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Sunscreen is a daily necessity—but it’s often irritating for sensitive skin. We dive into the basics of sun protection, when to apply (and reapply) SPF, and the best sunscreen for sensitive skin. Sunscreen is an undebatable necessity in your daily regime. The American Academy of Dermatology suggests applying a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher and reapplying every two hours when outside. But if you have sensitive skin, sunscreen options can often be difficult to find, as many can trigger irritation. To uncover the best face sunscreen for sensitive skin, there are a few ingredients to look for—and a handful to avoid. Keep reading as we dive into the basics of sun protection, when to apply (and reapply) SPF, and the best sunscreen for sensitive skin.Sunscreen 101Before we uncover which facial sunscreen for sensitive skin is best, let’s first go over SPF basics.Types Of Sun RaysAccording to the Skin Cancer Foundation, there are two types of UV light: Ultraviolet A (UVA), which causes aging, and Ultraviolet B (UVB), which causes burning. UVA is sneaky and causes accelerated aging (like fine lines and sun spots), while UVB is the culprit behind sunburns. Protect against both types of rays with a broad-spectrum sunscreen (a sunscreen will proudly list its broad-spectrum coverage on the packaging).Levels Of SPFSPF stands for sun protection factor. The number tells you how long the sun’s UVB rays would take to redden your skin if you apply the sunscreen exactly as directed compared with the amount of time without sunscreen, says the Skin Cancer Foundation. So, if you use SPF 30 products properly, it would take you 30 times longer to burn than if you used no sunscreen. The Foundation suggests aiming for an SPF of at least 30, which deflects 96.7 percent of rays when applied successfully.ApplicationThe AAD suggests applying sunscreen generously and covering your face, neck, ears, lips, and hands. To take your sun protection a step further, borrow a page from Japan where individuals are so diligent about protecting their skin from the sun that they not only conscientiously reapply sunscreen often, but they also often wear sun-protective clothing and carry parasols (known as higasa). UV-treated clothes and oversized sunglasses also make perfect summer-safe accessories.Types of SPFThere are two types of sunscreen: physical and chemical. Let’s dive into both and uncover which is best for sensitive skin.Physical (Mineral) Sunscreen Physical, also known as mineral, sunscreen has ingredients that block and scatter the rays (like a shield) before they penetrate your skin, notes the Skin Cancer Foundation. The formulas often include the minerals titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. It also protects your skin from the sun as soon as it’s applied – you do not need to wait for it to take effect.Chemical SunscreenChemical SPF works by absorbing UV rays (like a sponge) before they can damage the skin, says the Foundation. You’re likely to see ingredients like avobenzone and octisalate in a chemical formula. Additionally, chemical sunscreens need at least 10 to 15 minutes after application to achieve full protection. And it’s ideal to reapply frequently, as protection dwindles under direct UV light.Chemical + Physical Sunscreen For the best of both worlds, some SPFs combine both chemical and physical sunscreen in one product. The dual-coverage formula can allow for greater ease of application, longer-lasting wear, and stronger coverage.What is the best sunscreen for sensitive skin?“While physical sunscreens may be less likely to cause skin irritation than chemical sunscreens, both types have been tested as safe and effective,” says the Skin Cancer Foundation. In fact, many sun protection products available today combine both types of ingredients to provide stronger protection.While we might be quick to feel strongly about chemical versus mineral sunscreens—all active ingredients in sunscreen are chemically derived, notes the Foundation. “Some people may think of physical sunscreens as more natural or even organic, but they’re actually inorganic mineral compounds,” says the Skin Cancer Foundation. The sunscreens many people call “chemical” are actually “UV organic filters,” they add.But particular sunscreens do work better for certain skin types. For sensitive skin, avoid formulas that include added fragrances or dyes, both of which can be potentially irritating. For dry sensitive skin, seek out SPFs with hydrating ingredients, like niacinamide. And for oily or blemish-prone sensitive skin, look for non-comedogenic and lightweight formulas.Best Mineral Sunscreen for Sensitive SkinLooking for a silky, lightweight, invisible sunscreen with 50+ mineral coverage? Grab The Silk Sunscreen, a broad-spectrum formula that protects against UVA and UVB rays with 10 percent zinc oxide for a mineral, reef-safe filter. Not only does the new Silk Sunscreen feel impossibly light, but the invisible protection also impressively minimizes pollutant and allergen disruption—ideal for sensitive skin. And as the name suggests, the formula features silk proteins, which allows the silky liquid to provide a protective veil of hydration without weighing your sensitive skin down. In addition to silk extracts, niacinamide visibly evens skin tone, reduces redness, and visibly firms the look of pores. And hyaluronic acid helps to immediately boost skin’s natural moisture levels, softness, and skin tone. Basically, it makes your skin feel healthier, while also providing incredible sun protection. Best Mineral and Chemical Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin If you prefer a creamy sunscreen with both mineral and chemical protection, our bestselling Silken Pore Perfecting SPF 35 Sunscreen is a superb option. The non-comedogenic and non-irritating formula features skin-loving ingredients that not only protect the skin, but also help tighten the appearance of pores, smooth skin texture, and calm irritation. The Silken Pore SPF also features our beloved silk extract for a silky feel, allowing the sunscreen to apply flawlessly. Also, the formula doubles as a primer for makeup, allowing you to save time and effort.

