How to manage an extremely oily face

 

Now, I'm not promising long-term solutions to actually stop the cause of oily skin. Oil, or sebum, is produced by healthy skin as a barrier for protection - basically, to keep the greeblies out and moisture in. It's part of your skin's natural moisturising factor. In fact, as we age, oil-production dramatically slows to a point where most of us develop dry skin - a lack of natural oil - and that's not a good

thing!.I expect when I am older I'll have to slather my face in rich creams to get back the dewey look my once naturally-abundant oil gave me. 

But oily skin can be a real pain. Not only can excess oil contribute to acne and blackheads, that oil-slick shine isn't cute when you're striving to look effortlessly well-groomed. It's hard to look 'effortless' when your shiny face makes it look like you've been slogging over a hot stove and are ready for a shower...in the middle of the day. So I'm writing to offer a few solutions for controlling and managing excess oil.

• Avoid products where alcohol (Alcohol, alcohol denat., SD alcohol, Ethanol or Isopropyl alcohol) is listed in the first few lines of ingredients.

First of all, SO MANY anti-acne and oil-controlling products use large amounts of alcohol to eliminate oil from the surface of the skin and leave a cool, refreshing feeling. Alcohol, however, only upsets the balance of your skin. Applied to any surface, alcohol evaporates and takes any moisture with it. It's power to control oil is short-lived, however, as the skin simply responds by producing more oil to replace that which was stripped away, and often overcompensates, leaving your skin oilier than before. This actually goes for all skin types, as alcohol is an irritant and no good for skin, full stop.

• If your skin is super-oily, consider not using a moisturiser (yes, skip it altogether) or use one only where your skin is dry or dehydrated. 

What you probably don't need is a heavy, thick or creamy moisturiser. What oily skin may still need, however, is a helping hand with hydration and retaining moisture.  YES oily skin can be dehydrated at the same time! It may sound contradictory, but dehydration is a lack of moisture, so even if your skin produces excess oil, it can still suffer from lack of moisture in Winter, through exposure to the elements or when it's unable to retain moisture when its natural barrier is broken. In this case, you'll need a moisturiser based on ingredients such as glycerine or isododecane. Glycerine is a humectant - that means it attracts moisture from the air and adheres it to the surface layers of your skin. Isododecane is a hydrocarbon and all hydrocarbons help prevent the evaporation of water from skin. These moisturisers often come in lotion (thin cream) or gel form.

Te recap, if you're oil glands are working overtime, consider taking advantage of that by skipping the moisturiser step in your routine or by opting for a light humectant-based lotion.

I hope this helps.