Winter Night Routine: What to Put on Your Face, Lips, Hands and Feet Before Bed

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The short answer

On a winter night, wash your face before bed (if you wore makeup or sunscreen, remove it first with Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water Makeup Remover), then put a rich moisturiser on your still-damp face, such as Cerave Moisturizing Cream For Normal To Dry Skin. Apply a thick layer of Laneige Lip sleeping mask to your lips. Put Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume on your hands and heels and wear cotton socks. If a heater is running, keep a bowl of water near your bed. If your skin is oily, use a light gel such as Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Aqua Gel instead of a thick cream.

Why night is when skin needs the most care

Skin repairs itself while you sleep. It also loses more water at night, especially when it is warm under the blanket and the air in the room is dry. A cream that feels heavy on your face during the day is exactly what works best at night. Nobody is looking, and you do not need to fit it under makeup or sunscreen. So in winter your night routine can be a little richer and a little slower.

Do you wake up with a tight face, peeling lips and rough heels? Most of the time the answer lies in what you did the night before.

The night routine, step by step (5 to 7 minutes in total)

1. Remove makeup or sunscreen. Hold a cotton pad soaked in Bioderma Sensibio H2O Micellar Water Makeup Remover on the skin, do not rub. Remove kajal and mascara too.
2. Wash your face. Use CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser Normal to Dry for dry or normal skin, CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser for oily skin. A small amount, 30 seconds, lukewarm water. For what to do when you first get home in the evening, read winter skincare when you get home in the evening.
3. Pat dry with a towel and leave your face slightly damp.
4. An optional hydrating layer. 2 to 3 drops of The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 or COSRX Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence on damp skin. It is not essential, but very dry skin notices the difference. Hyaluronic acid on a dry face with nothing on top can actually make it feel tighter.
5. Moisturiser or night cream. Two to three times a pea-sized amount, over face, neck and up to the bone around the eyes. A little more than in the daytime.
6. A lip sleeping mask. Laneige Lip sleeping mask or Care:Nel Lip Night Mask - Lime, in a thick layer. In the morning, wipe gently with a damp cloth and the dead skin comes away.
7. Hands and feet. A pea-sized amount of thick cream on the hands, worked between the fingers and around the nails. A thick balm on the heels, then cotton socks. For very cracked hands, wear cotton gloves overnight.
8. Give the cream 5 minutes to settle, then lie down.

Do you need a night cream, or is an ordinary moisturiser enough?

For most people one good moisturiser is enough. The words "night cream" do not matter. What matters is whether the cream keeps your skin soft all night. Creams with ceramides, glycerin and panthenol are the most reliable choice in winter.

• Dry skin: Cerave Moisturizing Cream For Normal To Dry Skin, Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream or Dr. Althea 147 Barrier Cream.
• Normal skin: Simple Kind To Vital Vitamin Night Cream is light but enough for the night.
• Oily or acne-prone skin: Neutrogena Hydro Boost Water Gel Aqua Gel or iUNIK Beta-Glucan Daily Moisture Cream. Even oily skin is short of water in winter, so do not skip moisturiser. Read more in winter care for oily skin.
• Combination skin: thick cream on the cheeks, a thin layer or a gel on the nose and forehead.
• Sensitive skin: Purito Mighty Bamboo Panthenol Cream or Skin1004 Madagascar Centella Soothing Cream. Patch test behind the ear for 2 nights before starting anything new.

For a full comparison, read the best moisturisers for dry winter skin.

Do you use retinol or acids (AHA, BHA)? In winter they dry skin out even more. Use them no more than 2 to 3 nights a week, and never both on the same night. On a retinol night, "sandwich" it: moisturiser, then retinol, then moisturiser again, which reduces stinging. During pregnancy or while breastfeeding, skip retinol and strong acids, and check with your doctor about what to use.

Lips: the real work happens at night

During the day we talk, eat and drink, so balm does not stay put. At night your lips barely move, so a thick mask sits there all night. Use a pea-sized amount over the whole lip, slightly past the lip line too. If you sleep with your mouth open, your lips dry out even more, so the mask matters even more. Do not pull at flaking skin with your teeth. More detail: how to fix chapped lips.

Hands and heels: the socks and gloves trick

To be straightforward: we do not have a dedicated hand cream or foot cream on our shelf right now. But at night a thick body cream or balm does the same job well.

1. Wash your hands and, while they are slightly damp, apply Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream for Dry Skin or Bioderma Atoderm Intensive Baume.
2. If they are badly cracked, wear clean cotton gloves on top. No gloves? A clean old cotton sock over the hand works too.
3. A thick balm on the heels, then cotton socks. Not nylon, and not tight.
4. Every night for at least 2 weeks. Once the cracks settle, 3 to 4 nights a week.

If the rest of your body is very rough, you can use Bioderma Atoderm Crème Ultra-Nourishing Cream at night. Read more in how to fix dry, cracked hands and feet in winter.

Heaters, quilts and blankets

• A room heater dries the air in a room very quickly. Do not point it at your face, and switch it off or set a timer before sleeping. A bowl of water in the room helps a little.
• Under a quilt or blanket the body heats up and sweats, then skin dries out once you are out from under it. If a heavy blanket makes you itch, put a cotton sheet underneath.
• Wool directly against the skin makes many people itch. Wear cotton underneath.
• Change your pillowcase once a week. Cream, oil and dust build up and make breakouts worse.

What not to sleep in

• Makeup and sunscreen. Even when you are exhausted, at least wipe them off with micellar water.
• Coconut oil or heavy body lotion on the face, if you are acne-prone.
• Wet hair. The scalp dries and itches, and the pillow gets damp.
• Retinol and acids together, especially in winter.
• Tight socks or gloves. They restrict circulation.
• Lemon, toothpaste or baking soda on pimples or marks. They increase stinging and dryness. A little glycerin mixed with rose water is fine, but put a moisturiser on top.

Common mistakes

• Putting cream on a bone-dry face. It works far better on slightly damp skin.
• Skipping the face wash at night and just applying cream.
• Going to bed with a thin daytime lip balm.
• Leaving the heater pointed at your face all night.
• Starting 3 or 4 new products at once.

The Bangladesh reality

In December and January, night temperatures drop sharply in the north, in Panchagarh, Dinajpur and Rangpur, and it stays cold indoors. Dhaka is less cold but far dustier and more polluted, so washing your face at night matters even more. Many people skip washing at night because of load-shedding or icy water. Just take a mug of lukewarm water into the bathroom. In a hostel or mess with little space, keep one cream and one lip mask next to your pillow, and it all becomes a single night habit. After a wedding invitation or a late night, if you are exhausted, do at least three things: remove makeup, moisturise, and put on a lip mask.

To see the whole day together, read the 24-hour winter skincare routine. For the after-bath rule, read the 3-minute after-bath rule.

When to see a doctor

• Itching wakes you at night and does not ease after 2 weeks of regular moisturising.
• Hands or heels crack and bleed, ooze pus, or turn red and swollen.
• You have diabetes and have cracks or a wound on your feet.
• Red, rough patches keep coming back (this may be eczema).
• A cream makes your face burn, swell or break out in a rash. Stop it straight away.

Why buy authentic

A cream that stays on your face all night does its damage all night if it is fake. TheSkinProof is an invoice-verified skincare marketplace: every product's source is checked against invoices. If a product is proven counterfeit you get 2× your money back, with claims made within 7 days of delivery. Delivery across Bangladesh, cash on delivery available.

Answers for every time of the winter day: Winter FAQ Centre: time of day