Treating oily skin can be tricky. The production of sebum is a natural and necessary process for your skin’s health. Still, too much oil can result in an unwanted shiny appearance and clogged pores.
If you have oily skin, it is a feature that you will want to consider when designing your personalized skincare routine. Here are some ideas to implement into your oily skin routine.
What Is Oily Skin?
Oily skin is one of the five skin types. Your skin type is determined by genetics and will influence your skin’s unique needs.
Common characteristics of oily skin include enlarged pores, a shiny, thick complexion, and blemishes resulting from the overproduction of sebum.
Oily skin, while determined by genetics, is often a result of the behavior of your hormones. This explains why the characteristics of oily skin will often appear on a person during puberty.
During puberty, there is an increase in androgen levels. Androgen is the hormone that contributes to growth in men. This increase will prompt the sebaceous glands to enlarge, in turn boosting oil production.
Flare-ups of oily skin can also be attributed to humidity, stress, and a poor diet.
Caring For Oily Skin
While oily skin is often unavoidable, especially when it is the result of genetics or hormonal changes, there are ways to prevent and treat the less desirable characteristics that accompany this skin type.
The following are various tips for caring for oily skin that you are welcome to implement into your skin care routine.
Cleansing
When caring for oily skin, it is important that you cleanse your face regularly. Washing regularly can reduce the appearance of oil on the skin.
When washing your oily skin, avoid using tools that can create friction. The added stimulation of a rough washcloth, or any similar tool, may trigger more oil on the skin.
Next, make sure to select the right cleanser to apply to your skin. Avoiding things, do not select cleansers with added fragrances, moisturizers, or harsh chemicals. All of these can irritate the skin. When skin becomes irritated or dried out, the body’s natural response will create more oil. Increased production of sebum is something that we want to avoid.
Instead of using a product that poses this risk, opt for something gentler like MadeMan’s The Resetter. This cleanser offers an insanely refreshing deep but gentle, non-irritating cleanse.
Unlike most cleansers out there filled with harsh chemicals you can’t pronounce that leave your skin dry and damaged, The Resetter is water-based and uses all-natural ingredients.
If you plan to use a medicated cleanser to treat your acne, you may want to consider a product that contains an acid that can treat oily skin simultaneously. These acids include salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and beta-hydroxy acid.
While washing when you wake and before you go to bed should be sufficient for maintaining your skin’s health, we advise you to add an extra wash anytime you exercise. Washing your face soon after a gym workout will help remove any build-up of sweat, sebum, dirt, and bacteria.
Toner
Toners are typically incorporated into skin care routines to help support all the other products that you are using. It functions similarly to the primer that a painter sets down on their canvas before creating their masterpiece.
A facial toner should prime your face so that the applied ingredients next will be better absorbed. For this reason, you should use your toner after your cleanser and before any other products.
However, besides supporting the absorption of other ingredients, toner can help close pores and tighten cell gaps following a cleansing. This can reduce the penetration of impurities, prevent acne production, and keep environmental contaminants out.
We have already gone over the benefits of frequently cleansing oily skin. Well, toners are essentially able to provide those of us with oily skin with an extra cleansing. This is particularly useful after a long day of wearing skin care products like sunscreen or working out and sweating.
When selecting your toner, you may want to consider an exfoliating toner that contains active ingredients to combat dead skin cells. Such products may include chemical acid ingredients like salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and lactic acid.
Moisturizer
A huge skin care misconception is that moisturizers and oily skin do not mix. This is completely false. Every skin type can benefit from frequent moisturizing. The only difference is that those with oily skin may want to practice extra caution when selecting their moisturizer.
It is important to select a moisturizer with a formula that supports, rather than harms, your skin. One of the characteristics you may want to look out for when choosing your moisturizer is whether it is non comedogenic.
When a product is non comedogenic, it is specially designed not to block your pores, which is the most common concern of using moisturizer on oily skin. Other positive characteristics to prioritize may be using something lightweight to not add even more weight to your face and something water-based instead of oil-based.
We recommend The Refresher. The Refresher is a water-based moisturizer that uses all-natural ingredients. The product is designed to restore and repair using complex nutrients that your skin needs and craves.
As a whole, the product’s benefits include lifting and tightening, increasing collagen production, preventing acne, restoring the skin’s natural moisture balance, protecting your skin from irritation, environmental pollution, and rejuvenating the skin to be smoother and softer.
The same as with cleansing, you should be applying your moisturizer both in the morning and nighttime.
Face Masks
Face masks made with certain ingredients can be used to care for oily skin. Face masks are intended to infuse your pores with healthy ingredients so that your skin can soak up more of the product and all its benefits.
One of the pros of using face masks is that they can be purchased or made at home. There are several recipes for face masks to treat oily skin that can be made using ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen.
For example, you can create honey and brown sugar facials. When applied to your skin, it is able to absorb oil from the surface. Still, it can use its humectant properties to avoid drying out your skin in the process. The brown sugar will be used to gently exfoliate the skin as the mask absorbs oil and retains moisture.
You may also consider making an egg white and oatmeal face mask. In addition to making great breakfast foods, these ingredients can work together to form the face mask of champions.
Additionally, it will help to moisturize and hydrate. Adding oatmeal into the mix will give the mask an extra boost. Colloidal oatmeal can help to soothe, cleanse and clear the skin.
If you decide to purchase your face mask instead of making it yourself, you can consider investing in clay masks. Clay masks are most useful for people with oily or breakout-prone skin.
The masks contain minerals such as smectite and bentonite that absorb oils, reduce sebum levels, and fight the appearance of shininess. Use these masks in moderation to prevent your skin from becoming too dry.
Blotting Paper
Carrying around blotting papers with you in your pocket, gym bag, and briefcase may be one of the best ways to immediately treat excess oil throughout your day. Blotting papers are highly absorbent sheets of material that pick up excess substances when applied to the surface of the skin.
They can be used to manage the excess oil on your face by removing some of it in seconds. All you need to do is apply the paper to your skin by pressing it against your face and leaving it there for a few seconds. When removed from your skin, you will be able to see all of the oil that the sheet absorbed.
While blotting papers cannot treat sebum production, they can be used to lift excess oil off the skin and reduce your appearance of shininess. They are typically safe to use all throughout the day as needed.
Conclusion
In conclusion, oily skin is not easy, but it is nowhere near impossible to manage. Many tools, like blotting paper and facemasks, are available to help support you as you learn to treat your skin type.
Additionally, you should consider your needs when planning your oily skin care routine. Regular skin care products like cleansers, toners, and moisturizers can help care for your oily skin with a few adjustments.
Sources:
Skin type classification systems old and new | PubMed