It seems simple at first. But there’s more to this skincare trend than meets the dermis, which is why you may want to read this guide before you try it for yourself. When it comes to purifying your face, myths and methods abound—and sometimes the beauty industry is complicit in reinventing the playbook to sell you more products. You may have heard that a clean face should be as taut as a snare drum and squeak to the touch. Neither is true. In fact, your face should never feel tight; if it does, it’s a sign that you have stripped away all of its natural and necessary oils.Double cleansing is a popular skincare trend that helps support your skin’s barrier. It’s easy to learn how to double cleanse, and it’s important to learn why we double cleanse. The answer might surprise you, and it will definitely teach you something you didn’t know about your skin.What is a double cleanse?Maybe you’ve seen a double cleanse tutorial on Instagram, or maybe you heard your friend mention it but forgot to follow up. We’ll spell it out: The definition of a double cleanse is to wash your skin twice. Most skincare guides recommend using a single cleanser; a comprehensive one, published in the New York Times’ T Magazine, helps define different varieties of cleansers, from balms to oils.A double cleanse breaks this step into two. The first step is to prepare the skin to be fully cleansed, and usually involves taking off makeup, or surface-level impurities, using a lightweight cleanser. The second step focuses on washing the skin itself, and usually involves a heavier formula that can cleanse and nourish the skin’s deeper layers.Using two cleansers when one is sufficient may seem counterintuitive, or excessive. But imagine a one-step cleansing routine applied to a full face of makeup—how much force would you need to effectively wash off the product and the skin underneath? The American Academy of Dermatology Association advises against “scrubbing” the skin, due to potential irritation, in favor of gentle applications and techniques. A double cleanse may “double” the product, but it makes your overall routine easier, by working twice as hard. What is the origin of double cleansing?Without detailed records of skincare throughout the ages, it’s hard to pin down exactly where double-cleansing originated. But most reports trace the trend back to Asia. In Japan, the Kyoto Cleanse—also known as the Double Cleanse—is the two-step protocol favored by geisha and now throughout the country, and is already part of your ritual if you purify with oil and polish with enzyme powder. Those two steps not only remove surface debris, sunscreen, and makeup, but also unclog pores and prep skin for hydration.The practice has endured, and the term “doubles” is used to describe J-beauty routines involving two cleansers or two moisturizers. Double cleansing as we know it today may have been popularized by Korean beauty videos in the 21st century, according to a recent Vogue story, but it’s widely understood that double cleansing originated among Asian women, before the trend was exported to the Western world via social media. Why should you double cleanse?It’s difficult to think of a reason to not double cleanse. The practice has benefits for all skin types, and can help your skin look and feel better in the long run. It’s more effective. Here’s the easiest answer: Two washes are simply better than one. Most double cleanse routines use different formulas—an oil followed by a balm, or a micellar water followed by a cream. The first product cuts through surface-level impurities; the second product cleanses and conditions the skin. Sure, it’s one more step than a normal routine, but you would be hard pressed to find a single product that cleans better than two. It’s gentler on skin. A longer skincare routine isn’t always a better one, according to a recent report in Allure. But because the double cleanse method prioritizes gentle formulas, it’s a safe bet for sensitive skin types who are wary of irritating products and techniques. It’s just good skincare. The University of Tennessee’s Medical Center says it best: “Daily moisturizing is vital for healthy skin.” It’s not just to make skin look plump, but keeping your skin hydrated means giving it the nutrients it needs to create new proteins and sustain itself over time. While some face washes are known for stripping and squeaky-cleaning, double cleanse routines actually help the skin retain necessary moisture, while ensuring it is effectively and regularly purified. Should you double cleanse once or twice a day?There is no hard and fast rule for how often we should wash our faces, and the answer often depends on a variety of factors, from skin type to skin goals. But a double cleanse is most effective after a period in which our faces have accumulated makeup, sweat, dirt, or grime—in other words, after a long day.A dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic doesn’t use the term “double cleanse,” but recommends completely removing makeup before starting the rest of your routine at night before bed. In other words, if you double cleanse once, make it in the evening.Of course, if you sweat while sleeping, or if you wear a lot of skincare products at night, you may want to start your day with a double cleanse. Proceed with caution. A 2022 British Vogue story quoted dermatologists who recommended only a light cleanser in the morning, and advised against over-washing skin. As always, chat with your dermatologist before setting into a particular skincare routine. Do you need to double cleanse if you don't wear makeup?Since the first step of a double cleanse is meant to wash off makeup, is it necessary if you don’t wear any? You may want to give it a try. Even if you don’t wear makeup, a double cleanse can help your skin feel cleaner than it would after a traditional single cleanse.As some skincare-savvy Reddit users have pointed out, some sunscreens require a little more muscle to effectively wash off—a double cleanse could come in handy to get the job done. All in all, adopt the skincare routine that helps you look and feel your best. What makes for a good double cleanser?There are many formulas that make for a good double cleanse, but one of our favorites is oil. Washing your face with oil sounds counterintuitive, especially if your skin veers toward shiny both in the morning and at the day’s end. But water-based products and foaming cleansers can’t break down the natural sebum our skin produces—or the oils found in your makeup, particularly waterproof mascara and eyeliner. Like dissolves like, which is why oil works. So even your best soapy scrubbing effort at the sink won’t remove makeup residue and stubborn sunscreen if you’re not cleansing with oil. What do you need to double cleanse?We saved the easiest question for last. All you need is two products, two steps, and nothing else.Step 1: Wash off makeupFor this step, you can use any product that dissolves makeup—like a micellar water, or biodegradable face wipe. The double cleanse routines descended from centuries-old Japanese skincare utilized oil-based formulas that could melt even the most stubborn makeup products clean off, so it’s no surprise that most double cleanse devotees advocate an oil cleanser for your first step. It’s wise to choose a product that expressly works on waterproof makeup, like the Camellia Cleansing Oil, which is crafted with tsubaki, or Japanese camellia oil— a featherweight botanical oil prized in Asia for its superb moisturizing activity—or the Indigo Cleansing Balm, which distills skin-soothing indigo into a makeup-melting balm. Remember: Every stitch of makeup should be removed before Step 2. Step 2: Cleanse your skinMany face cleansers promise to deliver ingredients that nourish the skin, but they can’t get there with junk in the way. Your skin has been washed: Now, unobstructed, it is ready to be cleansed. Choose a cleanser that’s matched to your skin type. Drier faces might like a creamier formula, like The Rice Wash, which is made with hyaluronic acid and Okinawa algae that bind water and replenish ceramides. Tatcha’s own double-cleanse protocol, known as the Kyoto Cleanse—named for the geisha beauty routines that inspired it—follows the Camellia Cleansing Oil to removed makeup with The Rice Polish to gently exfoliate. The beauty of double cleansing is that it works for all skin types. How many other skincare fads can make that claim?

