Without our help, it’s impossible for our skin to repair and heal itself from all the damage that’s caused to it by various external factors. Incorporating a proper skincare routine into our daily lives is a significant way to do it. Here are our favourite night serums that can help you wake up with nourished skin.
Our skin goes into recovery mode every night while we’re asleep. However, as it changes with age, so does its ability to restore and it starts showing visible signs of ageing like fine lines, wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and age spots. For this reason, one way to fight these signs of ageing while boosting our skin’s natural repair process is to incorporate the use of best night serums into our nighttime skincare routine.
Because of all the goodness they’re enriched with, night serums can work wonders for our skin if used daily. They are specially curated formulas that are a mix of various ingredients that support our skin’s rebuilding capacity. Apart from different natural and other essential components, the key ingredients of night serums for face usually include retinol, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin C. Together, they work towards stimulating collagen production and cell turnover in the skin, providing hydration and nourishment, and diminishing the various signs of ageing.
Of course, we do have moisturisers and treatment creams in our skincare regime that are formulated with similar contents and cater to such skin conditions. However, face serums are one step ahead since they work quickly by getting absorbed deep into the layers of our skin easily. Their active ingredients are rather potent and high in strength making for a good base beneath your creams to ensure maximum efficacy.
That’s exactly why face serums, especially overnight serums have gained popularity over the years. And a list of all the best night serums for face that you can choose from is what we’ve created for you here.
[Hero Image Courtesy: Antoni Shkraba/Pexels ; Featured Image Courtesy: Ron Lach/Pexels]
The article first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.
The best night serums for a glowing and younger-looking skin
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- The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA Serum
- Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Serum
- Dermalogica Age Smart Overnight Repair Serum
- Pixi Overnight Glow Serum
- Lixirskin Night Switch PHA/AHA 10% Serum
- Neutrogena Hydro Boost Capsule in Serum
- La Roche-Posay Retinol B3 Serum
- Glow Recipe Plum Plump Hyaluronic Serum
- La Mer The Revitalising Hydrating Serum
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum
- Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Facial Serum
- Dr. Dennis Gross Advanced Retinol + Feluric Wrinkle Treatment Serum
- Votary Intense Night Facial Oil
Formulated with high intensity lactic acid that helps in superficial peeling, this face serum by The Ordinary is a hydrating and mild exfoliating one. It is further combined with plant-origin Tasmanian Pepper Berry derivative that manages and soothes inflammation, skin irritation, and sensitivity associated with acid use and exfoliation. The serum works well in reducing signs of ageing while providing a smoother skin.
While you can use this anti-ageing serum daily, it should be applied only once during the day. Since the serum’s strength is high, it can be used in a diluted form until your skin develops a tolerance for it. It’s also gluten and cruelty free and ideal for normal, combination, oily and dry skin types. However, it should not be used on peeling, broken, or sensitive skin owing to its lactic acid content.
[Image Credit: The Ordinary]
Advanced Night Repair by Estée Lauder is one of the most popular night serums for face. Managing the look of multiple signs of ageing like uneven skin tone, fine lines, and wrinkles, this serum penetrates deep and fast into your skin to work its magic. Dryness and dullness, loss of firmness and radiance, and dehydration are other skin concerns that it caters to.
With 72-hour hydration and eight-hour antioxidant power, the serum promises visible results in three weeks as it promotes the skin’s natural healing and night repair process. Always use the serum on a clean face before moisturiser and massage it well into your skin.
It is suitable for all skin types.
[Image Credit: Estée Lauder]
Enriched with potent rose and argan oils, the Dermalogica AGE Smart serum is a powerful peptide serum that manages dull and lacklustre skin and visibly reduces signs of ageing. While it lightens the appearance of fine lines and nourishes the skin, it also renews and revitalises it along with enhancing recovery. The serum delivers quick absorption of actives which boosts skin luminosity.
Use 4-6 drops of the serum after you’ve washed your face with a cleanser. You can either apply it directly to your face and blend it in or even mix it with your night treatment cream.
