Your skin has different needs depending on the time of day – and paying heed to this basic rule should shape your morning and night time skincare routines

In the morning, your skincare routine should focus on protecting your skin from pollutants and environmental influences – setting your skin up for a strong day, whatever comes your way. However, by night, while your skin regenerates, it needs a night cream that nourishes and hydrates, helping to restore and heal.

Want to find out more? Discover the differences between day and night cream and get the low-down on our favourite skincare products to give you a radiant, glowing complexion from dawn to dusk.

What is the difference between day and night cream?

No, it’s not just marketing. Day and night creams give our skin hugely different benefits and should have distinctly different compositions to help your skin in the way that’s needed according to the time of day. 

Let’s take a deeper look into how day and night creams work to care for your skin:

Day creams

From the moment we wake up, pollution and environmental aggressors try to attack our skin. It’s a tough old world out there for your skin, and your day cream should do what is possible to protect your skin. A good day cream should include ingredients to protect against free radicals and UV rays – and should be light enough to apply under makeup. 

Wearing a day cream everyday will help to reduce the signs of ageing. Without day cream, your skin will be less protected from pollutants that can cause fine lines and wrinkles. 

Choose a day cream with ingredients such as vitamin E – a powerful antioxidant that protects skin cells and locks in moisture.

Night creams

While you’re sleeping, your skin is at its busiest repairing and rejuvenating itself – it’s why we call it ‘beauty sleep’ and it is essential for healthy skin.

Night cream should be packed with ingredients to rebalance the skin and repair any damage caused throughout the day. It should gently work throughout the night to restore your skin and keep it in best condition.

Any night cream worth its salt should have a thick, luxurious consistency that sinks into the skin to restore and nourish the complexion. This helps you to feel pampered and ready for sleep too. Look for night creams that contain replenishing niacinamide to even out patchy skin tone and hydrating hyaluronic acid to promote overnight skin regeneration.

Can I wear night cream during the day?

We wouldn’t recommend wearing night cream during the day. The main reason that wearing night cream during the day is not a good idea is that night creams do not contain any protection from harmful UV rays. They restore and repair, rather than protect.

While that isn’t a problem when you’re sleeping, wearing a night cream during the day means your skin will not be adequately protected from the sun’s rays. 

Choose a moisturising day cream and pair it with a mineral SPF of at least 25 for total protection and defence from the sun’s rays.

Can I use day cream at night?

One question we are frequently asked is ‘can I use day cream at night?’ And, while it may seem like the easy option to apply the same cream day and night, you won’t get the full range of benefits that a dedicated night cream will provide.

Sure, using a day cream before bed will help to nourish your skin – and if it’s a choice between that or nothing then go for it – but a night cream has the added benefit of rejuvenating ingredients that will help to repair your skin while you catch some zeds. It’s been designed specifically to deliver everything you need come the end of a busy day.

Day creams you should try

Rise and shine every morning by protecting your skin with a nourishing day cream. We recommend two to give you the protection you need from the sun, and hit of moisture:

• SPF25 Mineral Sunscreen: A lightweight, mineral sunscreen that protects from harmful UVA and UVB rays, while leaving a natural glow. This day cream is ideal for all skin types to quench the moisture barrier and protect against free radicals. It’s been a long time in the making and we believe it’s the natural sunscreen we’ve all been waiting for.
• Day cream with vitamin E: Fast-absorbing (because who has time to wait in the morning for products to sink in) and packed with vitamin E because of the inclusion of finely ground argan shells, this light moisturiser will brighten and nourish the skin every day.

Our favourite night creams

When you are ready to hit the hay, be sure to apply a nourishing night cream to boost your beauty sleep:

• Night cream with hyaluronic acid & niacinamide: Rich and luxurious, this night cream is formulated with replenishing niacinamide and hydrating hyaluronic acid to promote overnight skin rejuvenation.
• Natural body cream with date seeds: Packed with nourishing shea butter, olive oil and linseed, this award-winning body cream works hard while you rest to leave your skin feeling supple, smooth and soft.

For the ultimate in overnight skincare, try our night time skincare bundle, which contains our night cream, cleansing face balm, face toner, a delicious chocolate charcoal soap bar, and a relaxing chai latte candle for the ultimate wind down before bedtime.

Day and night creams to benefit all skin types

Day and night creams have the same goal – to nourish and hydrate the skin – but that doesn’t mean you should settle for one or the other as it’s definitely beneficial to have both in your beauty arsenal!

Lightweight day creams paired with SPF are fabulous at keeping your face nourished and hydrated as well as protecting your face from UV rays, without feeling heavy or greasy. While a night cream is designed to deliver a punch of lasting hydration while addressing skin concerns while you sleep.

Find out more about the benefits of night cream and simple skincare routines for day and night to keep your skin healthy and help it look and feel its best.