#141: Your New Evening Routine

There have been so many new dry eye products to come out in the past two years. I wanted to update what I am doing personally for my nighttime care routine.

 

When you are getting ready for bed at night, we must remember my golden rule. If you have been following me for a while, you know, remove your eye makeup. 

I really love makeup remover wipes. A few of my favorite are the Norwex makeup removal cloth set, Beauty Counter one-step makeup remover wipes and the Eye Proof Refreshing Towelettes from Eyes are the Story. They are super convenient and easy to use. So first step is to remove your makeup.

 

 

I love using Eyes Are The Story facial cleanser. It feels very silky on my skin. And I know the ingredients are great for my eyes. You just pump a small amount onto your hand and apply to your face. It feels great on your face when you're washing with it. 

I use a Hypochlorous-based Lid and lash cleanser. Currently I love the Twenty-Twenty Beauty Hygiene facial spray. The mist is very soothing and refreshing to my eyes and skin.

 

We need to cleanse our eyes so a hypochlorous acid spray is a really gentle way to remove the bacteria from our lids and lashes. This one, you just close your eyes and spritz it right on and it's going to kill the bacteria that might be living in between your lashes and causing redness and irritation.  

 

 

 

 I use a warm compress mask. My favorite is of course the UNclog Mask because it hits my glands without hitting the skin around my eyes.

 

 It's super soft and uses infrared technology to heat. It targets the inside of the lids and penetrates to the meibomian glands and gets the heat where it needs to be. So it's more comfortable, less redness. You can also set the temperature and the timer so that it turns off for you and you just plug it into a USB port. 

 

Currently I am using Regener-Eyes drops. These are a prescription medication that helps the cells on the front surface of the eye to heal and regenerate. If you are not taking a prescription medication you could substitute with an artificial tear in this step.

If you're a dry suffer like me, perhaps you take a dry eye prescription medication.

You might be taking an individual vial like Xiidra or Restasis or even the new dry eye nasal spray Tyrvaya. It just hit the market in November, and it helps you to produce more of your own healthy, natural tears. So the next step would be to take your prescription medication, whatever that is.

 

 

Because I have significantly dry eyes and it is winter time. I like to use an ointment in my eyes when I am sleeping. If it is not winter time for you, you do not have a fan blowing above your head, or your eyes are not do not feel significantly dry in the mornings, you could omit this step.

 

Use a thicker gel or ointment in your eyes, right before you go to sleep. Now, the gel or the ointment is going to last a little bit longer in your eyes. So this is a gel from refresh. These are over the counter.  The gels come in a bottle, but ointments come in small tubes, or you might also love to use the growing serum from 2020 beauty.

This serum is oil-based. It's a combination of castor, argon, and coconut oils.  Pump some onto your finger and rub into your lashes, not the eye itself.  This keeps your lids and lashes moisturized while you sleep.  

 

 Now, I'm ready for bed. I just close my eyes lay my head on the pillow and go to sleep. Remember adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. This is not you being lazy, it is you taking care of your body. You wouldn’t recommend a child to get less than that amount of sleep, and I don’t recommend it to my patients either. Our bodies do their healing and repair work while we are sleeping. It is necessary to maintain a healthy body. 

 

 

 And there you have it, your new bedtime routine.

 

 

Our bodies need daily care to stay healthy and well.  We've learned certain routines early on in our lives that have stuck with us.  We don't even think about the fact that we must brush our teeth before bed.  It is a simple habit and we just do it without any argument.

 

You also routinely take care of the skin on your face by cleansing, toning, moisturizing and protecting it from the sun.  It's just 4-simple steps that you do every morning.  

 

Taking care of your eyes can be just as easy and even more rewarding than clean teeth, in my opinion.  Use the 4-simple steps to take care of your eyes in the morning.  And, before bed you'll just remove your eye makeup and add a gel drop just before letting your head hit the pillow.  

 

Keep things simple so that they feel like a soothing experience rather than a chore.  Using great products that both nourish your eyes and feel great can help.