[Image Credit: Dermalogica]
The Pixi Overnight Glow Serum is a powerhouse of beneficial ingredients that works on your skin while you sleep. A concentrated gel that exfoliates and soothes to reveal an even-toned and radiant looking skin, this overnight face serum is a must in your skincare routine.
Formulated with 10% glycolic acid and arginine, the serum lightens sun spots and fine lines over time. It is further composed with cucumber, aloe vera extracts, and vitamin A, C, and E to help calm the skin and nourish it. The paraben and cruelty-free face serum is suitable for all skin types and can be used daily in the PM on a cleansed and toned face.
[Image Credit: Pixi Beauty]
The Lixirskin Night Switch is a blend of three different acids that work together to replenish your skin with the goodness that it needs. It contains lactic acid that hydrates your skin, phytic acid that detoxifies skin, and lactobionic acid that reduces oxidative stress. The elixir leaves your skin looking even-toned, plumper, more radiant, and smoother. It’s also known to lighten fine lines, age spots, and pore size over time.
You can use this serum either by mixing it with the Lixirskin Universal Emulsion or as a mask by applying it on dry skin and then rinsing off after ten minutes. The best way to reap maximum benefits of this serum is to use it for two weeks at night and then give your skin rest for a few days before starting the routine again.
[Image Credit: Lixirskin]
Repairing the skin’s moisture levels and protecting it against excessive dryness, the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Capsule In Serum is one of the best night serums for dry skin. The high-strength daily serum has an improved moisture sensor complex that nourishes your skin while the capsules release antioxidants that secure the hydration-locking barrier. It’s formulated with three key ingredients— antioxidant vitamin E capsules, purified hyaluronic acid, and glycerin which work their magic to lend you a rejuvenated skin.
While you can mix in a few drops of the serum to their Hydro Boost moisturiser, you can also apply it directly to your face and smooth it into your skin.
[Image Credit: Neutrogena]
An anti-ageing pure retinol serum that provides hydration to your skin while renewing it, this Retinol B3 serum is a gem. An intermix of pure retinol and vitamin B3, this face serum is highly effective and also reduces fine lines, wrinkles, and premature sun damage signs.
It has a lightweight formula with a hydrating texture that lends a luminous look to your face. The product is suitable for all skin types. Use it on your cleansed face and neck in the evening and top it up with a moisturiser (optional).
[Image Credit: La Roche-Posay]
This is a hydrating face serum rich in the properties of hyaluronic acid that fills each layer of the skin with moisture and hydration resulting in a visibly plumper skin. It is further combined with vegan collagen and vegan silk protein that aids not just in hydrating the skin but also in reducing the appearance of fine lines.
The presence of three antioxidant-rich plums— Kakadu (rich in vitamin C), Illawarra (rich in anthocyanins), and Burdekin (rich in magnesium, zinc, calcium, and potassium) together accelerates the whole process. These key ingredients are also combined with vitamin B5 that repairs and rejuvenates the skin. This anti-ageing serum is suitable for dry, normal, sensitive, combination and oily skin types.
[Image Credit: Glow Recipe]
A lightweight serum for face that’s equally replenishing, the La Mer Revitalising and Hydrating serum makes for one of the best buys. It’s known to transform your dull and tired skin into a fresh and healthy-looking version of itself as the serum forms a micro-cloud of moisture for the skin to thrive and rejuvenate in. Formulated sans sulphates, phthalates, and parabens, this high-strength hydrator manages skin conditions like dullness and dryness and is suitable for combination, normal, dry and oily skin types.
You can use it in both your morning and evening skincare regimens by applying a pump or two directly onto your face and neck.
[Image Credit: La Mer]
The CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum is a lightweight and gentle formula that’s created with 10% pure vitamin C which is known to be a highly effective antioxidant and helps manage skin conditions like wrinkles, fine lines and uneven skin tone. Using this serum makes for an essential and unmissable step in one’s anti-ageing skincare routine.