There are some certainties in life, and dry skin is one of them. Learn about how dry skin is caused, plus what steps you can take at home to care for it on your own. What is dry skin? According to the Mayo Clinic, a condition known as xeroderma, or more severely as xerosis, occurs when skin lacks moisture in the form of water and oil. The colloquial term for this is dry skin.When skin is hydrated, it’s soft to the touch, and even bouncy in texture, but dry skin is often characterized by rough, scaly, or flaky patches. It could be itchy, or the site of inflammation, and it expresses itself in various ways. But it’s usually easy to distinguish dry skin from hydrated skin by simply looking at it—if you don’t feel it (itching, or burning) already.In most cases, dry skin is totally harmless, if slightly irritating. If left untreated, however, it can facilitate other skin issues. The Cleveland Clinic explains how very dry skin can crack and form sores, which are then susceptible to infection.The vast majority of those who suffer from dry skin are able to clear it up on their own, or with the help of their dermatologist. But knowing you have it will get you nowhere if you don’t know what is causing it. What causes dry skin?The key to understanding how to treat your dry skin is figuring out the engine behind it. Dry skin can be caused by any number of factors, but a few likely ones include: Chemical irritants It happens to all of us: A beauty product doesn’t agree with our skin. Whether it’s a cleansing detergent, or an added fragrance, there are many ingredients that can dry out or further irritate dry skin. This is why, when trying a new product, a patch test is a tried-and-true way to see if it works for you. Pay attention to what works, and take caution against what doesn’t, so you can avoid it down the line. Also be careful when using powerful ingredients like retinol that can exacerbate dryness.Environmental irritantsIt could be the winter weather outside, or your building’s heating inside, or a job that requires frequent exposure to the elements. (By one estimate, 70% of hairstylists suffer from some work-related skin damage, due in part to frequent hand washing and the use of concentrated chemicals.) Be conscious of any lifestyles or habits that may be sapping moisture from your skin.StressA 2020 New York Times story titled “This Is Your Skin On Stress” helped illustrate the connection between our brains and our skin. Dermatologists explained how the deployment of cortisol, the stress hormone, can slow other metabolic processes, including the production of oil, which in turn weakens the skin barrier. In fact, there’s a proportional relationship between chronic stress and transepidermal water loss. While much more difficult to identify than a flaming red rash, stress is an important life factor to consider when assessing your dry skin.AgeIt’s true that skin gets drier with time, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. After age 40, the body’s production of sebum, an oily substance that helps protect and hydrate the skin, sharply declines.EczemaAlso known as atopic dermatitis, eczema describes an inflammatory condition that can produce itchy red, scaly patches of dry skin, rashes, or blisters. As the National Eczema Association notes, doctors aren’t sure what causes eczema, though it’s generally understood to be the result of “an interaction between a person’s environment and their genes.” If your dry skin is related to eczema, it may be caused by inflammation within the body, and require a different treatment than regular moisturizer.Contact dermatitisContact dermatitis is closely related to eczema, only it’s caused by a particular substance. Irritant contact dermatitis is the most common variety—instead of just drying out the skin, an inflammatory reaction occurs. Contact dermatitis could be caused by an allergy to an ingredient or material, such as a metal. Like eczema, contact dermatitis is slightly more serious than simple dry skin, and may require the use of medication or therapy to quell.Ingredients that help with dry skinThe most popular course of treatment for dry skin involves the use of topical products. There are plenty of different ingredients commonly found in skincare that have proven hydration and moisturization properties. Your best defense against dry skin is somewhere on this list.HumectantsHumectants like hyaluronic acid or glycerin are a class of ingredient known for hydration. As a chemist explained to Good Housekeeping, humectants draw moisture into the skin’s top layer from the outside environment as well as from deeper within the dermis. For this reason, they’re popular in moisturizing skin products. (They are less popular in hair formulas, where their talent for sucking moisture out of the air can cause frizz.)LipidsIf skin cells are the bricks that assemble the outermost layer of skin, lipids are the mortar that binds them together, according to an article in Chemistry and Physics of Lipids. These hydrophobic fats help the skin retain water, as well as regulate what can (and cannot) pass through the dermis. Ceramides, a type of lipid naturally found in the skin, are common ingredients in products that promise hydration. If you suffer from dry skin, it’s likely you’re already using ceramides or other lipid-rich products to relieve it. EmollientsSimply put, emollients lay it on thick. A thin layer of an emollient, like petroleum jelly or shea butter, can help retain moisture—and make skin feel soothed and smoothed. Emollient-rich products are usually heavy-duty moisturizers, and are particularly useful at night (as in the skincare practice known as slugging) or in colder climates (as in winter, or on a ski trip).WaterThis one may be a little obvious to you. If it isn’t, you can simply read any beauty interview with a working model or actor, whose first piece of advice tends to be: Just drink water. An article from the University of Arkansas for Medical Science dispels the myth that just drinking water is enough to treat dry skin. Topical products are usually necessary so it’s unlikely that your skin will improve if the rest of your body is dehydrated. The recommended daily amount of water for adults falls between 70 and 100 ounces. Drink up! Skincare products for dry skinThere is no shortage of products available to help dry skin. What you may use depends on what your current routine is lacking. Is your moisturizer heavy enough to get the job done? Are any of the ingredients above missing from your medicine cabinet? Consider your skincare situation, your skin goals, and then read on. Easy cleansLots of people love that squeaky clean feeling, but for those with dry skin, it’s a not-so-slippery slope to redness, scaly patches, and inflammation. Cleansers with richer consistencies, like oils or creams, are instead commonly recommended for dry skin types. Avoid the foams and gels, which are generally better suited to oilier skin. Mist connectionsA frequent pain point of those with dry skin is how often it feels tight, requiring another application of soothing skincare. Of course, you can’t tote all of your creams and lotions around with you all day, which is why face mists are a popular product choice. Look for a mist that’s made with hydrating ingredients, like Tatcha’s humectant-rich Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. A few spritzes are all you need to rehydrate. (Even over makeup.) Super serumsThe lightweight treatment products we apply between our cleansers and moisturizers may be formulated to hydrate skin, but aren’t as heavy as occlusive dry skin creams. Tatcha’s Dewy Serum packages moisture-sealing squalane, along with other natural hydrators, in a lightweight watery gel, while the brand’s Serum Stick makes it easy to treat dry spots on the face and body. If you feel your routine doesn’t need an overhaul, but could be more hydrating than it is, a serum may be a good place to start. Dream creamsThere’s nothing better for dry skin than a good cream. If you suffer from dryness, your chosen moisturizer might be the most important part of your skincare routine. Their thick consistency allows formulators to load them up with hydrating ingredients, allowing some products, like Tatcha’s Dewy Skin Cream, to treat dry skin with multiple mechanisms; emollient squalane, humectant glycerin, lipid-loving algae extract. With tools like these—and the knowledge of how to use them—dry skin doesn’t stand a chance.

