Last week I gave away all my secrets of what I use on my skin each morning, in order to keep it in good condition and slow down the aging process. Today, I am going to tell you about my night time regime, which is just as important!
As mentioned I am only interested in science proven ingredients, no airy-fairy what’s not blossom from miracle plant xyz growing in the deep seas of wonderland (or even better – brought in from space – honestly I have seen a skincare product advertising that recently!). That must be my training as a Dermatologist (and possibly my no-nonsense German roots…). Did you know it takes 10 years of training to become a Dermatologist? So we know a thing or two about the skin…
Actually next week I will be doing some myth-busting in my blog – speaking about supposed miracle creams with immediate, hard to believe skin tightening effects.
But coming back to my own night time skincare routine… At night I concentrate on ingredients that support collagen production, as night time is prime time for our skin to repair some of the damage that occurred during the day (think sun exposure, pollution etc.).
My hero ingredient? Vitamin A. Once a week I’ll use a prescription-strength cream containing Tretinoin (mine is called Airol cream). Tretinoin is the highest strength of vitamin A, so I only need one or two pea-sized blobs – too much (or too often!) will cause peeling. What is too often? Well, everybody is different and only you can determine how often your skin will tolerate a Tretinoin containing cream. My advice is to start slowly and build up gradually. The added advantage for my skin – it helps prevent acne and rosacea breakouts.
Twice a week, I’ll switch to a more gentle, non-prescription retinol cream (another type of vitamin A derivative). My current favourite is La Roche-Posay’s Redermic R, as it’s effective and has a lovely light base formulation that doesn’t clog up my pores.
For the nights in between, I’m a fan of the doctor-only brand AQ Skin Solutions ‘GF Active Serum’. It contains growth factors to help stimulate skin cells called fibroblasts to produce more collagen and elastin in the skin.
So, there you go, that’s my evening skincare regime. Remember – It’s never to early to start investing in quality anti-aging ingredients – prevention is far better than cure.
Whether you have a medical skin condition which needs treatment or simply want to look your very best, our specialised dermatology team will help you achieve the very best result.
