’t Sleep in Makeup: Make It a Habit!

Sleeping in makeup might seem harmless at the moment, but it can have detrimental effects on your skin’s health and appearance in the long run.

By taking a few extra minutes to cleanse and care for your skin, you can protect against acne, premature aging, and other skin woes. Your best approach is to make it a habit. Do it every night before bed. That will make it harder to avoid it even on those nights when you’re really tired.

Remember, your skin deserves some TLC, so treat it well and say goodbye to sleeping in makeup for good!

@creatormall 

This petrolatum-free, nourishing salve moisturizes and helps protect from environmental aggressors.

A use everywhere healing balm instantly softens severely dry, rough and chapped skin including lips, cuticles, eczema, cuts, scrapes, IV areas, abrasions, chaffing, new scars. post cosmetic treatments, and any other areas needing TLC.

5 Ways to Get Rid of Chapped Lips for Good

Chapped lips are so frustrating. You apply balm and apply balm, and still, you have flaking, dryness, and sometimes, bleeding.

You try to disguise them, but applying lipstick or lip gloss over dry, cracked lips only makes them look worse!

Why is it so hard to maintain smooth, hydrated lips? Is there any way to get rid of chapped lips for good?

Why Can’t I Get Rid of My Chapped Lips?

It’s true—the skin on your lips is different than the skin on most of the rest of your body. The lips don’t have any oil glands to keep them hydrated. (That’s why they don’t have pores.) If they lose even a little moisture, they become dry and chapped. It also makes them more vulnerable to environmental elements like the sun, pollution, and dry air.

Why lips dry out so quickly:

• Lack of oil glands: The lips can’t produce their own oils, so they are much more vulnerable to dryness.
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• Thin skin barrier: The skin on the lips is much thinner than the skin on the rest of the body. That means the outer barrier is less resistant to damage.
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• Constant exposure: The lips are rarely covered like much of the body’s skin. They are nearly always exposed to the wind, cold, sun, and dry air.
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• Frequent movement: Talking, eating, drinking, and licking your lips all contribute to moisture loss.

The lips are more fragile than other areas, so they need extra protection to stay soft and healthy.

What Makes Chapped Lips Worse?

In addition to the fact that the lips are naturally vulnerable to dryness, several other factors can make dryness worse.

• Licking your lips: As mentioned above, licking your lips contributes to dryness. Saliva evaporates quickly, taking whatever moisture the lips have with it. So every time you lick your lips, you leave them drier than before.
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• Breathing through your mouth: That air going in and out of your mouth dries your lips every time it goes by.
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• Not drinking enough water: Dehydration affects the entire body, including the lips. Without enough water inside, lips cannot stay moist on the outside.
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• Eating spicy or salty foods: Ingredients in these foods can irritate already chapped lips and lead to further inflammation.
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These are all things we do that can rob our lips of moisture. But it’s not only our actions that can make things worse—the products we use to fix them can, too!

Products That Make Chapped Lips Worse

Unfortunately, some over-the-counter lip balms and lip moisturizing products contain ingredients that are not good for the lips. Some will not help the lips get any better, while others may even exacerbate dryness and inflammation.

Fragrances and flavors: That berry lip balm may taste good, but the flavors are made up of chemicals that could be drying out your lips. Fragrances, too, may be made up of chemicals that irritate the skin.

Menthol and camphor: These ingredients create a cooling sensation when applied but can also dry out your lips further.

Salicylic acid: Some lip balms contain this acid—supposedly to help remove dead skin cells from the surface of the lips. But if you have sensitive skin or lips that are already chapped, this ingredient may be too harsh and could lead to more peeling.

Petroleum Jelly: It can lock in moisture, but it doesn’t actually hydrate, so if your lips are dry, there’s no moisture to lock in, and it’s not going to help. Over time, relying on this ingredient may lead to additional dryness, as it creates a barrier without adding moisture, potentially preventing your lips from absorbing moisture from any other nourishing products you may use.

To avoid these ingredients, always read the label on your product. Look for alternatives that don’t include petrolatum or mineral oil, which may be harmful to the skin and body. Good options include aloe, shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax, which all provide long-lasting moisture.

5 Ways to Get Rid of Chapped Lips

You know what to avoid. But what works? We’ve got some tips for you below.

1. Use the Right Healing Balm (Try Our CV Skinlabs Restorative Skin Balm)

The balm you choose makes a big difference in how healthy and smooth your lips are. We recommend our hypoallergenic CV Skinlabs Restorative Skin Balm because it’s packed with skin-healing ingredients like chamomile, calendula, beeswax, and bisabolol, which help soothe inflammation while deeply hydrating dry, chapped lips.

Ingredients like castor seed oil and sea buckthorn provide antioxidant properties, and can help restore damaged skin and even out any discoloration in lips. Plus, unlike traditional balms that just coat your lips, this formula helps restore their natural barrier, so moisture stays locked in longer.

Bonus: It’s petrolatum and mineral oil free!

2. Exfoliate Gently (But Not Too Often)

Like the rest of your skin, your lips need exfoliation to remove dead, flaky skin. But because of their tenderness, they require a gentler touch. Over-exfoliating can do more harm than good. The key is to use a gentle product 1-3 times a week, depending on how your lips respond.

Some effective options include:

• A homemade sugar and honey scrub (mix a teaspoon of sugar with a few drops of honey and gently massage into the lips).
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• A soft-bristled toothbrush (lightly buff lips in circular motions to slough off dead skin).
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• Lip scrubs and nourishing oils (avoid those with alcohol or artificial fragrances, as these can be irritating).
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Always apply our Restorative Skin Balm immediately after exfoliation to help heal cracked and irritated skin, soothe the outer barrier, and lock in moisture.

3. Try a Lip Mask Overnight

If your lips are struggling, try a lip mask. These sit on your lips all night long and can help encourage healing.

• A mix of coconut oil and honey for deep hydration.
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• Our Restorative Skin Balm applied heavily to seal in moisture overnight.
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• A ready-to-use sleeping mask with natural and safe ingredients can plump and restore lips while you sleep.
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4. Protect Your Lips from Sun Damage

We don’t often think of our lips when it comes to sun damage, but we should, as they are exposed to the sun perhaps more than any other skin area. A lip balm with SPF 30 or higher is a good idea. Look for those that use zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, as these provide the best sun protection without irritating sensitive skin. Follow up with our Restorative Skin Balm, as the sunscreen balm may not contain the moisture you need.

5. Boost Hydration from the Inside Out

External treatments are essential if you want your lips to look better. But you also much hydrate inside too. Drink more water (aim for at least eight glasses a day), eat hydrating foods (like melons, cucumbers, citrus fruits, and leafy greens), use a humidifier in your bedroom overnight, and consider taking omega-3 supplements. (Always check with your doctor first.) The healthy fats help improve skin moisture levels.

Apply Daily TLC to Avoid Chapped Lips!

We know that if you skip even one day of care for your lips, they may rebel by getting dry! The best way to keep them happy is to care for them every day, just like you do the rest of your face. Incorporate your exfoliating and moisturizing activities into your regular skincare routine for the best results.