You may not think so, but your choice of bedding does have something to do with your beauty routine. Learn how good choices in bed can lead to happier, healthier skin and hair. There are billions of people living on Earth, and billions of different ways they fall asleep at night. But most pre-bedtime routines hew to a similar pattern: We read a book, we plug in our necessary devices, we power down our lights, and we drift off into dreamland. When we do, our bodies, like our phones or computers nearby, recharge for the coming day. According to the Sleep Foundation, our bodies enter a period of intense recovery as our minds traverse the peaks and valleys of our slumber cycles. You already know this, of course, any time you’ve woken up after a good eight hours. It’s a change you can see in the mirror, because not only is sleep crucial to maintaining inner health, but it also helps us look better, too. “Think of sleep as food and water for your skin,” a dermatologist told Elle magazine. Disrupt your sleep rhythms, and “you’re more susceptible to environmental damage.” In other words, regular sleep helps shore up your skin cells against pollutants that may harm them, and lack of sleep puts you at greater risk for inflammation-related skin concerns like acne.So will you wake up with a zit for every hour of sleep lost? Not exactly. But there is truth to the term “beauty sleep.” And with some strategic planning, and even some strategic shopping, you can get the most out of your nightly recovery. Sleep for Hair and SkinThe key to understanding how sleep helps skin is understanding how sleep functions. When we fall asleep overnight — as opposed to napping midday, or dozing off on a plane — our bodies experience REM, or rapid eye movement. During REM, our heartbeats quicken, and we sometimes dream — a person may cycle between REM stages four to five times a night. But it’s the time not spent in REM that is crucial for skin health. Within these other stages, which include light sleep and deep sleep, our body releases important regenerative agents, like cytokines, that help quiet inflammation and repair inflammatory damage, according to NBC News. (If you’re prone to facial redness but find yourself waking up every morning with clear skin, this might be why.) Growth hormones are also released that are crucial for encouraging cell reproduction in the skin. A recent story in Women’s Health suggests that the first third of our nightly eight-or-so hours is the most important for this function of sleep. It should be no surprise that these cellular benefits extend to hair as well. Just like skin, hair follicles are regenerated at night as the sleeping body sends its recovery into overdrive. A lack of sleep can — and undoubtedly will — lead to increased bodily stress, which can manifest as hair thinning or hair loss. Sticking to a regular sleeping schedule is one proven way to help manage stress.How to Get Good Beauty SleepManaging your “sleep hygiene,” or forming good and consistent sleep habits, can help you get the most out of your overnight recovery. There are a few steps you can take to ensure better sleep hygiene.Lights out. And we mean all of them. Since the dawn of human civilization, our days have begun in the morning, because light helps wake our brains and get us moving — two things that we don’t want when we’re trying to wind down. The CDC’s official recommendation is to sleep in a dark room, which is rather intuitive advice; they also recommend banishing electronics, like laptops or smartphones, from the bedroom entirely. The light emitted from these devices can make our brains think it’s still daylight, and keep us running well into sleeping hours. Eat well before bedtime. It may seem like there’s nothing more restorative than a good midnight snack, but the truth is trickier. Eat too late and go to bed full, and your body’s digestive system might keep you up; eat too early and go to bed hungry, and your sleep might suffer. The Cleveland Clinic recommends ending your last meal about three hours before bedtime. If you’re in need of a snack, they recommend something light but protein-heavy — such as a bowl of Greek yogurt, or apple slices and a scoop of peanut butter. Consistency is key. This might be the best sleeping advice of all. Just like any other routine you keep, it’s important to stick to more or less the same schedule, according to Harvard Health Publishing. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, try sticking to the same 30-minute bedtime and wake-up windows for a week, and see how much better you sleep. Soft pillowcases and sheets. It’s not exactly scientific, but a bit of practical good thinking: If you like the bedding you sleep on, you’re more likely to want to go to sleep. Investing in soft, comfortable sheets might help you hit the hay sooner — and stay there longer. Also, some pillowcases can be more beneficial for your hair and skin than others, which is something to keep in mind if you’re hoping to upgrade your beauty routine and your sleep routine in a single trip to the store. Which pillowcases are the best for hair and skin?The softer a pillowcase, the better it is for you. Of course, most pillowcases could be described as soft. But different fabrics can actually have an impact on the quality of your hair and skin. Some fabrics, like cotton, absorb moisture, but softer textiles, like silk or even satin, will help your skin and hair stay moisturized all night. (Because of this, soft pillowcases may help your overnight treatments work even better.) Women with Afro-textured hair often wear silk wraps or bonnets to sleep because the fabric helps hair retain hydration. More abrasive fabrics, even if they’re soft to the touch, can cause breakage.Silk or satin may also make some of the best pillowcases for wrinkles. Tougher fabrics may tug on skin as you toss and turn in the night. But when you sleep on silk, skin simply glides. If you’re a fitful sleeper, you may want to consider a silk pillowcase. And you can rest easier knowing that your skin and hair are protected all night long. What’s the Best Pillowcase for My Hair and Skin? There are billions of people living on Earth, and billions of different ways they fall asleep at night. But most pre-bedtime routines hew to a similar pattern: We read a book, we plug in our necessary devices, we power down our lights, and we drift off into dreamland. When we do, our bodies, like our phones or computers nearby, recharge for the coming day. According to the Sleep Foundation, our bodies enter a period of intense recovery as our minds traverse the peaks and valleys of our slumber cycles. You already know this, of course, any time you’ve woken up after a good eight hours. It’s a change you can see in the mirror, because not only is sleep crucial to maintaining inner health, but it also helps us look better, too. “Think of sleep as food and water for your skin,” a dermatologist told Elle magazine. Disrupt your sleep rhythms, and “you’re more susceptible to environmental damage.” In other words, regular sleep helps shore up your skin cells against pollutants that may harm them, and lack of sleep puts you at greater risk for inflammation-related skin concerns like acne.So will you wake up with a zit for every hour of sleep lost? Not exactly. But there is truth to the term “beauty sleep.” And with some strategic planning, and even some strategic shopping, you can get the most out of your nightly recovery. Sleep for Hair and SkinThe key to understanding how sleep helps skin is understanding how sleep functions. When we fall asleep overnight—as opposed to napping midday, or dozing off on a plane—our bodies experience REM, or rapid eye movement. During REM, our heartbeats quicken, and we sometimes dream — a person may cycle between REM stages four to five times a night. But it’s the time not spent in REM that is crucial for skin health. Within these other stages, which include light sleep and deep sleep, our body releases