The serum helps in neutralising the free radicals that result in premature skin ageing and leaves it looking more radiant and supple. The presence of ceramides and hyaluronic acid along with further promotes a healthier skin which makes this product suitable for all even skin types, including sensitive skin.
[Image Credit: CeraVe]
Containing vitamin B3 and Retinoid complex, the Olay Regenerist Retinol 24 Night Serum is one of the best night serum that you can add to your skincare vanity. It provides skin moisturisation for 24 hours and also visibly diminishes fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots over time.
The serum also improves skin elasticity, brightness, and smoothness as it absorbs deep into the layers of your skin quickly and boosts it from within. It works on your skin while you sleep so that you wake up to a younger-looking skin. It is ideal for oily, normal and dry-combination skin types.
[Image Credit: Olay]
An overnight nourishing treatment that’s clinically proven to affect in two weeks, this night serum for face works like magic and how! Components like evening primrose and Niacinamide improves skin elasticity along with texture and strengthens skin’s moisture barrier respectively.
Suitable for all skin types, the serum supports the skin’s natural renewal process which leads to a healthier and youthful looking skin without prominently visible signs of ageing. Whereas, its Phyto-Retinol Blend mixes two types of retinol with bakuchiol, rambutan, and ferulic acid that smoothes fine lines and wrinkles.
[Image Credit: Dr. Dennis Gross]
An intense concoction of gentle retinoid and natural plant oils, the Votary Intense Night Oil manages skin conditions like loss of elasticity, fine lines, and signs of ageing. Working together with rosehip oil and retinoid, luxurious natural ingredients like avocado oil, Australian sandalwood extract, and tomato seed oil, makes this blend a highly beneficial one.
This night oil gives you a plumper and younger looking skin by reducing the breakdown of your skin’s natural collagen. Include this oil in your daily night time skincare regimen by applying four to five drops of it all over your face and neck and massaging it well into the skin. It is suitable for all skin types especially, mature and ageing skin.
[Image Credit: Votary]
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Answer: Your skin repairs and restores itself at night while you’re asleep. And night serums are formulated with ingredients to further support that natural skin renewal process. Hence, it is essential to incorporate an overnight serum into your routine as it not only provides your skin with the nourishment it needs but also boosts its ability to replenish itself.
Answer: Generally, face serums can be used twice daily — in the morning and at night. However, always make sure to apply it on a clean and dry face.
Answer: While most serums can be incorporated into both your morning and night skin care routines, a lot of them are also formulated for separate usage, catering to the needs of the skin during daytime and nighttime. For instance, during the day our skin is exposed to sun rays and pollution. Hence, you might want to use a serum that’s rich in antioxidants and provides hydration. Similarly, our skin undergoes repair and regeneration during the night. So, for the nighttime, you should use a serum that aids your skin’s natural renewal process. Always look for the ingredients and the concern that the serum caters to before purchasing it.
Answer: To make the most of your night serum, you can wear sunscreen the next morning to increase its effectiveness, especially after having used a vitamin C serum.
Answer: Usually, night serums are always lightweight and have the ability to penetrate the layers of your skin easily. Whenever applying one, always pat and massage it well onto your face and neck for it to completely absorb into your skin. You don’t have to rinse or wipe them off.
Answer: Yes, you can use a vitamin C serum as a night serum. Vitamin C aids your skin’s night repair process effectively. It gives an even tone, enhances radiance and boosts collagen production. Vitamin C helps in reducing visible signs of ageing as well, which makes it a good incorporation into your nighttime skin care routine. However, do follow it up with sunscreen the next morning for maximum efficacy.
With an academic background in Public Relations, Divya has a flair for writing about topics spanning genres like lifestyle, beauty, fashion, travel, FnB, tech and entertainment. She fancies everything that's a wholesome blend of contemporary finery and timelessness. Quirky earrings and tees are her weakness. When not creating content, you will find her devouring food, snuggling in with a book and a cup-a-chai, admiring skies or revisiting Hogwarts.
