5 Ways to Create a Blissful Nighttime Skin Care Routine  

Next to drinking enough water and protecting your skin from the sun, developing a personal nighttime skin routine is one of the first things I recommend to my clients to promote healthy skin function.  Your face goes through so much throughout the day-- pollution, sun, makeup, sunscreen, giving and receiving communication, thousands of expressions.  Your face deserves to be cleansed of the day and prepared to repair itself while you slumber.  This time and space to adequately repair can go a long way in creating a healthy, glowing complexion.  Additionally, the benefits of taking that time for self care are huge for you soul! 

Many people skip a nighttime routine, because, by the time they realize it's time for bed, they are too exhausted to consider more things to do.  

Here's a few ideas to make a nighttime skin routine a true joy: 

1.  Do your routine BEFORE you get tired.  If you know you are in for the night, do your skin care routine after dinner and before you start to settle in.  You will greet it with more patience and care, and you will let your body know that it's time to wind down.  When you finally go to bed, you will be so pleased that all you need to do is get under the covers.  If you are out late, try to do it right when you walk in the door, so that you don't have any time for excuses.  

2.  Choose products that you LOVE. Find products for your routine that you are truly excited to use each night.  This is personal for everyone, and some factors include scent, texture, feel, results, and even the way it looks in your cabinet or on your vanity.  When you have products you love, skin care becomes exciting instead of a chore.  i.e. Imagine anticipating the seductive aroma of your moisturizer so much that you can't wait to get home to do your routine!  

A typical routine includes cleansing, toning, serums and/or moisturizing, but could be as simple or complicated as you like.  Most importantly, you skin needs to be cleansed and hydrated.  

My personal routine includes cleansing with Clear Horizon Cleansing Oil, toning with Crystal Facial Elixir, and finishing with repair serum Midnight Dew (sometimes mixed with some Crystal Facial Tonic if I need more moisture).  Once or twice a week, I'll mix equal parts of Rose Petal Enzyme Mask, Coconut Pearl Powder, and plain organic whole milk yogurt to make an exfoliating mask.  

If you are unsure about what product to use, ask for samples of things that interest you, or ask friends or professionals for their recommendations.  Or ask me!  

3.  Facial Massage.While cleansing is an important part of any nighttime routine, relaxing your facial muscles and getting your lymph flowing is also highly beneficial to your skin's nighttime repair processes.  Massage and touch releases stress and tension in your face also promotes more restful sleep, a major factor in skin health.  Though this could (and likely will!) be it's own blog post, this process also does not need to be complicated.  It can be done as part of Oil Cleansing (see below), or one it's own.  Start by apply a facial oil and gently massaging your jawline and doing a tapping motion with your fingertips all around your face.  Some nights this may just be a quick part of your routine, and others you might want to spend a few minutes massaging your face or using a gua sha* tool.  

4. Try Oil Cleansing. If you aren't already sold on nighttime oil cleansing, let me assist in sharing this delight with you!  Have you ever removed makeup with oil?  Do you notice how it works almost like a magnet to grab the pigment and wipe it away clean?  It's the same with the rest of your skin-- oil attracts oil and dirt, and when you use oil to cleanse your skin, you get an incredibly deep clean without stripping your skin.  It also softens your pores and makes congestion more easily extracted.  It's such a luxurious way to cleanse your skin and start your routine, and it leaves your skin incredibly soft.  

Not just any oil will do, I generally recommend using something non-clogging and high in linoleic acid, such as Hemp Seed Oil to offer balance and repair.  Or course, my superstar nighttime oil cleanser is the Clear Horizon Cleansing Oil.  

How to oil cleanse:

-Wash and dry your hands. 

-With dry hands and dry face, massage a dollop of oil into your skin.  You want to use enough that it has some slip and doesn't immediately absorb, but not so much that it's overly slippery.  

-Massage in for at least 30 seconds.  (Many nights that will be all you have time or energy for, but once or twice a week, this is a great time to give yourself a facial massage.  Lay down on your bed and take your time massaging your face for a few minutes.  Or use a gua sha tool* to go a bit deeper.  Do this in the bath for even greater relaxation.)  

-Run a clean washcloth under warm water and wring well.  Place the cloth over your face to steam for a moment, then gently remove the oil with the washcloth.  

-You are done!  Your face will feel clean and soft!**  For some people, oil cleansing can be the only step in their routine, as it provides cleansing and moisture.  

*gua sha tools are a traditional chinese medicine tool often made from jade or other stone that can be used to massage your face.  See more info here. 

**If you are wearing a lot of makeup, you may need to cleanse twice.  Once to remove your makeup, and a second time to cleanse your skin.  

5.  Make A Ritual of It. Create a nighttime ritual that involves more than just skin care.  Allow it to be how you wind down from the day and prepare your whole body for restful sleep.  This could include lighting a candle, taking a bath, drawing a tarot card, saying prayers, writing 5 things you are grateful for from your day, stretching, or journaling.  Make it about you, and make it simple and something you enjoy.  

These 5 tips can help you create something truly special for yourself.  Of course, no one is perfect, and we all have our dirty nights when the last thing we are going to do is wash our face.  However, developing a ritual that we can enjoy and do as regularly as possible creates a great benefit to the skin's health.  And once you have found something that works for you, I promise, you will be addicted.  

Have questions about creating the best nighttime routine for you?  Want to share your nighttime routine?

Comment below.  

How Pink Light Started...

I'm Amber Woods, founder of PINK LIGHT.  I started this business in 2010, but it lived in my heart since I was a child.  The name Pink Light came to me through a meditation.  It references the pink light in the sky during sunrise and sunset, which I find to be the most beautiful, healing phenomenon on earth. My goal has always been to create an experience for my clients and customers that conjures that healing energy and envelops you in beautiful pink light.