important regenerative agents, like cytokines, that help quiet inflammation and repair inflammatory damage, according to NBC News. (If you’re prone to facial redness but find yourself waking up every morning with clear skin, this might be why.) Growth hormones are also released that are crucial for encouraging cell reproduction in the skin. A recent story in Women’s Health suggests that the first third of our nightly eight-or-so hours is the most important for this function of sleep. It should be no surprise that these cellular benefits extend to hair as well. Just like skin, hair follicles are regenerated at night as the sleeping body sends its recovery into overdrive. A lack of sleep can—and undoubtedly will—lead to increased bodily stress, which can manifest as hair thinning or hair loss. Sticking to a regular sleeping schedule is one proven way to help manage stress.How to Get Good Beauty SleepManaging your “sleep hygiene,” or forming good and consistent sleep habits, can help you get the most out of your overnight recovery. There are a few steps you can take to ensure better sleep hygiene.Lights out. And we mean all of them. Since the dawn of human civilization, our days have begun in the morning, because light helps wake our brains and get us moving—two things that we don’t want when we’re trying to wind down. The CDC’s official recommendation is to sleep in a dark room, which is rather intuitive advice; they also recommend banishing electronics, like laptops or smartphones, from the bedroom entirely. The light emitted from these devices can make our brains think it’s still daylight, and keep us running well into sleeping hours. Eat well before bedtime. It may seem like there’s nothing more restorative than a good midnight snack, but the truth is trickier. Eat too late and go to bed full, and your body’s digestive system might keep you up; eat too early and go to bed hungry, and your sleep might suffer. The Cleveland Clinic recommends ending your last meal about three hours before bedtime. If you’re in need of a snack, they recommend something light but protein-heavy—such as a bowl of Greek yogurt, or apple slices and a scoop of peanut butter. Consistency is key. This might be the best sleeping advice of all. Just like any other routine you keep, it’s important to stick to more or less the same schedule, according to Harvard Health Publishing. If you’re having difficulty sleeping, try sticking to the same 30-minute bedtime and wake-up windows for a week, and see how much better you sleep. Soft pillowcases and sheets. It’s not exactly scientific, but a bit of practical good thinking: If you like the bedding you sleep on, you’re more likely to want to go to sleep. Investing in soft, comfortable sheets might help you hit the hay sooner—and stay there longer. Also, some pillowcases can be more beneficial for your hair and skin than others, which is something to keep in mind if you’re hoping to upgrade your beauty routine and your sleep routine in a single trip to the store. Which pillowcases are the best for hair and skin?The softer a pillowcase, the better it is for you. Of course, most pillowcases could be described as soft. But different fabrics can actually have an impact on the quality of your hair and skin. Some fabrics, like cotton, absorb moisture, but softer textiles, like silk or even satin, will help your skin and hair stay moisturized all night. (Because of this, soft pillowcases may help your overnight treatments work even better.) Women with Afro-textured hair often wear silk wraps or bonnets to sleep because the fabric helps hair retain hydration. More abrasive fabrics, even if they’re soft to the touch, can cause breakage.Silk or satin may also make some of the best pillowcases for wrinkles. Tougher fabrics may tug on skin as you toss and turn in the night. But when you sleep on silk, skin simply glides. If you’re a fitful sleeper, you may want to consider a silk pillowcase, like Tatcha x Slip’s Pure Silk Pillowcase. And you can rest easier knowing that your skin and hair are protected all night long.

The bad news is: Skin naturally ages, and it cannot be stopped. The good news is: It’s happening to everyone! And it’s not difficult to care for—all you need is the right tips and tools. Every human face is a gorgeously unique thing, but its skin type can probably be classified in one of only a few ways—dry, oily, combination. But there’s another skin type that all faces have in common: Aging skin.If you have aging skin, congratulations! You are a healthy, living human being. Aging is simply a part of life. Some experts say that aging skin begins to reveal itself in a person’s late 20s. Short of plastic surgery, there is little that can be done to reverse the process. It’s easier, and less expensive, to simply embrace aging skin as one of the many textures of one’s life, a fabric that reveals its beauty over time.In Japan, age is viewed as a gift, garnering respect and even status; such a position is something to look forward to, instead of dreading. But like any skin type, it’s important to understand the specific needs of aging skin. What is aging skin?The natural aging process is aggravated by various factors, but what happens on a microscopic level remains the same throughout all parts of the body. Because uncontrolled cell reproduction can be dangerous, our chromosomes are outfitted with sequences called “telomeres” that shorten over time. When a telomere disappears, its associated cell reaches the end of its line, and ceases to reproduce.A few behaviors and metabolic processes can accelerate this process in the skin, according to an article in Experimental Dermatology. The process becomes visible when collagen and elastin proteins begin to decrease in number, resulting in a gradual loss of structural and functional integrity—skin-slackening, wrinkles, dryness, hyperpigmentation are all attendant signs of aging skin. Types of Aging Skin An article in the journal Cell Transplantation distinguishes between two types of aging in the skin: Extrinsic aging and intrinsic aging.Extrinsic aging occurs due to the environment around us. Skin, the body’s largest organ, is also the organ most exposed to the outside world—a fact which also describes skin’s primary function as a barrier. Our skin is quite thin, ranging from less than half a millimeter in some places (like on the eyelids) and thicker in others, like on our palms and heels. According to one study, skin thickness varies according to factors like pigmentation (darker skin can be thicker) and gender (women's skin is marginally more delicate than men’s). Extrinsic aging can be caused by gravity, ultraviolet rays, or pollutants that cause oxidative reactions in skin cells.Intrinsic aging occurs due to metabolic reactions within our body. If extrinsic factors caused aging alone, the skin we cover with clothing would age more slowly than the skin left uncovered. There’s no complicated description of what happens here: As we get older, our bodies become less adept at repairing themselves, and structural proteins like collagen that are naturally lost can’t be replenished as quickly. Sometimes, free radicals within the body can cause additional damage. A good antioxidant defense can help against this type of intrinsic aging, but we’ll get to that in a moment. Signs of Aging SkinIndeed, all skin is aging skin. But age can be a distinct cause of more than a few different skin issues.Fine lines and wrinkles: According to the Cleveland Clinic, fine lines appear first and become wrinkles as we age. Fine lines and wrinkles happen to all of us, often from actions like smiling that show we are embracing the joys of life, but they can be accelerated or aggravated by extrinsic factors like repeated contractions (like crow’s feet around the eyes, which appear where we squint) or intrinsic factors like aging. It’s not possible to iron back out a wrinkle or fine line once its formed, but products that boost cell turnover—a retinol