Sun, pollution, acne and so many other factors attack and alter your skin on a daily basis. It is therefore essential for her to protect herself from it to compensate for the various traumas she may have suffered. THE SKIN AN ACTIVE ORGAN The main role of the skin is to protect our entire body from external aggressions every day. By acting as a shield thanks to its various protective barriers, it protects us from the various pathogenic microorganisms related to our environment but also from wind, sun or pollution for example. Unfortunately, all this impacts and damages your skin. In addition, some dermatitis such as acne or hyperpigmentation spots also have a role to play in the daily alteration of your skin.

Thus, even if we do not see it with the naked eye, it continually undergoes a multitude of aggressions. To cope with it, it has the duty to regenerate and repair itself every day in order to maintain its original integrity and maximum protective effectiveness.

WHEN IS THE SKIN MOST ACTIVE?

During the day, the skin's role is to fight and protect us from all these various aggressions. At night, contrary to what many think, it is not at rest, on the contrary, it is doubly or even triply more active than during the day. This is due to the fact that during the night our skin is safe from these aggressions, so it benefits from a certain tranquility that allows it to set up its various regeneration mechanisms. Thanks to this, she will be able to attack again for the next day. We now know that it would regenerate on average between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. and that it would be maximum around one o'clock.

HOW DOES THE SKIN REGENERATE?

To understand, regeneration refers to all the repair phenomena that the skin uses to regain its integrity. It takes place every day and will allow the skin to rebuild itself in the face of the various disturbances it may have suffered during the day. It is to be distinguished from healing which takes place only in case of injuries or lesions.

Several mechanisms are involved in the regeneration and repair of the skin. For example, for the dermal layer, fibroblasts synthesize daily elastic and collagen fibers to ensure the skin's firmness and elasticity.

Regarding the epidermal layer, its renewal is done thanks to keratinocyte cells. It all starts with the skin stem cells located at the boundary between the dermal and epidermal layer. Some of these stem cells will divide in order to be distributed over this entire layer until they reach the surface of the skin to become keratinocytes.  New and mature, they will be able to fully protect your skin.  Once altered, they will be eliminated to make way for new synthesized cells, this is more commonly called desquamation.

The other part of stem cells also has an indispensable role because by remaining continuously in their place, they will be able to ensure the permanent renewal of keratinocytes.  This renewal is done on average in 28 days and it is the main mechanism of skin regeneration.

To do this, the skin activates more significantly and always at night, the blood circulation of its micro-vessels in order to increase the nutrient intake of each of these cells.

In addition, it is assumed that the renewal of the skin flora would also be at its maximum in the evening. It is important for the skin to replenish its good bacteria and fungi because they have a real protective role for it. They will protect it from potential viruses, bacteria and pathogenic fungi related to our environment but also from pollution, the sun or tobacco thanks to their anti-oxidative role. 

HOW DO BLACK AND MATTE SKIN REGENERATE EASILY?  Unfortunately, black, matte and mixed skins renew more slowly than Caucasian skins. This is partly because some flaking mechanisms are more active when the skin has a basic or neutral pH. Thus, since pigmented skin has a slightly more acidic pH, it is considered that their desquamation process is on average 2.5 times slower than in Caucasian skin. The resulting accumulation of dead cells slows down the renewal of keratinocytes because these new synthesized cells will not be able to lodge on the surface of the skin. Therefore the physical protective barrier of the skin is less effective.

In addition, their natural dehydration and their excess of sebum generally present distort their hydrolipidic film but also their skin flora. These two parameters are also essential elements for the protection of the skin, so we understand better why black, matte and mixed skin are more sensitive and fragile to external aggressions.

WHAT INFLUENCES SKIN REGENERATION?

First of all, know that the regeneration of your skin naturally decreases with age. Indeed, dictated by your genetics and conditioned by your natural skin aging, it will slow down regardless of your will. It is noted, for example, that the duration of desquamation is slowed down and that of cell renewal is extended to more than 30 days. All this hinders the process and the normal duration of skin regeneration.

Some external factors will also have their role to play such as nights that are too short repeated because they do not give your skin enough time to achieve optimal regeneration. And others like the sun, pollution, blue light from your screens, in the long run, damage your skin in excess. It will therefore not be able to repair itself sufficiently and will then be constantly weakened. She will therefore be much more sensitive to all types of dermatitis.

HOW TO HELP OUR SKIN REGENERATE ?

It is considered that from 9 pm, the skin begins to relax its function as a protective barrier. It becomes more permeable and therefore more receptive to the application of care because their assets will be able to penetrate the skin more easily. 

This is why creams or night care are usually much richer in nutrients than a day care.

So you get it, the early evening is the best time to take care of your skin. Adopting a small routine will help him regenerate better and prepare for the night. This will give you much more toned and fit skin for the next day. A little bonus on top of all that ? This will also allow it to better preserve itself and therefore to better protect itself from skin aging.