Night Skincare Routine for Men: 4, 5, 6 and Lights Out
Short version: a night skincare routine for men is three steps. Wash the day off, eye cream, night oil. About a minute, done before you have found the remote. Your skin does its repair work while you sleep, and these three steps get out of its way.
Why night is different from morning
In the morning you are preparing skin for the day: cleaning off overnight oil, hydrating, protecting. At night you are removing the day: dirt, sweat, oil, pollution, SPF if you wore it. Then you are giving skin what it uses while you sleep, which is moisture and time. Same principle as the morning, different job.
Step 4. Wash the day away
This is the non negotiable one. Going to bed with the day still on your face is the single most common reason men's skin looks worse than it should. Warm water, a small amount of cleanser, massage over face and neck, rinse. No.4 Night Cleanser is made for this: the same gentle formula as the morning wash, doing a different job.
Step 5. Eye cream
The thinnest skin on your face, and the first place a late night shows. A grain of rice on your ring finger, patted around each eye, not on the lid. Ten seconds. No.5 Eye Cream. If you are wondering whether this step is worth it, we answered that honestly here.
Step 6. Night oil
The last thing you do. Two or three drops pressed into face and neck. A good night oil is lightweight and absorbed before your head hits the pillow, unlike heavy night creams that end up on the pillowcase. No.6 Night Oil is waterless, has no added fragrance, and is five plant based ingredients and nothing else.
The whole night routine, in the box
PM Routine Set, £50: steps 4, 5 and 6 together (£59 one at a time). Or the Full Routine Set, £49.99 (was £89) with the morning steps 1, 2, 3 as well.
Common night routine questions
I shower at night. Is that my wash? Shower gel on your face is not a face wash, and shower water is usually too hot for it. Use step 4 at the sink after.
What if I fall asleep on the sofa? Then you missed a night. Do it tomorrow. A routine you do six nights out of seven is a routine.
Oil on my face at night sounds greasy. Two or three drops of a lightweight oil is not greasy. It is absorbed in under a minute. Heavy creams are what feel greasy.
Do I need a separate night moisturiser? No. The night oil does that job.
How long it takes
About a minute. We timed it: how long does a skincare routine take. The morning half is here.