A natural night cream has hands down been the best addition to my evening skincare routine. There’s no excuse not to use a homemade night cream, I think!

Using a night cream means your skin will feel supple, smooth, refreshed, and have that youthful glow we all crave as soon as you wake up.

I’m sharing my natural night cream recipe in this post. I love using it every night, and even after the first application, my skin looked brighter and felt smoother.

Thanks to the essential oils, it also smells fantastic and is packed full of natural, therapeutic ingredients that nourish and nurture the skin while you sleep.

The best thing is that you can alter the recipe depending on your skin type. So whether you have oily, dry, or combination skin, there’s a set of ingredients to suit you.

Before we get into the recipe, I’ll answer the questions: What is night cream? Why use night cream? And how best to apply night cream for glowing skin?

Natural homemade night cream in a shallow glass jar with flowers on white marble.

Table of Contents

What does night cream do?

Your night cream should do what you want your day cream to do in some ways, but with more intensity.

So we’re talking moisturizing and hydrating, to begin with.

Every night cream should tackle skin dryness after your skin’s had a hard day exposed to pollutants, sunlight, wind, and all the other elements it encounters (kids included!)

A night cream should also smooth fine lines and wrinkles by boosting the amount of collagen in the skin, which gradually decreases as we age.

Further night cream benefits include helping your skin repair itself, which it naturally does while you’re asleep. But with the help of a good night cream, the skin will have extra support to maintain its condition and improve its appearance.

By being thicker in texture than a day cream, a night cream should last throughout the night, helping boost the skin’s hydration levels, leaving it refreshed and ready for the day ahead.

How to apply night cream

From an anti-aging perspective, it’s best to massage a face cream by using long, upward strokes.

So, take a small amount of cream on your fingertips, warming it slightly in your hands.

Then gently dab the cream on your cheeks, forehead, chin and nose. Finally, massage the cream upwards, covering your whole face and neck.

Be very gentle so as to not pull your skin while you massage the cream in, as this may cause redness or risk damage.

I like to use my night cream as part of a little calming ritual before going to sleep, so I take my time and give myself a mini face massage simultaneously; though those days are few and far between.

If time permits, I really enjoy using an eye mask to help firm and tighten the delicate skin under my eyes. This pampering treatment leaves me feeling refreshed and rejuvenated the following morning!

Find my top ten anti-aging tips right here.

Night cream for whitening skin on a wooden board with decorative flowers.

Can you use night cream during the day?

Nothing stops you from using a night cream during the day, but it will feel sticky and heavy when you’re out and about due to its thicker texture.

Also, your makeup may not sit as well with it, feeling clammy and not lasting as long. Essentially the opposite effect of a setting spray.

Another consideration is that night cream doesn’t contain SPF (sun protection), so you’d need to add this on top of the night cream, adding another layer of stickiness.

My best advice is to use night cream as it’s intended – for nighttime only. Then, stick to a lighter day cream for best results during the daytime.

Vitamin E night cream

Vitamin E has long been known for its skin healing properties (which is why it’s one of the ingredients in the natural night cream recipe below!)

It’s an antioxidant, which fights harmful free radicals that cause stress to the skin and accelerate the aging process.

It’s also wonderfully moisturizing and helps repair and restore skin, being particularly efficient when we sleep at night.

You can use vitamin E oil on its own, but on the face, I recommend using it as shown in the recipe – blended as a cream-based product to avoid feeling heavy and greasy on the skin.

Night cream for glowing skin homemade in a small glass jar on marble vanity.

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How to make night cream at home

You need a few key ingredients and a mason jar to make homemade night cream, all of which you can get online or at your local beauty supply store.

Remember to check the different substitutions on the ingredients below, based on your skin type (greasy, dry, oily, sensitive skin substitutes… etc.)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp black castor oil
1 tbsp rosehip oil
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoons beeswax
1 tablespoon mango butter
5 drops of vitamin E oil
3 drops geranium (optional)
1 drop of sandalwood (optional)
Mason jar

Instructions:

Add all the ingredients (except the vitamin E oil and essential oils) to a small, wide-mouth mason jar.
Place the mason jar in a small saucepan of water. Melt over low heat.
Once the ingredients are melted, remove them from the heat.
Allow the ingredients to cool slightly, then add in the vitamin E oil and essential oils.
Stir until well combined.
Once cool, secure the lid and store it in a cool, dry place.