or retinol alternative, like Tatcha’s Silk Serum that is clinically proven to show improvement in the look of fine lines and wrinkles—can help. Slackening and loss of elasticity: If you notice your skin hangs a little more than it used to, or you wake up in the morning with a face full of pillow marks, your skin may be less taut than it once was, which is a natural symptom of aging skin.Dryness: We become less hydrated as we age. This occurs throughout the body, including in our largest organ. Dehydration in the skin can cause many problems, from acne to scaly texture. Moisture restoring products, like essences or moisturizers, can help your skin hold on to hydration.Hyperpigmentation: Certainly you’ve heard of age spots, which are the same as sun spots—a darkening of the skin due to sun exposure that can become more serious as we get older. Though they are more likely to appear in those of advanced age, they are caused by ultraviolet rays. Whether it’s chemical or physical, it’s critical to wear sunscreen every day, no matter your age. Skincare for Aging Skin Aging skin comes with its own unique set of needs. But caring for aging skin shouldn’t require a total routine overhaul—just a few special considerations. Hydration is key. The first step is facing the fact that your skin doesn’t hold on to moisture as well as it once did. Make sure you use a moisturizer or serum that incorporates water-binding ingredients called humectants, like hyaluronic acid. Take care of your collagen. Collagen production takes a hit as we get older, so ingredients that facilitate collagen production—like retinol or its alternatives—help keep skin structure intact. Sunscreen, always. Once you can see sun damage, it’s usually there to stay. Avoid it entirely by adopting strict usage. A formula’s sun protection factor, or SPF, indicates its sun safety. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends sunscreens that start at SPF 15, while SPF 50 provides some of the best protection on the market. It’s not difficult to find products that achieve more than one of these goals at the same time. Tatcha’s Silk Sunscreen, for example, is SPF 50 and made with hyaluronic acid. The Ageless Revitalizing Eye Cream is also made with super-hydrating hyaluronic acid, as well as Tatcha’s proprietary skin-nourishing trio of superfoods, Hadasei-3™. A multitasking product can help simplify your skincare regimen. Remember that aging is a gift, which means wrinkles and dryness are, too. Take a moment to cherish it. Then, give your skin the care it deserves.

There are few things more enjoyable than attending a wedding, and few things more stressful than planning them. A timeline of wedding skincare preparations can help stoke your glow ahead of time. A lesson we’ve learned from our time in Japan is that the process of preparing for momentous occasions—such as a wedding—should be valued just as highly as the celebration itself. To help you pave a beautiful path to the next big moment in your life, we’re sharing our tips to reveal a glowing complexion in time for your big day.There are three kinds of people at every wedding: Those actually getting married, those gathered together to observe or facilitate that marriage, and photographers. Knowing this, it’s natural—even practical—for those in attendance to want to look their best. But unlike a lipstick color, good skincare isn’t a choice that can be left until the day of the ceremony. And none of the people at a wedding are exempt from this choice—except maybe photographers.Good news: Pre-wedding skincare is not difficult. All it requires is a little planning, depending on who you are. Wedding Skincare For Brides, Grooms, And Nearly WedsEverybody wants to look their best on at their own wedding. It’s also worth considering the fact that, unless you are a professional model or world-famous celebrity, your wedding day will probably be the most photographed event of your lifetime. Think of the pictures. Then let’s talk about your skin. In this specific context, proper skincare should be viewed as more than basic human vanity, but a part of an overall balanced wedding preparation. And a surprisingly easy part, too! You can plan, schedule, and begin your pre-wedding skincare routine by the time you finish reading this section. Let’s begin with the hardest part. After this, it’s smooth-skin sailing.1. Schedule your facials. Some wedding guides only recommend getting a facial anywhere between one month to 48 hours before the day of the wedding, which certainly isn’t likely to cause problems, and may even make you look better on the day itself. But it may be wiser to start planning out your facials six months in advance, and planning for multiple treatments. (At least three, no more than six, as skin takes about a month to renew itself.) There are all sorts of treatments that can provide wedding-day skincare benefits, from lifting skin to improving tone, but they vary by skin type, and you won’t know which one is right for you until you find someone who does. 2. Add retinol to your routine. Retinols and retinol alternatives are some of your skincare best friends when devising your wedding skincare routine. Retinols help skin repair and restore itself. If you aren’t already using one, it might be a wise idea to start now. Find something that you like enough to use frequently and that won’t be too harsh on your face. Tatcha’s Silk Serum is a retinol alternative made with a blend of natural ingredients rich in amino acids, and it’s gentle enough to use twice daily. Just don’t forget sunscreen in the morning! 3. No more new skincare products. There are some skincare products, like retinol, that will help your skin look and feel better continually over time. With formulas like this, you may want to proceed with caution. Some dermatologists estimate that it takes between three and four months to fully gauge the effectiveness of one’s own applications. In theory, you could change things up pre-wedding, but the risk may outweigh the reward. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, consistency is one of the best ingredients for good skin. You’ll have all sorts of time to try new masks and serums on your honeymoon.Wedding Skincare TimelineUse this timeline of wedding skincare preparations to ensure you wake up glowing on the day itself. 6 Months Before The WeddingSee your dermatologist. If you see a dermatologist—and if you care about your skin, you absolutely should—it’s a good idea to let them know you’re getting serious about your wedding skincare. Together you can discuss your product regimen, as well as any current skin issues. Your dermatologist’s feedback will be very important in how you devise your plan of action.Start your facials. A guide in Refinery29 suggests that your friends have the best aesthetician recommendations, but a look at a local newspaper or magazine can help point you in the right direction. Your initial treatments will probably be focused on skin maintenance, cleansing, and hydration. Don’t worry yet about special treatments—those will come! 3 Months Before The WeddingAdd a peel to your treatments. Now that you and your facialist have a good working rhythm—maybe after two sessions together—you may want to inquire about a targeted treatment, like a peel, that can help renew your skin more dramatically.See your dermatologist again. After a few months of facials, your dermatologist can help audit your skincare progress. Stop trying new skincare. We said it before, but it’s worth saying again: No new skincare. All it takes is one potentially irritating product to cause new skin issues to crop up—something you simply do not have time for. 1 Month Before The WeddingLet some light and/or air in. Peels and lasers are over! For your last facial treatments, ask your aesthetician about calming treatments, like LED therapy, that can help lower skincare inflammation and even reduce redness. Oxygentating treatments, in which oxygen is supplied directly to the