Do’s and Don’ts for Oily Skin: Part 1
Properly caring for any skin type is important in ensuring that your skin is healthy. However, oftentimes well meaning advice can make your skin issues worse. Such is the case when it comes to oily skin. Because there is so much misinformation spread about this skin type, oftentimes conventional ways of treating it lead to more problems. That is why it’s important to know what to do and what not to do with oily skin.
The Do’s:
Double Cleanse:
Those with oily skin may balk at the prospect of applying oil to their skin, but here’s the twist: oil attracts oil. Therefore, when you apply oil to the skin and then remove it, all of the excess oil will disappear as well. For this reason, oil cleansing will not clog pores, in fact it does the opposite. Oil cleansing helps to remove surface oil, debris, and makeup from the skin, ensuring that these impurities will not remain to clog pores, harvest bacteria, and cause breakouts. Following with a gentle, foaming cleanser will deep clean the pores of any excess oil or dead skin trapped beneath the surface.
Use Mild Astringents:
If you have oily skin, you may be familiar with harsh products that contain astringents like alcohol. While products like this help to temporarily remove excess oil, they strip the skin, which will eventually result in the oil coming back a few hours later even worse than it was before. Stripping the skin dry causes a lack of hydration, which signals the sebaceous glands to overproduce oil. Mild astringents such as rosemary, tea tree, and witch hazel will balance sebum production without drying skin out.
Use a Clay Mask:
While clay masks do not suit every skin type, they are perfect for oily skin. Ingredients like kaolin clay and bentonite help to absorb excess oil without stripping. They also remove blackheads and pore congestion, which will give your skin the shine-free, flawless appearance you’ve always wanted.
Moisturize:
While you may think you can skip moisturizer because your skin is so oily, your skin is likely so shiny because it lacks hydration. Using a lightweight, gel based moisturizer will prevent the oil glands from producing too much oil. If your skin senses a lack of moisture, it goes overboard, leading to greasiness. Use products with non-comedogenic ingredients like jojoba oil, sunflower oil, and hyaluronic acid to soften skin–minus the sheen.
The Don’ts:
Over Cleanse:
While cleansing is an essential step in balanced skin, over cleansing will result in the opposite effect. If you find your skin is shiny by mid-day and wash your face again, you are only worsening the issue. Over cleansing, even with a gentle formulation, will result in stripped skin, oil, and breakouts. Only cleanse at morning and at night. If you find your skin becomes shiny throughout the day, keep blotting papers on hand to remove shine.
Touch Your Face:
We unconsciously touch our face more times than we can count throughout the day. However, this seemingly harmless habit only makes your skin oilier. Your hands also secrete oil, therefore when you touch your skin, you are spreading that oil to your face. Also, the bacteria on your hands will now be on your skin to wreak havoc. Be aware when you touch your skin and try to stop yourself from doing so to break the habit.
Pick At Breakouts:
It’s very tempting yet extremely damaging to pick at breakouts. While you may be trying to extract whiteheads or blackheads, it is best to leave this to the professionals. Doing it yourself can bruise the skin, increase sensitivity, and spread bacteria around the skin, causing more breakouts. Use a spot treatment, a clay mask, or see a dermatologist or esthetician to treat breakouts.
Over Exfoliate:
Over exfoliation is detrimental for all skin types, but especially oily skin. While you may be tempted to exfoliate everyday to unclog pores and remove blackheads, this will only produce yet again more oil, as over exfoliation dries out skin. Use a gentle exfoliator two to three times a week to soften skin, remove blackheads/breakouts, and keep excess oil at bay.
While it can be difficult to curb overzealous oil glands, following these tips will balance out the skin and make shine and greasiness a thing of the past.
Comments