Night time face oils, sweet dreams in a bottle

Night time treatments have been growing in popularity for some time. Why? Becauseit's at night that our skin does all its hard work! During the day, our skin is on red alert. Our skin cells spend their time buffering the elements - pollution, smoke, cold, sun etc. At night they put down their arms and concentrate on regenerating and repairing any damage caused. In other words our skin buckles down to work. Our epidermis produces new cells, our micro-circulation kick starts and our skin naturally exfoliates. What's more, our skin is better able to absorb active ingredients whilst we're fast asleep! So the idea is to pamper it with beneficial treatments that it can soak up overnight.

We all know that a good, evening cleanse is essential. Applying a cleanser adapted to your skin type and needs will get rid of impurities accumulated during the day - make up, smoke, pollution, dust, sebum. This should be followed by anight cream, although you may want to apply a serum beforehand. These two steps work well enough, but what if your skin needs an extra helping hand? Our skin, for example, goes through the mill when the seasons change or can become dry and sensitive when our hormones decide to play up. This is where a night time oil comes into play, as it'll pump your skin with ingredients that help it to recover whilst you're in the Land of Nod.

Face oils feel great, smell delicious and are a pleasure to apply. A moment of luxury before we crawl under the covers. The vegetable oils used (hazelnut, sweet almond, argan) perfectly blend with essential oils that are packed with active ingredients. But in the same way that we need to use a suitable night cream, face oils should also be carefully chosen. An oil that nourishes will not be the same as one that moisturises, detoxifies, balances or plumps up our skin. In other words, each vegetable oil has its own virtues.

Dry skins love nourishing, moisturising hazelnut oil or calming passiflore, whilst tired, irritated skins benefit from the regenerating properties of musk rose. Antioxidant argan oil and evening primrose oil soften mature skin. As for oily skin, applying jojoba oilprevents it from looking greasy. These oils can be used on their own or as part of a face oil formula that offers a number of benefits. If you opt for the latter, go for a dry oil as it will quickly penetrate your skin without leaving a greasy film.

These oils are used as a 'cure' that can be applied when your skin feels particularly tight. After cleansing, warm up a few drops in your palm and massage it on to your cheeks, forehead and chin with your fingertips. Gently smoothe it across your face and neck. You can follow with a night cream, although this may not be necessary. Couple of great tips: add a drop or two to your day cream for extra nourishing power or apply under a face mask to help your skin lap up its active ingredients.