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Is it OK to Use the Same Moisturizer for Day and Night?

SPF vs. Night Lotion

Last week, I covered the question of whether the same SPF lotion can be used for face and body.  This week I discuss the topic of using the same lotion for both morning and night.

As an online skincare coach, a substantial number of clients from across the country, people in their late 20s all the way up to their 50s, ask me if it’s really important to have two moisturizers, one for day and one for night.  Why can’t we just use the same moisturizer, why do we have to buy two?  There are several reasons, especially when it comes to Adult Acne.


Hydration and Repair by Night

The key with breakout issues and oily skin is hydration.  Why?  Here’s a rule of thumb :

The more hydrated your skin is, the more pliable it is.  The more pliable your skin is, the less it holds on to the oil that makes blackheads.  Every blemish starts out as a microscopic blackhead.  A blackhead is nothing but solidified oil mixed with dead skin cells.

Even though the SPF lotions I sell in my web store are indeed hydrating, it’s not possible to get the amount of hydration from an SPF lotion that is really needed to keep oily/acne skin flowing properly.  Oil that doesn’t flow properly can get backed up behind impacted solidified oil and dead skin cells, contributing to breakouts.  You’re simply more likely to get the optimal hydrating ingredients necessary in a nighttime moisturizer.

In addition, non-SPF lotions often have other beneficial ingredients that take advantage of nighttime skin rejuvenation, like antioxidant vitamins and minerals, peptides, and anti-inflammatories.  Your skin does the most detoxifying, growing and repairing while you sleep.  It’s a great time to take advantage of ingredients that help these processes along.  We do an amazing amount of skin healing and rejuvenating with serums, but when it comes to prolonged protection of skin systems and integrity, there’s nothing like a good nighttime lotion.  Yes, even for oily, breakout-prone skin.

As for using a hydrating SPF lotion at night, I'm just not a fan of using a lotion at night that has SPF; why use ingredients at a time when the skin doesn’t need them?


Sun Protection by Day

This is not a no-brainer.  Why?  More and more women are working at or from home and don’t go outside every single day.  Working in an office, whether home or not, should you still wear an SPF lotion as your morning moisturizer?  Here are three reasons why you should. 



  • There is research that has discovered types of indoor UV light from fixtures and devices that might be potentially damaging over time.
  • UVA rays come through glass – if you love to blog near a window like I do, for instance, you may be getting sun exposure even indoors.
  • On a practical level, do you really know for sure you’ll never be going outside on any given day? 


This may be significant for people trying to get rid of discoloration issues, like dark marks, melasma and other signs of damage.  Sun damage is cumulative – always remember that.  It’s 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, right on top of damage that occurred in childhood and adolescence.

Nighttime and Daytime lotions that are designed to be comfortable and advantageous for oily and acne-prone skin, that are also capable of joining the fight against Adult Acne without sabotaging your efforts with pore cloggers and irritants, are actually not that easy to find.  Need help finding one?  Let’s talk !


Fill out my Eval by Email® Online Skincare Consultation form designed for ages Gen-X to Baby Boom, living anywhere in the USA !



Want to get 10% off your purchase at my web store? Pin this blog post to any one of your Pinterest boards by pinning any one of the photos above, and email the link from your board of the pinned post to skin911@daniela.com along with a question about your adult acne, Rosacea or sensitivity problem. You will get a personalized discount code along with a detailed answer to your question.  Up to three codes per person, with three different pins from different posts on my blog. 
So explore away and Happy Pinning!



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