How to Keep Your Pillow from Soaking Up Your Nighttime Skin Care Products

Attention all side- and stomach-sleepers: do you notice your pillowcase becoming stained over time? Among things like sweat and leftover makeup, your pillowcase may also be absorbing traces of products from your evening skin care routine while you’re catching some Zzz’s. Yikes is right!

It’s safe to say that nobody wants their skin care products (or hard work and effort, for that matter) to go to waste, especially considering how crucial it is for skin to receive adequate care prior to shut-eye. To help ensure your skin is soaking up your nighttime skin care (and not your pillowcase), we’ve laid out a few helpful tips to try before you hit the sack, ahead. 

TIP #1: SLEEP ON YOUR BACK

Sleeping on your back is one of the easiest ways to help avoid product transferring onto your pillowcase while you sleep. Since laying on your side or stomach exposes your facial skin to the surface of your pillowcase, it’s more likely that excess product such as your evening cream or serum can rub off as you snooze, especially if it hasn’t fully absorbed yet.

Another reason you should consider sleeping on your back? Doing so can help to keep unwanted breakouts at bay. Since our pillowcases can become dirty and covered in bacteria from makeup, oil, hair product residue, and other impurities over time, sleeping on your back can help keep your skin from pressing against them all night, which could lead to clogged pores and subsequent breakouts. Washing your pillowcase every other week or switching pillowcases before going to bed after heavy product use can also be helpful. 

TIP #2: LET YOUR NIGHTTIME PRODUCTS SOAK IN

This one is a no-brainer, but heading to bed too soon after completing your nighttime skin care routine can cause your products to transfer onto your pillowcase. Before laying your head down on your pillow, we recommend allowing your skin enough time to absorb any products you just applied. There’s no golden rule on how long one should wait between applying product and laying down since all formulas are not one and of the same. Use your best judgment.

TIP #3: REACH FOR A LIGHTWEIGHT PRODUCT

Short on time? Instead of applying a heavy-duty moisturizer that may take longer to soak in, consider reaching for a lightweight moisturizer that can flood the skin with hydration without leaving behind a greasy residue that can be absorbed by your pillowcase. Keep in mind that while the texture of night cream is typically thicker than its daytime counterpart, many of them are formulated to help address specific concerns, be it dark spots, wrinkles, fine lines, or loss of firmness. Instead of making your decision based on texture and consistency alone, be sure to keep in mind any skin concerns you may have to ensure you’re picking the best possible formula for your skin’s needs.

Editor’s note: If all this talk of product absorbing into your pillowcase has got you feeling concerned, don’t fret! With a few changes to your habits, you can ensure that your skin is absorbing your nighttime products before and while you snooze. No matter what you do, never skip out on moisturizer or an evening skin care routine! Keep the skin hydrated daily is incredibly important, especially in the evening since it is during deep sleep that our skin undergoes natural self-repair. Got it?