In fact, plenty of Americans — and people, in general — don’t get enough sleep; about 20% of Americans have a sleep disorder, and 45% of the entire world’s population have sleep issues of some kind. But when you don’t get enough sleep, you put yourself at risk for a variety of problems: aging your skin at a faster rate, increasing your risk of heart attack or stroke, weight gain, and impaired vision. RELATED: Try This Navy SEAL Trick When You’re Super Tired But Don’t Have Time To Sleep Luckily, there are things we can do before bed to not only help us get a more restful sleep, but give our skin a glow-up and prevent our hair from frizzing, among other benefits. TikToker Alice Hannah, who posts under the account Isabelle.Lux, has created a series of videos with tips and tricks to try before bed in order to prevent wrinkles and acne, and keep your hair looking great when you wake up.
Here’s how to keep your skin glowing, your hair healthy, and your body and mind rested by doing a nighttime routine.
1. Triple cleanse your face.
Before bedtime, Isabelle double- or triple-cleanses her face, but not with water and soap like some may think. She swears by Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm, putting it on once to remove her makeup, and then applying it for a second time, leaving it on for 20 minutes while she does the rest of her nighttime routine.
2. Use a bamboo hairbrush.
While most people have a plastic hair brush they may use before they go to bed, Isabelle uses a bamboo hairbrush for three minutes. While she says that bamboo hair brushes stimulate hair growth, that’s not the only benefit. Bamboo hair brushes have also been said to reduce hair frizz, improve circulation, and make your hair incredibly shiny. Plus, they are sustainable and lessen waste.
3. Dry brush your entire body.
The benefits of dry brushing are endless, and, as Isabelle says, “The glow [after dry brushing] is absolutely unmatched.” Dry brushing not only removes dead skin, but it increases blood flow, reduces stretch marks, and reduces cellulite. Though there are risks associated with dry brushing, like skin irritation or damage, it’s important to remember not to brush your skin too hard or rigorously.
4. Try LED light therapy.
LED light therapy is a non-invasive treatment that allows LED lights to penetrate the skin’s layers to improve the skin. LED light therapy is used by dermatologists and other specialists, and is another nighttime ritual that Isabelle highly recommends. LED light therapy is commonly used to treat a variety of skin conditions, including eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea, actinic keratosis, wrinkles, hair loss, and even skin cancer in some cases.
5. Drink a glass of water… with olive oil.
For additional skin improvement, Isabelle says to sip on a glass of water before bed, but to add one tablespoon of olive oil. She claims “your skin will glow,” but drinking olive oil has its own additional set of benefits. Olive oil is known to have healthy fats and vitamins, including antioxidants that fight against skin damage and aging. Those antioxidants and vitamins also have anti-inflammatory properties. One study determined that burn patients who ingested olive oil daily healed at a faster rate. Not only that, but drinking olive oil every day is said to soften and moisturize skin and hair over time. Additionally, another study found that eating 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil per day lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease by 15%, and risk of heart disease by 21%. RELATED: 6 Techniques That Will Give You The Best Sleep Of Your Life (With No Pills!)
6. Sleep with a satin bonnet, silk eye mask, and silk pillowcase.
In another TikTok, Isabelle goes through her additional nighttime routine — this time, to help with hair frizziness and additional skin health. Sleeping with a satin bonnet, and silk eye mask and pillowcase, helps to decrease frizziness, improve hair shine, leads to less tangles, and hydrates hair. This is because satin and silk are both smooth, which decreases friction and tugging on the hair. As for wearing a silk eye mask and using a silk pillowcase, there are numerous benefits for your skin. During your sleep, over time your cotton or non-silk pillowcase can actually lead to facial creasing, stretching skin that can cause permanent sleep wrinkles. But a silk pillowcase and eye mask can combat that, and can leave your skin hydrated and help acne due to its smooth surface. Isabelle also says that wearing a silk eye mask is good for sensitive skin around the eyes, most likely due to its smooth surface.
7. Wear silicone patches.
While silk can help hair and skin, Isabelle says that wearing silicone eye patches help fill in lines on your face and moisturize your skin. But silicone for the skin is also shown to improve skin elasticity, reduce water loss, smooth skin, and even reduce facial scarring. You can wear silicone patches on your face, but can also place them on your chest. Isabelle even recommends buying large ones for the chest and cutting them to size, as this saves money; plus, the patches are reusable.
8. Tape your mouth.
Many people tend to breathe through their mouth when they sleep, and thanks to TikTok, people have been making videos advocating for mouth taping, a trend that Isabelle promotes. Mouth taping is when you wear an adhesive strip on your mouth with your sleep in order to prevent mouth-breathing and blocked nasal passages from disrupting your sleep cycle. “Taping your mouth shut before bed is really important to your breathing, to your face structure, if you can imagine that,” Isabelle says. Breathing through your mouth is a good habit to kick as early as you can, as mouth-breathing can lead to poor cheekbone definition, negatively impacting the shape of your face and neck, as well as your posture. Chronic mouth breathing may require surgery or alterations of some kind. Despite the proposed benefits of taping your mouth shut, experts aren’t yet quite sure how effective this practice can be. It’s important instead to consult with a doctor, and get to the root cause of your sleep issues, which can include sleep apnea, drinking alcohol close to bedtime, asthma, allergies, a deviated septum, or sleeping on your back. RELATED: Sleep Better, Stress Less, Train Your Brain & Work Out With The World’s Best Athletes — All In One App Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who has written hundreds of articles about relationships, trending news and entertainment, numerology and astrology. Follow her on Twitter for more.
