The Best Night Creams for Every Skin Type, According to Our Beauty Editor
Wake up with softer, plumper, and glowy skin.
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In the evening, a regular daytime face moisturizer isn't enough to help the skin feel soft, hydrated, and look youthful overnight. Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Nima M. Gharavi, M.D., advises incorporating a night cream into our routine to help replenish the skin with some much-needed moisture and active ingredients. He says, “The time that you are asleep is the prime time to address skincare concerns, as your skin is out of the sun and can soak up active ingredients uninterrupted. They don’t call it beauty sleep for nothing!” To simplify the search for the best night cream for each skin type, I asked Gharavi to help readers figure out exactly where to start.
Best Night Creams
What to Consider
Age
Gharavi highlights our age as a determining factor when shopping for night creams. Typically, lighter night creams are more beneficial for younger people since their skin is better able to retain moisture. On the other hand, those with mature skin will benefit the most from using a more decadent night cream.
Formulation
“While a night cream is meant to be a deep replenishment of moisture, some skin types can handle heavier emollients better than others. For those with drier skin types, a richer cream will work better for restoring moisture, serving as a barrier of loss of hydration. Whereas those with oily or combination skin may need to opt for something lighter to replenish moisture without clogging pores,” explains Gharavi, an assistant clinical professor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
- Night creams with a gel-like texture, such as the PCA SKIN Hydrating Collagen Cream, are ideal for those with oily and acne-prone skin because they won't leave the skin greasy.
- Night creams with a richer consistency, like Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream and Element Eight O2 Squalane Face Cream, are more suitable for those with mature and dry skin types.
Best Ingredients
Lastly, the active ingredients found in night creams are a huge determining factor in their efficacy. “A night cream allows for a dedicated period where these concerns can be addressed, so the night cream’s actives (i.e. peptides, antioxidants, hyaluronic acid, etc.) aimed at these goals can be particularly beneficial,” says Gharavi. I asked the California-based doctor to break down 10 popular ingredients and how they can help improve someone’s cosmetic concerns overnight.
For Dry Skin
- Hyaluronic acid penetrates deep into all levels of the skin, providing the highest levels of moisture possible while also helping the skin to be able to retain moisture better.
- Vitamin E delivers powerful antioxidant support to the skin and helps to repair the skin’s protective barrier.
- Vitamin B-5 promotes anti-inflammatory activity in the skin to correct redness and irritation.
- Shea butter improves the skin’s ability to retain moisture, promotes collagen production, and helps to heal skin blemishes.
For Damaged and Uneven Skin
- Squalane repairs and protects the skin barrier, plus adds moisture and soothes.
- Allantoin helps heal damaged skin and retain moisture.
- Bisabolol calms and soothes irritated skin.
For Aging and Dull Skin
- Peptides increase collagen production, provide antioxidant protection, and help plump and firm the skin while diminishing fine lines and wrinkles.
- Tranexamic acid inhibits sun damage by reducing hyperpigmentation and improving the brightness and luminosity of the skin.
- Camelia oleifera provides antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to the skin, helping to defend against free radical damage and soothe irritated skin
How We Chose
Based on his feedback, I spent hours researching and testing night creams and landed on seven I'm obsessed with for all skin types. Gharavi also shared his current favorite night cream that he loves to slather on before bedtime. Although some of these products are certainly a splurge, most will only set someone back less than $100.
Nicole Saunders is the beauty editor at Best Products with over seven years of experience researching, writing, and editing lifestyle content. She specializes in breaking down complicated topics, like high-frequency wands and microcurrent devices, into easy-to-understand guides. She takes great pride in heavily researching and testing featured beauty products, — such as hairdryers and foundations — on our site, and spotlights her all-time seasonal favorites in her quarterly column Best New Beauty. And she tests quite literally thousands of launches for our Beauty Awards package.
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