skin, are also known for making skin look instantly camera-ready.Start sculpting. Microcurrent treatments, which can be performed by your local aesthetician or facialist, use electromagnetic currents to almost imperceptibly work out the muscles of your face. (It kind of tickles!) The lifting effects of microcurrent are beloved by brides-to-be, and since there’s no downtime, this sort of treatment can be done a week or days before your wedding.Ditch retinol a night or two before your wedding. It’s work has been done, and may want to discontinue using any product that could potentially make your skin more sensitive. Stick to your simplest skincare routines—you’re almost there! Day-Of Skincare KitThe last thing you’re going to want to think about on your wedding day is your skin, which is why you’ve done all of the planning months in advance. If you want to make sure you’re covered, ask a guest or member of the wedding party to stash a few extra things on their person, just in case. Let’s take a brief walk down the skincare aisle.1. A glowy skincare set. As a bridal party gift, or for the beauty-loving bride, here two wedding day skincare sets. The Clarifying Starter Ritual treats pores and oily skin, while the Dewy Starter Ritual provides all-over moisture. 2. Under eye cream. Wedding celebrations can mean late nights and early mornings. To counteract eye puffiness—and as a base for the eye makeup that is to be loaded on afterwards—it’s useful to have a good under eye cream on hand. Something like the Luminous Deep Hydrating Firming Eye Serum is a perfect choice for its combination of ingredients like puffiness-reducing caffeine and light-reflecting 24-karat gold. 3. Face mist. The Luminous Dewy Skin Mist is designed to hydrate skin and refresh makeup with just a few spritzes. Stash one in your bag for touch-ups between the ceremony and photos, or cocktails and speeches. (The 12 mL size can fit in the littlest of clutches, too!) 4. Blotting papers. For centuries in Japan, geishas have used abaca papers to wick oil from their skin without disturbing their makeup or dehydrating their skin. This paper inspired Tatcha’s Aburatorigami blotting papers, which can do for 21st century brides what they did for geisha. Whenever you see a photographer approaching, grab a sheet for a quick blot. And don’t forget to smile.

Sleep is good for our body and mind, but it could also be aging your skin without you knowing. Read on to see if you might be suffering from “sleep wrinkles”—and find out how to banish them. It’s highly possible, if you’re reading this, that you already have a nighttime beauty routine. Maybe it starts with a thorough cleanse, and involves a treatment serum, like a retinol or vitamin C—something that improves your skin throughout the night so you wake up fresh and glowy. But have you considered the elements of your evening regimen beyond the products you use?Experts from dermatologists to beauty editors recognize the importance of overnight skincare. When we sleep, our bodies enter a state of repair. While our skin naturally rebuilds and restores itself, there are choices we can make that will help maximize this time. And there are some skin issues that can be remedied by making simple changes to one’s sleeping routine.Sleep wrinkles are a great example. There are choices you could make today that may help you prevent sleep wrinkles in the future. Here’s how. What Are Wrinkles, Really?At the microscopic level, the human skin system is a dazzling mosaic of barrier cells. You can imagine the contents as mostly collagen, the body’s main structural protein, along with elastin, other proteins that help give skin its bouncy quality. Natural processes like aging or oxidative stress cause these proteins to break down throughout our lives, changing the structure of the skin and causing wrinkles, among other things. In contrast to other skin issues, wrinkles are totally harmless—they are the evidence of a life well lived, and their appearance is rarely, if ever, an indication of poor skin health. Still, wrinkles are often the target of our skincare attention. While wrinkles can be minimized, or their appearance improved on, they cannot be ironed away. Once they form, they are yours forever. This is why the best treatment for wrinkles involves prevention. Dermatologists at the Cleveland Clinic, for example, recommend a variety of courses for improving upon wrinkles, from active topical products to injectables to surgery. But there are also much simpler, less invasive prevention measures you can take at home, especially when it comes to sleep wrinkles. How Sleep Wrinkles Form Wrinkles are an inevitability, forming as we age due to the breakdown of collagen and elastin proteins in the skin. Wrinkles also form in response to physical stress, like rubbing and tugging skin on the face, “not at all dissimilar to repeatedly folding and unfolding a piece of paper until it is permanently scored” the plastic surgeon Gerald Imber wrote. Sleep wrinkles, then, are usually caused by the way skin on the face folds when you’re asleep—smushed up against the surface of a pillow, for example. An article in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal termed this “facial distortion.” Unlike wrinkles caused by aging, sleep wrinkles and lines are caused by external forces—how you place your face on your pillow at night—and tend to appear near the retaining ligaments of the face, along the outer cheeks, eyes, and forehead. Repeatedly sleeping in the same position, like folding a piece of paper along the same line every night, may cause wrinkles to deepen over time. But as easy as it is to become aware of sleep wrinkle-forming habits, it’s just as easy to start taking steps to avoid them.How to Prevent Sleep WrinklesThere are many ways to prevent sleep wrinkles from forming. Some approaches are much simpler than others, but all can be effective if performed consistently.1. Sleep on your back. Changing one’s sleeping position can greatly help prevent the formation of sleep wrinkles. If you don’t sleep on your face, you avoid the problem entirely. However, a story in Harper’s Bazaar points out that those with sleep apnea, back pain, or who are pregnant, are advised against sleeping on their backs. If this is you, worry not; there are other ways you can prevent sleep wrinkles. 2. Switch to softer sheets. Fabrics like cotton and linen might feel soft to the touch, but they can also draw moisture from the skin, and pull or tug on your face as you toss and turn in the night. For this reason, silk pillowcases are often recommended as anti-sleep wrinkle bedding—they’re proven to reduce skin friction while you sleep. 3. Consider wrinkle-treating injectables. The ubiquity of Botox injections and dermal fillers cannot be denied. And while lots of people opt for injectable solutions to immediate problems—from thin lips to TMJ—they can also be useful preventatives. Anybody familiar with the “freezing” effects of Botox understands how inhibited facial movement means fewer facial distortions, or “folds of the paper.” Dermal fillers, which aim to plump the skin, can also help lines from deepening if they are strategically placed. (Before you consider any facial injections, it’s a good idea to chat with your dermatologist first.)4. Use active skincare. Many skin products can help manage and even prevent sleep wrinkles in the long run. Try a chemical exfoliant made with alpha or beta hydroxy acids, like Tatcha’s The Texture Tonic, which can help minimize the appearance of sleep wrinkles. Another recommendation is a retinol or a retinol alternative, which feeds skin the building blocks of collagen.5. Use hydrating skincare. Creamy, moisturizing textures can help plump the skin and make it that much more challenging for wrinkles to develop. Tatcha’s The Silk Serum showed an improvement in the look of lines and wrinkles in 85% of users, according to a clinical study. That might help you sleep better—and smoother—at night.

