Lavender spray, herbal tea, silk pillowcase, meditation, no electronics before bed — if you have trouble catching Zs, you’ve probably tried some variation of this list. And it's likely that melatonin, the hormone often recommended for sleep, has shown up on it, too. But whether it's a staple in your bedtime routine or not, you probably haven’t given a second thought to its other possible benefits. Recently though, melatonin has moved from the world of gummies and drinkable sleep-inducing liquids to bottles of skincare. And the April 1 launch of Milk Makeup's new Melatonin Overnight Lip Mask and Overnight Serum marks yet another brand that has taken note of melatonin’s other, lesser-known benefits.
Available on Sephora and Milk Makeup's website, the new $22 lip mask and $36 stick face serum strive to provide the benefits researchers have found in topical melatonin. For a quick refresher: Melatonin is a hormone that’s naturally found in the body. It's also known as an “antioxidant and radical scavenger,” which, yes, is as cool as it sounds. That basically means when put into a skincare product, it can increase your skin's ability to protect against things like pollution and UV radiation, as well as repair skin from those factors, which Milk Makeup took and ran with.
So while melatonin won’t induce sleep when applied topically, it does have some healing and protective properties for your skin. However, it won't be doing the work alone in Milk Makeup's mask and serum. The brand created a blend of hyaluronic acid for hydration, lavender and chamomile for their calming capabilities, and Persian Silk tree extract, which works in tandem with the topical melatonin to rejuvenate your skin and nourish and plump your lips while you snooze.
But before you think you can fake well-rested skin by simply using melatonin-infused products, the reality is sleep still plays a huge part in actually letting your skin rest and rebuild, and it also affects how melatonin works. According to an Allure article discussing the hormone’s skin benefits, using it “topically can trick your skin into triggering antioxidant behavior that would otherwise kick in during sleep, where skin regeneration is naturally at its best performance.” So balance is key — and the best way to keep your complexion bouncy, hydrated, and glowy is giving your skin the products and rest it needs to heal itself overnight.
In other words, it's time to implement some melatonin-infused products into your nighttime routine. Keep scrolling for Milk Makeup's two new launches, ahead, to give your beauty sleep a serious upgrade.
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