Every woman knows the feeling — all you want to do is climb into bed, but you have the task of removing all of your painstakingly applied makeup and washing your face. Then there’s the flip side; maybe you skipped your evening routine and slept in your makeup, only to wake up with mascara-sealed eyes, oily skin, and a brand new blemish creeping up on your chin.

Even though it’s never going to be cited as someone’s favorite beauty routine step, removing makeup and cleansing the face before bed is actually extremely important. More than just preventing breakouts and saving your pillowcase, it actually helps to keep skin healthy and youthful-looking. Here’s why:

Your face is dirty
Did you know that by the time bedtime rolls around, you face is actually one of the dirtiest areas on your body? All day long your face is bombarded with pollutants, dust, and dirt. Plus, most people constantly touch their faces all day long (whether they realize it or not), which spreads even more dirt, plus bacteria which can cause acne breakouts.

Using a nighttime face wash will remove all these things, plus excess oil and, of course, makeup, leaving your face fresh and pure. A fresh face feels great, plus it’s a must for creating the perfect environment for regeneration, which leads us to our next point…

Your skin renews at night
Nighttime is when the skin goes into overdrive to exfoliate dead skin, repair damage, heal blemishes, and rebuild collagen and elastin. If you leave your skin coated in makeup and debris, your skin is less able to renew itself, which can lead to premature signs of skin aging.

Leaving your skin in its pure state is great, but this is also the perfect time to apply skin care products that will boost your skin’s nightly renewal. Anti-aging creams, repair serums, acne products, and collagen and elastin building formulas are ideal.

Your skin needs more moisture
That moisturizer you applied this morning? Well, it did its job all day, but now it has either absorbed or been wiped away, leaving your skin desperate for hydration! By washing your face with a great facial cleanser, you will then be able to re-apply your moisturizer (or night cream), thereby ensuring that your skin is hydrated all night long.

If you find that you’re too tired to remove makeup and wash your face before bed, try pushing your evening routine up to an earlier time. If you take 10 minutes to get ready for bed at 8:00, you’ll save your skin and get to slide into bed as soon as you’re sleepy. It’s the best of both worlds!