While you were sleeping (in your make-up)

Picture the scene. You’ve just made it home after partying the night away. You kick off your party shoes, wriggle out of your dress, and collapse into bed. As your head hits the pillow, you remember you haven’t washed your face or removed your make-up. You think about getting up to do it, but sleep is calling. And one night won’t hurt, right?

Well, you wouldn’t be the first to commit this ultimate beauty sin – Kim Kardashian prides herself on never removing her make-up at night. ‘She is my hero because she has never let her husband see her without make-up – she sleeps with her make-up on, says celebrity make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury. ‘She’s inspired me when I am really lazy and I don’t have time to do my make-up the next day, so I’ll sleep in my make-up.’

There’s no doubting that Kim appears to have flawless skin. But should we follow her lead and hit the sack with a full face of slap? The answer is no.

Dermatologists agree unanimously that we should ignore every word of Kim’s bedtime make-up mantra – and it isn’t just because mascara ruins pillowcases. In fact, just one night sleeping in make-up can cause damage to our skin that can be seen from the very next morning – and getting lazy and forgetting to remove it on a regular basis can even speed up the signs of ageing.

‘As much as we love our make-up, it doesn’t exactly love us back’, explains Hend Helmy of The Loft Fifth Avenue salon in Dubai. ‘While we sleep, our skin’s cells undergo a rejuvenation process – and leaving on make-up will stretch the pores, making them wider and allowing more areas to gather bacteria. The result is clogged pores – and that will lead to breakouts and acne.’

Hassania Tahiri, Facial Specialist at The American Surgecenter in Abu Dhabi, agrees. ‘Worse still, when we don’t bother to remove our make-up, moisture can’t be absorbed because the pores are blocked, which eventually leads to dry skin, not to mention exacerbating lines on your face and making them look more prominent the next day.’

There can be more serious, long-term consequences too. Prominent New York-based dermatologist Dr Eric Schweiger says it can lead to looking older. ‘When we don’t cleanse properly at night, free radicals from the environment, often in the form of pollution, remain on our skin. Free radicals cause collagen breakdown over time, which results in the development of fine lines and prematurely aged skin.’

And if the thought of waking up to lines and wrinkles isn’t enough to send you running for the nearest bottle of cleanser, perhaps the threat of eye infections throughout the festive season will – after all, that’s not the reason you wanted to turn heads when you walk into those Christmas parties.

‘Sleeping in your eye make-up can lead to further problems,’ says Dr Schweiger. ‘Mascara and eyeliner can be rubbed by your pillow and end up in your eyes, which can lead to significant eye irritation. Sleeping in eye make-up repeatedly may result in the clogging of the tiny hair follicles and oil glands on your eyelids. When these areas become clogged, bacteria can build up and cause inflammation. As a result, small bumps called styes can form. These bumps may resolve spontaneously, but many require treatment.’

So despite the celebrity endorsement, sleeping in make-up can cause a multitude of nasty repercussions for our complexions, including dull skin, blemishes and acne, pronounced fine lines, sore and infected eyes, and a breakdown in collagen and elastin that speeds up ageing and leaves you with fine lines. Yikes.

But the fact remains that we’re all going to have nights when we just want to collapse into bed – and completing a seven-step cleansing routine isn’t going to cut it.

‘The trick is to keep it simple,’ advises Mariam Yasin, a Dubai-based wellness blogger and holistic therapist (innerbeautybuzz.com). ‘During the busy holiday season, we do tend to wear more make-up, but we still need to take it off. Find an effective cleanser that will remove your eye and face make-up along with grime all at the same time. It needs to be fast and efficient!’ So what are the quickest and easiest options for freshening up our skin after the party? Turn over to find out…

Face wipes and face wash

‘If you are short on time and just want to get into bed after a long day, the easiest and quickest way to ensure proper make-up removal before bed is to have warm water, face wipes and a good face wash handy at your sink’, recommends Hassania Tahiri at The American Surgecenter in Abu Dhabi. ‘Use the wipes to wipe off all the cosmetics from your face quickly, and then go over it with the face wash and warm water.

‘Make-up removers and wipes are very accessible and the process won’t take longer than five minutes, so a proper cleanse before bedtime shouldn’t be much of a burden.’

Why bother with the face wash – aren’t face wipes enough? New York-based dermatologist Dr Craig Kraffert says no. ‘As you’re not rinsing away the active cleansing ingredients in the wipes, the residue that’s left behind may expose your skin to high concentrations of solubilizers, surfactants and emulsifiers. These can be drying and irritating for some people, especially those with dry or sensitive skin.’

The trick is to use the wipes to shift make-up from your skin and eyes quickly and easily – and follow up with a face wash to remove residue from your skin.

Dr Organic Tea Tree Wet Wipes Dh36

Bioderma ABCDerm Wipes Dh39

Dermalogica Skin Purifying Wipes Dh79

Elemis Balancing Lime Blossom Cleanser Dh169

Clinique Liquid Facial Soap Dh123

Urban Veda Reviving Daily Facial Wash Dh85

Micellar water

Wipes and face wash sound easy enough, but can it get any quicker? Step forward micellar water.

So what exactly is it? Micellar water hails from France, where it was created more than 100 years ago to help Parisians deal with the city’s notoriously harsh water supply.

The formula is made of micelles, which are tiny oil molecules suspended in soft water. ‘Micelles are attracted to dirt, grime, and oil, and they draw out impurities without drying out your skin,’ explains LA-based dermatologist Dr Debra Luftman (drluftman.com). ‘Rather than containing a foamy solution that strips your skin and leaves behind harsh chemicals, micelles cling on to the dirt and make-up on your skin and dissolve them while leaving behind a glowy, hydrated finish.’

It really is quick and easy to use too. Simply saturate a cotton pad with the product, swipe over eyes and face – do this twice if you’re wearing a lot of make-up, just keep going until the cotton pad comes away clean – and finish with moisturiser.

Leave the bottle, a cotton pad, and a pot of moisturiser on your bedside table before your party – so there’s no need to even walk to the sink after.

We love

Eucerin DermatoCLEAN 3 in 1 Micellar Cleansing Fluid Dh73

Lierac Démaquillant Douceur Dh149

Cleansing oil

Cleansing oil is another option for lazy girls – and it makes good sense for your skin too, if dermatologists are to be believed.

So why would we cleanse our skin with the very thing we are trying to remove from our complexion? US-based dermatologist Dr Heather Rogers (heatherrogers.md.com) explains: ‘The concept is that like dissolves like. If you put oil on to your skin, it will then combine with the oils that are layered on your skin. It will also cut through some of the dirt, and the grease.’

There’s no need to pre-clean your skin – just give it a quick rinse with warm water, before pouring some oil in your hand and massaging it gently over skin for two minutes. Let it sit for 30 seconds, before washing away with a face cloth saturated in warm water. Job done.

On the laziest nights, you could even forgo moisturiser after using cleansing oil and climb straight into bed, as your skin will feel supple and hydrated.

Murad Cleansing Oil Dh165

SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil Dh230

Dolce & Gabbana Essential Cleansing Oil Dh212