We've all had those unfortunate nights with no sleep. Maybe it was the night before a big exam and you had to stay up to make sure you really got all the concepts down. Maybe you're in the medical field, like me, and you stayed up until dawn working a shift at the hospital. Whatever the reason may be, all-nighters are terrible. And not only do you feel exhausted the next day, you're constantly reminded that you look exhausted too with all the "You look so tired!" comments (as if you didn't already know that).
So how can we make it a little more bearable? Giving your face a quick refresher the morning after an all-nighter can help you look better, feel better, and give you that little burst of confidence that you need to face the long day ahead of you. Whether you want to put on a nice outfit and a whole face of makeup to try to hide your tired eyes or just throw on a pair of leggings and rock the "I look exhausted and I know it" look, you should still treat your face right after a night of no sleep. After all, you've been through enough already.
The first thing you should do to help your face recover is wash it. This may sound obvious, but sometimes after a long night we feel like we don't have the energy to treat our face to this privilege. Washing your face may feel like a huge challenge, but after you do it, you will feel ten times better. If you're up for it, you should even scrub your face with an exfoliator. I use my Perfecting Polish to help scrub off dead skin cells and stimulate skin renewal. After you scrub, make sure to get some moisture back into your skin with a moisturizer or a hydrating serum like my Pure Hydrate, because staying up all night can dry your skin out.
If you didn't have under eye bags before, you definitely do after staying up all night. A family secret that I've shared with my daughters to help hide bags is to put 2 metal spoons in the freezer and hold them under your eyes after they're nice and cold. This can help with swelling! Additionally, a nice eye cream like my Revital-Eyes Eye Cream will help with puffiness. Continuous use can help lighten dark under eye circles as well.
Lastly, a layer of concealer will help balance your skin tone and refresh your face. A great product to use under concealer (or even as a replacement to concealer) is my tinted Ultimatte Sun Shield. It has green tea extracts to help moisturize your skin, as well as SPF 50+ to protect from harsh sun rays. And it has a skin-perfecting tint to hide redness! Losing sleep can make you look paler the next day, so a touch of makeup or my tinted sunscreen will help bring some life back to your face. But if you decide to skip this step altogether, I respect your decision!
Hopefully my few pieces of advice will give you the power to get through your day after staying up all night! Make sure you catch up on your sleep when you finally get the chance. In the meantime, grab an iced latte, put on a smile and remember you can accomplish anything with a positive attitude - even with if you've been up all night.
About the author:
Dr. Kay Durairaj is a a board certified otolaryngologist (or ear, nose, and throat specialist) and facial plastic surgeon in California, where she specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of conditions which affect the face, ears, nose, throat, neck, and skin, for both children and adults. With the help of her caring and friendly staff, Dr. Durairaj makes it her number one priority to provide state-of-the-art medical care to patients from all over Southern California, and beyond. Follow Dr. Kay on Instagram!
