If you’ve read my About page, then you know this site, like me, is named for Thea, the titan goddess of sight and sparkle. If you paid attention, you’ll also know that Theia was often worshiped at dawn and dusk – which is also when most skincare routines happen. That got me thinking: Is there a connection?
I did some research, and while the connection isn’t necessarily with Theia, it makes quite a lot of sense. A lot of people use dawn and dusk skin care routines as a sort of meditation, and these times of day mark easy reminders to take care of oneself.
More simply, dawn and dusk are natural occasions for skin care and other self-care routines. We do these things before embarking on the other part of the day, whether it’s living or sleeping. It can be quiet, peaceful, and meditative – just like how I prefer to imagine the Greeks praying to gods and titans.
We treat our skin when we get ready for the day and when we get ready for bed. But what happens during those routines should be very different – just like how worshipping Theia was different in the morning than it was from the evening. To expand on this idea, I decided to write up a little guide for how your morning and evening skin care routines should look, point out where they should differ. Your skin’s needs change with stress, dirt exposure, oil production, UV rays, and pollutants, and your process should reflect those changes.
Morning
The biggest problem with nighttime skin? Oil production. While you sleep, your skin is hard at work expelling the dirt and grime from the previous day. Most of the time, this comes in the form of oil production. Use a sulfate-free wash to get rid of nighttime oil, as well as any lingering nighttime products that may still be on your skin. Then, use a lightweight moisturizer to hydrate your face. Ideally, this moisturizer should have a high SPF. The idea of preparing your face in the morning is to do what you can to clean and protect it for the day ahead.
Evening
Doesn’t it feel nice to sit down in front of the TV with a glass of wine after a long, hard day of work? Well, you should be doing the same thing for your skin! Deep cleansing and nourishment are essential to any nighttime skin care routine. After washing with your morning cleanser, user a richer moisturizer – the skin equivalent of eating a healthy dinner. If you’re into anti-aging stuff, this is the time to use your reparative serum. Finally, use an eye cream in the evening to provide extra hydration to the extremely sensitive area.