In 2026, your beauty routine won't clock out at bedtime and this product is putting in the Night.Shift

Scroll your way through BeautyTok and you'll come face to face with the "Morning Shed": Mouth tape ripped off in one go, silk bonnets snatched away, peel-off collagen masks lifted at the edges, heatless curlers unravelled in slow motion. We watch our favourite creators strip off everything they slept in and show us what their night shift has achieved.

It’s ridiculous, obviously. It’s also the clearest possible snapshot of where the beauty industry is headed. Our skincare is no longer reserved for the bathroom. Now, it happens in bed.

Yet, the underlying logic is brutally efficient: if you’re unconscious for eight hours, why not make the most of it? Skincare got there first. Overnight masks like Medicube’s now-cult Collagen Night Wrapping Mask are designed to form an actual film on the skin, creating a collagen-spiked seal with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide and ceramides that sits on your face while you sleep and peels away in the morning. Next came the many variations of silk-wrapped overnight curlers.

Haircare was never going to sit this one out.

“People want their products to do the work for them,” says hairstylist and eponymous founder Kevin Murphy when I ask him about the shift. “They don’t want to work hard for their products. With the emergence of K-beauty, people became overwhelmed with all the steps. It was exhausting," he says. "I want my products to work hard in the background with no extra effort from me.”

He bottled that idea in Night.Shift, his new hydrating overnight serum. A lightweight leave-in you apply to dry hair before bed, it uses hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich Australian Kakadu plum to leave hair stronger, smoother and less frizzy by morning. No extra steps required. “The idea that you have to wet your hair to hydrate your hair is out of step with our busy lives,” Murphy notes. “Products should give you a break, not make you work harder.”

Related: Glass hair is the new glass skin, so get glossing with these 10 shine-enhancing shower products

It fits neatly into a bigger crossover: haircare formulated like skincare. “We’ve been dabbling in skincare for your hair for about 20 years,” Murphy notes. “I found I got better results using skincare ingredients in my haircare because they absorbed much faster, resulting in weightless shine that wasn’t greasy." At scalp level, that overlap is even more literal. “The scalp is skin. It’s where the hair is born," says Murphy. "It’s where you can provide nutrients that benefit the longevity and the health of the hair. Scalp care is kind of future-proofing your hair.”

While formulas have been edging in that direction for years, aesthetics have caught up fast. Super-sleek, salon-fresh blowouts are increasingly being replaced by hair that looks healthy. “I think what we’re seeing is more volume in the hair,” Murphy says. “Thick hair signals healthy hair so it feels right to have a bit more bounce in your hairstyle.”

His take on hair trends for 2026 is also telling. “The tousled bed-hair look has had a bit of a makeover. It’s healthier now, fuller and a bit shiny," he says. "The bedroom aspect gives a sex appeal, but you still look done, not like you have been pulled through a bush backwards.”

Cue the rise of overnight curls. Foam rods, dressing-gown belts, satin rollers and braided “heatless curl” routines slot in perfectly next to night serums and wrapping masks. All to wake up with pre-planned, set-in texture that don't cost us an extra 45 minutes with a curling iron.

Unsurprisingly, the people who see the biggest change from a product like Night.Shift are those whose hair struggles most during the day. “Most people who are seeking hydration can benefit,” Murphy says. “It works really well for hydrating curls and waves in between washes. Sometimes the hair can get dry-looking and you don’t want to wash, but you do want it to have some shine.” Colour-treated hair also benefit. “People that have dry hair or have been experimenting with colour really benefit. The results are instant.”

Then there’s grey and silver hair, which might be the real sleeper match for Murphy's overnight formula. “When your hair is silver it can find it hard to hang on to moisture, and if you use a shine product on silver hair it can be too evident and look greasy,” Murphy points out. Night.Shift gives what he calls “a wonderful sheen and a velvety touch” and tones down frizz without that heavy, coated effect.

If this all sounds a little intense for something that happens while you’re unconscious, that’s the point. The overnight boom in beauty is all about getting results and time back. The key? Consistency. “From my life in the salon and on set I’ve learned one thing,” Murphy says. “Great hair isn’t a one-off moment. It’s the result of care and consistency.” His prescription: Night.Shift twice a week for moderately dry hair, three times a week for curls, and always the night before a big event.

Seen in that light, the morning shed seems less like pure spectacle. Instead, it is a very honest (albeit exaggerated) reflection of where we’ve landed. Now, it seems that when you snooze, you won't loose.