 #pinklight #pinklightglow #pink #lightpink #pinkandgold #beautymagicglow #beauty #magic #glow #skincare #rituals #selfcare #selflove #rose #rosepetals #visions #dreams #goals #smallbatch #handcraft #organicskincare #spa #organicspa

Seeking Holistic Esthetician at Pink Light

I am looking to hire a licensed Aesthetician who has a passion for natural products and holistic healing to work at my studio. The position is part-time: Wednesday afternoon/eves, Thursday mornings, and every other Saturday.
The ideal person would have some background or studies in nutrition, herbal medicine, energetics, and/or holistic healing, as well as be licensed in California as an Esthetician. A person with a background in massage is a plus. I am looking for someone who is passionate about skin care, responsible, intuitive, motivated, personable, organized, can be self-directed, loves to learn and educate, has strong aesthetic appreciation, and has great attention to detail.

You would be working solo, so it’s imperative that you have the capacity, organization, and composure to manage the entire experience for each client.
In my practice, I focus on self-love and celebrating the beauty that every person holds and how they choose to look or express themselves. I want clients of all cultures, subcultures, ethnicities, sizes, abilities, and with any gender expression or identity to feel comfortable receiving services and not held to any particular standard or idea of beauty. It is an absolute must that you be an informed person around these things and that you are sensitive and committed to making all bodies feel comfortable and cared for at Pink Light.

Touching on your relationship to this ideology in your cover letter would be helpful.  If you think you could be a good fit for this position, please send me an email to amberwoods@pink-light.com (w/ Pink Light Position in the Subject Line) containing a cover letter describing why you are interested in this position and your qualifications. Please also attach a current resume.
I look forward to hearing from you!  Amber

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT: 

ROSE PETAL DEW…

WHAT YOUR BEAUTY OIL HAS BEEN MISSING

Over the past decade, natural beauty has been on the rise, and healthier products have been slowly but surely replacing their toxic counterparts.  A huge part of this movement has been the beauty oil.  This trend turned on it’s the head the myth that we should never be putting oils onto our faces, because they will clog pores, cause breakouts, and wreak havoc.  On the contrary, it’s been shown that the right types of oils can be incredibly nourishing and balancing for all skin types.  In my practice at Pink Light, I use oils for cleansing, massage, and moisturizing, and they are a pillar to my philosophy on healthy skin.  

Besides being wonderful and effective, one reason beauty oils made it big on the natural beauty scene, is their ability to remain pure in ingredients.  Unlike creams, the oils are not mixed with any water, therefore they do not run the risk of breeding bacteria and do not require preservatives.  In that regard, they are easy to formulate and create safely and effectively.  Beauty oils have allowed many indie brands to create beautiful, powerful moisturizing products without any preservatives.  

All of our skin has benefitted majorly from this sweeping beauty oil trend (which I think should and will outlast the label of a trend), but as the years have passed, I often get clients who are oil-converts who are still dealing with dehydration issues.  Dehydrated skin can stem from many internal and external factors, but topically our skin deals with two types of dehydration:  Oil dehydration and water dehydration.  The surface of the skin needs both oil and water to lock in hydration.  When you are using only a beauty oil, rather than a cream, sometimes that water hydration does not get replenished.  

However, the problem with many creams is that they often contain waxes and emulsifiers that sit on the skin and don’t absorb as well as an oil.  Neither the water nor the oil part feels entirely effective.  Many natural, indie beauty companies also struggle with the best way to preserve oil and water emulsions, as water and oil mixing creates an immediate habitat for bacteria.  

For many years, I would usually remedy this issue by telling clients to use a hydrating toner before applying oil, and to apply the oil while the skin is still damp with toner.  Applying the water hydration to clean skin allows it to quickly penetrate, and adding the oil on top seals it in and provides protection and moisture.  Though definitely helpful and I still recommend doing this when using oils, this method still didn’t always offer adequate hydration to the skin for everyone.  

A more concentrated water source felt necessary to hydrate certain clients’ skin, which led me a couple of years ago to develop a hydrating, water-based serum that could be applied under the beauty oil.  This has been a game-changer for oil moisturizing, and has worked wonders on client’s dehydrated skin.  This product is our Rose Petal Dew, and it is a light organic rosewater gel infused with Hyaluronic Acid and healing botanicals (including Hibiscus, Bamboo, and Edelweiss) that provides this next-level natural hydration.  This is what your beauty oil has been missing.  

To use:  AM/PM, After toning, place 1-2 dropperfuls of Rose Petal Dew into palm and massage into clean skin.  Layer Crystal Facial Tonic and massage into entire face and neck.  Allow to set before applying sunscreen or makeup.  

 -Amber 

Welcome to Pink Light!

I want to take a moment to say hello and welcome you to our new site.  I started Pink Light in 2010 as small herbal skin care line, and over seven years I have worked hard to bring it to life—hand-filling thousands of bottles and giving thousands of facials exclusively with Pink Light products.  I’ve learned so much and still have so much more to learn!  I’m overjoyed to be sharing this new chapter of Pink Light with you.  I’m so proud of the new range of products and the new look, and I know you will love it too!  

Using my knowledge as an aesthetician and herbalist, I’ve formulated each product to bring health and balance to the skin and to encourage the skin’s innate ability to function properly.  The products are luxurious, and are meant to be enjoyed and to help you create a skin ritual that you love.  They are designed to be mixed and matched and used intuitively.  And, as always, all products at Pink Light are free from toxic ingredients.

Stay tuned for more information about each product, ingredient highlights, skin care rituals, and pro tips here on our Pink Light blog.  Thank you for following along!

-Amber