There are some weekends I go out for late night dancing and my skin and hair are abused by all the smoke and dirt that gets kicked up. You can come home smelling like what 500 people in a warehouse would smell like. Yeah. Not feeling all so cute.
The first thing I do is wash my face. Seriously. I don’t fall asleep with a dirty face after a long night out. Yuck. I feel like I need to do a quick mini detox for my skin so that I don’t look terrible the in the few days after. I use a face wipe first to get the majority off. It feels good, and cleans quickly when you’re tired and lazy. A gentle cleanser should be used afterward that can easily dissolve makeup, sweat, and dirt – no scrubbing necessary. Lately I’ve been using Lumavera’s Facial Cleansing Gel which doesn’t strip my skin and leave it feeling dry.
I also like to do some kind of mask to give my skin something a little extra. I have a few that I rotate between. I have an oxygenating mask, a fruit acid mask, and a papaya enzyme mask that are used weekly if not more. I feel like when you’ve been around a ton of smoke for hours on end you skin needs to be nourished in every way afterwards.
The oxygenating mask gets deep into the pores while the antioxidants do their work. My skin needs to be exfoliated often so I don’t get clogged pores. I flip-flop between Radical’s Instant Revitalizing Mask and Lumavera’s Oxygenating masque. Lumavera’s leaves absolutely no redness after use while Radial’s does a little bit (for me).
The fruit acid mask is used for just a few minutes to dissolve whatever gunk is there. I actually had a few blocked oil ducts that finally cleared after a month of using the FA mask. I couldn’t believe it. It was awesome to see it work! Alba Botanica has a wonderful mask that smells citrus-y and leaves my skin feel refreshed after using.
The papaya enzyme mask I use feels like a moisturizing lotion that softens skin like no other! It also gently dissolves excess oil in my pores keeping problematic areas calm and clear. This one is from June Jacobs and works amazingly well at clearing pores.
I experience zero irritation with the oxygenating mask as well as the Papaya enzyme mask. The fruit acid mask can cause some redness in some areas if I leave it too long. So I just don’t leave it on too long. I highly recommended a mask by the next AM. If you can do it when you get home, even better. Its only a few extra minutes that you’ll wish you took when you look in the mirror the next morning.
Follow with whatever serum or moisturizer you usually use on a daily basis to bring your skin back to a comfortable balanced state. I like to use Epicuren’s Facial Emulsion, Skinceuticals Phloretin CF, or Lumavera’s Anti-Aging Serum at this step. If you wanna show off, make sure to put your eye cream on too. Show off! LOL, I do it only when I’m remembering to use eye cream which is really only recently in the past couple months or so.
But…. If you do all this …You will feel better for doing it! I promise!
For the next day, you need to make sure you give yourself plenty of rest or relaxation. Along with some vitamins, water, and I like to throw in some good juice. I like the naked juices, or odwalla, they are usually found near the refrigerated produce sections at my super markets. The ones that are made with five apples, a celery stick, and 27 blueberries? Those kind. They taste so good and I feel like I’m treating myself to some really good juice.
As for vitamins, I try to take them on the regular. I really do. But SO hard for me to remember. But I definitely remember on a party weekend. You just been dancing around for five hours in a warehouse with a ton of other people. You’ve been sweating it out for a good amount of time and then walk to your car in 50 degree weather to get home as soon as possible. You should take some vitamins so you don’t feel worn out mid-week. Or catch some cold from someone you kept bumping into on the dance floor. It totally happens. My immunity goes down, so I make sure I drink my juice and pop a few vitamins for the next day or so give myself a fighting chance.
Not going to lie. I still eat total crap fast food on a party weekend. Cooking is one thing I’m not doing on a party weekend. Too tired. Too lazy, whatever you want to call it. I’m not making dinner so you better hope there is stuff to make in the house, or we get mcdonalds or order pizza. Another reason why I’m big on the juice, vitamins, and washing your face ASAP. I just can’t do it all.
If you want to be a star, you’d get a good subway sandwich for lunch so you get some veggies, carbs, and protein. You know, so you’re doing an all around good thing for yourself. A good pot of tea is good too to keep you hydrated, and flush out any possible cocktails from the night before. Lately, I’ve been drinking Get Gorgeous from The Republic of Tea. They have a great selection of detox and wellness teas and this one tastes really good.
What do you do for your skin after a very late night out? Any routine or just crash face down on the bed? Share in the comments below!