It seems unlikely that that the fabric you sleep on can have an affect on how your hair looks and feels. And yet silk isn’t known as the most beautiful fabric in the world for nothing. The Many Benefits of Silk Pillowcases How do you sleep at night? It’s a question that has more to do with your beauty routine than you might think. Even beyond the idea of “beauty sleep,” the National Institutes of Health posit that skin cell regeneration peaks during slumber, and a good eight hours is sure to show on your face. But it’s not just what happens beneath the skin that matters. Skin can dehydrate more quickly while you’re sleeping, which is why a good night cream is essential. And it might be wise to reevaluate your bedsheets, too. Have you heard of the benefits of silk pillowcases? Switching to a silk pillowcase is a small change that can lead to lasting benefits for skin and hair. Read on to learn more. Why use a silk pillowcase? Silk is a natural fiber woven from the cocoons of domesticated silkworms. (An amazing statistic from George Washington University: About 1,000 yards of fiber can be pulled from a single cocoon.) The fabric also known as silk is woven together from these fibers on a loom. It’s superlatively smooth, almost liquid, and usually gleams in the light. We all know silk; We all love silk, in different areas of our lives. Some people wear silk blouses and others prefer silk ties. The idea of silk bed sheets may sound like an overly decadent concept, but there’s no textile that feels better to sleep on. And that feeling can translate to skin and hair health. Opting for a silk pillowcase, as opposed to a full sheet set, is an easy way to capture the benefits of sleeping on silk. And speaking of those: What are the benefits of using a silk pillowcase? For minimizing wrinkles: The benefits of a silk pillowcase cannot be overstated, but chief among them is their gentleness on skin. There is almost no friction against the face when sleeping on silk, unlike other fabrics that alternatively tug and wrinkle skin. Have you ever woken up from a particularly good night of sleep with red marks on your face from fabric bunches? A silk pillowcase would simply never. Aestheticians and dermatologists both agree that silk considerations can help prevent wrinkle formation in the long run. Another recommendation: A silk sleeping mask, which can gently protect the delicate skin around the eyes. For boosting your skin barrier: It sounds slightly outrageous to claim a pillowcase can make your skin healthier in the long run, but there’s a scientific basis to this silk benefit. Silk doesn’t absorb as much moisture as other fabrics we sleep on, so it’s ideal for helping skin retain necessary moisture overnight. Keeping hydrated supports your skin barrier’s function, which in turn can help protect against acne and inflammation related to dry skin. (If you’re prone to sweating at night, silk can also keep you cooler, which may help acne from proliferating.) For smoothing hair: The silk pillowcase hair benefits are some of the best of all. There is simply no fabric that is gentler on hair of all types. Many fabrics can cause hair breakage, or are generally incompatible with keeping hair smooth (hello, bed head!). Silk, by contrast, is much kinder. It’s especially great for coarse-textured or color-treated hair that often needs more moisture than other hair types, but any head of hair is sure to look silkier, literally, the morning after a night on a silk pillowcase. Women with afro-textured hair have used silk to protect their strands for decades. (Some have even claimed that a good silk pillowcase can extend a blowout’s life cycle.) What is “good silk”? How do you know that you have good quality silk? Mulberry silk is one of the best silks on the contemporary market. If a pillowcase you’re eyeing is 100% mulberry silk, it’s probably a safe buy. But there are other metrics for silk that can be found right on the product packaging. There’s a grade system from A to C, with A being the best quality. Each letter also breaks down into number codes. (2A is considered better than 6A, for example.) There’s also momme, pronounced “mommy”, which is a unit that denotes the weight of a particular silk. (One momme is nearly 4.5 grams.) Some silk experts say the higher the momme, the higher quality the silk, but a good range for a pillowcase or sheet set might be between 10 and 25 momme. By contrast, raw, unfinished silk might clock in at around 35 momme or up. Are there really benefits of using a silk pillowcase? Switching to a silk pillowcase alone will probably not overhaul your beauty routine. But they are a great supplement to your existing regimen, by helping skin and hair retain essential moisture while you sleep. Silk’s superlatively soft qualities can also reduce the appearance of breakouts and the formation of wrinkles. Dermatologists seem to agree that sleeping on silk can be better for skin than other fabrics. As one dermatologist told the New York Times in 2020, “The bottom line is, any product that helps reduce the strain on the skin is beneficial.” Experts are more unanimous in their praise of silk pillowcase hair benefits. There is an undeniable link between silk and hydrated, healthy hair. In Japanese culture, there has always been a link between the fabric and healthy skin. An old saying in Kyoto regarding apprentice geishas goes: “If you look closely at a maiko’s skin, it is made of pure silk.” Inspired by this connection, Tatcha offers a set of 100% pure silk face cloths that both nourishes and gently polishes skin during your usual cleanse. Personal care is cumulative. It’s not one or two choices that will make a major difference, but the sum of small gestures. And the best part of using a silk pillowcase? All you have to do is fall asleep. *Based on a study (clinical grading and consumer perception) of over 100 women aged 35-65, who were regular users of cotton or synthetic (non-silk) satin pillowcases. Clinical grading showed statistically significant improvement. Individual results may vary.