It’s Halloween week, so let me break down your need for a night cream this way: Premature signs of aging are spooooky! Crow’s feet? Bird ghosts. Laugh lines? Pennywise from IT-level evil. Wrinkles? Witches’ favorite curse to cast, duh.
The point is, a super-hydrating night cream is essential for keeping you and your skin looking and feeling like the hero of a horror movie, not the villain.
Below, check out the best night creams for guys.
CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
An affordable classic, CeraVe’s nighttime skincare offering is formulated with hyaluronic acid to help retain skin’s natural moisture while you sleep, and niacinamide, which is good for sensitive skin (or if you struggle with rosacea). Helping along the “won’t freak your skin out” bona fides? The fact that it’s fragrance-free, oil-free, hypoallergenic, and non-irritating.
RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Anti-Aging Night Cream
This 1-ounce tube of anti-wrinkle retinol night cream from drugstore fave RoC helps to roll back the look of lines and deep wrinkles while you sleep.
Need a refresher on retinol? Read this from last year. Want the tl;dr? Seems a little lazy but okay. Retinol is a chemical compound and a derivative of vitamin A that helps reduce fine lines and wrinkles, fade the appearance of hyperpigmentation, scarring, and sunspots.
It does all this by encouraging “cell turnover” in your skin. Which is good! Fresh skin is healthy skin. Just know that it can cause redness and flaking while your skin gets used to this kind of deep treatment.
OLEHENRIKSEN Goodnight Glow Retin-ALT Sleeping Crème
The sort of annoying thing about taking good care of your skin is that once you know more, you realize you need different stuff for different issues. For instance, having a night cream with retinol is great because as we’ve discussed, it aids in cell turnover, blah blah blah. However, retinol is also a pretty strong skincare ingredient and therefore you don’t necessarily want to use a product that contains it every night. Especially if your skin is already prone to dryness.
Meaning? You now need two different night creams.
This one from Olehenriksen is good because it’s made with a natural, but still powerful, retinol alternative that deeply hydrates the skin and targets fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots.
Onekind Dream Cream Nighttime Moisturizer
Skin looking like you forgot your reusable water bottle at home every day this week? AKA, a little bit thirsty? This super-charged night cream from the folks behind cult men’s grooming brands Buckler’s and Port Products can help. Their latest is rich in squalane and rosehip oils, locking in much-needed moisture, while barley seed and chamomile extracts soothe any skin irritation overnight.
La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream
I was lucky enough to be gifted a tub of La Mer (lol, “tub” does not sound fancy enough for this moisturizer) in my twenties, which I portioned out so carefully that it lasted me into my thirties.
La Mer’s famous “Miracle Broth” ingredient mix was originally developed by a Californian scientist to treat burns he’d suffered in a lab accident. He turned to the regenerative properties of the ocean, experimenting with a fermentation process involving sea kelp sourced near his home, and a process that involves exposing the formula to light and sound waves. Yes, really.
I don’t know about all that, but I do know that every facialist and dermatologist who’s ever looked at my face up-close with one of those terrifyingly powerful magnifying glasses has said my skin looks amazing, which I credit half to good genetics and the other half to the La Mer.
Belif Aqua Bomb Sleeping Mask
Okay, this last one isn’t technically a “night cream,” it’s actually part of a new sub-grouping of “stuff you put on your face at night to look young forever” called sleeping masks. Think of them as nighttime moisturizers-plus. Apply a thin layer that’s so thick it never quite sinks in, then rinse in the AM. Watch the “Wow, you look so rested!” compliments roll in. Repeat.
The South Korean beauty trend is just now blowing up stateside, and the Aqua Bomb from skincare brand Belif might be the best-known. It dries into a thick, jelly texture about five minutes after applying, so your pillow won’t get totally messy with moisturizing gunk even if you’re a side sleeper.
Want another sleeping mask option? This one’s also popular and is made up of 15% snail slime extract if you’re into that kind of thing!