That creepy “something is crawling on my face” sensation can be incredibly distracting, especially when you’re trying to sleep. It’s called formication, a type of abnormal skin sensation that can feel like crawling, tingling, itching, or tiny movements even when nothing is actually on the skin.
And because the sensation isn’t always caused by dry skin, covering your face in a heavy balm isn’t necessarily the answer.
First, figure out whether your skin is actually irritated
If your face is visibly dry, flaky, red, burning, or itchy, a compromised skin barrier could be contributing to the discomfort. In that case, keep your routine simple and use a moisturizer you already know your skin tolerates.
You don’t need to coat your entire face in petrolatum to support the barrier. A lighter, non-irritating moisturizer may be enough.
Avoid adding scrubs, strong acids, retinoids, essential oils, or multiple new products in an attempt to “kill” the sensation. If the skin isn’t actually irritated, more skincare may simply create another problem.
Nighttime can make the sensation feel louder
When you’re lying still with fewer distractions, subtle sensations can become much more noticeable. Heat, sweat, dry air, stress, and friction from bedding or hair can also make an uncomfortable sensation more noticeable.
Try keeping the room comfortably cool, using clean pillowcases, keeping hair products away from your face, and avoiding anything that repeatedly rubs or irritates the skin.
A cool compress can also provide temporary relief if the sensation is accompanied by surface irritation.
But formication can have causes beyond skincare
This is the part worth paying attention to.
Formication can occur with certain medications or medication changes, hormonal changes, nerve-related conditions, substance use or withdrawal, and other medical issues. It isn’t possible to determine the cause from the sensation alone.
If the crawling sensation is persistent, keeps returning, is getting worse, or is accompanied by numbness, weakness, significant burning, facial changes, or other neurological symptoms, talk with a healthcare professional rather than continually changing your skincare.
And if you recently started, stopped, or changed a medication or supplement, mention that timing to your clinician rather than stopping a prescribed medication on your own.
The goal isn’t to smother the sensation
If your skin is dry or irritated, support the barrier without suffocating it. If the skin looks completely normal but the crawling sensation keeps happening, that’s a reason to look beyond skincare.
Sometimes the best skincare routine for a strange nighttime sensation is actually a very boring one: gentle cleansing, a moisturizer your skin tolerates, and no frantic product experimentation at midnight.