When searching for a night cream, consider both your skin type and goals, then look for ingredients tailored to your complexion like the ones below, recommended by Dr. Sobel and Tonya McLeod, M.D., a dermatologist in Charlotte, North Carolina:
✔️ For glowing skin, brightening acids (like glycolic, lactic, and azelaic), retinol, vitamin C, and niacinamide will help stimulate skin cell turnover, promoting radiance.
✔️ For aging skin, shop for night creams with proven anti-agers like peptides, retinol, epidermal growth factors, and hydroxy acids (like glycolic) to help smooth wrinkles. Also look for protective antioxidants (such as vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, and niacinamide).
✔️ For dark spots and hyperpigmentation, choose products with brightening vitamin C, retinol, niacinamide, licorice root extract or glycolic, kojic, lactic, azelaic, and ferulic acids to help brighten and even skin tone.
✔️ For dry skin, seek out a richer formula like a cream or balm and look for hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, squalane, aloe, and plant butters (i.e. shea) and oils (i.e. coconut) to replenish moisture.
✔️ For oily, combination or acne-prone skin, look for a lighter formula such as a lotion or gel in a formula that contains balancing and oil-reducing acids like salicylic, glycolic, azelaic, and lactic; retinol can also help minimize breakouts.
✔️ For sensitive skin, try calming ingredients like allantoin, oat extract, glycerin, bisabolol, and cucumber extract, which soothe skin without irritating. Avoid fragrance, acids and alcohol, which can irritate reactive skin.
