Oily Skin Care

I have had oily skin for as long as I remember. Blackheads, whiteheads, breakouts on Prom night, you name it. I’ve tried just about everything under the sun to treat my oily skin over the years, and I think I’ve finally found a routine that works.

First, I always start out with a good, mild cleanser. I think it’s a total myth that you need to scrub and use highly toxic chemicals to clean oily skin – all that does is strip your face of its natural oils and leads to more breakouts. Trust me, I know this from experience! I’ve also found that if you cleanse your sensitive facial skin too harshly, you can dry it out and end up with dry skin that is prone to breakouts – NOT fun! So, find a nice, gentle cleanser that doesn’t leave a filmy residue.

Second, it’s very important that I use a toner on my face after I cleanse. It helps to take away any extra cleanser, dead skin and oils that were left behind, and helps me to start with a clean slate for moisturizing and treating my skin for the day or night. A toner is not an astringent – astringents contain alcohol, which can dry out your skin and cause more breakouts. In my experience, the best toner to use after cleansing is a mild, purified water-based solution that uses natural ingredients to help bring the skin back into balance.

A third and very important step, even for oily skin, is to moisturize. I know, it sounds counter-intuitive – if you have oily skin, it must have too much moisture, right? Wrong. Oily skin produces extra oils, which can help to keep your skin from drying out, but in order to keep those oils in the right balance, a good, light moisturizer is important. It is also helpful in maintaining beautiful, younger looking skin throughout your life.

Another important part of any beauty care routine is a mask or scrub, used weekly. A mask will help to draw oils and blackheads out of your pores, and deep clean your skin after a week of taking on everything the environment has to give (smog, humidity, etc). A good mask should be left on your face for approximately 15 – 20 minutes, then rinsed with warm water, after thorough cleansing and toning and prior to applying moisturizer. A scrub can also be used weekly if you have combination skin and need to slough off the dead skin cells and make your skin smooth and soft. Scrubs do not need to be used harshly, though – just a gentle circular motion with the tips of your fingers will do the trick. Again, the idea is to cleanse and refresh your skin, not strip it of all of the important oils and nutrients it needs to stay healthy and glowing.

One final step of my regular beauty routine is a blemish treatment. All you need is a small drop of the gel applied thinly to your face every night before bed (and after your regular cleansing routine), and it greatly reduces the amount of breakouts, whiteheads and blackheads on a regular basis.

I hope this article has helped someone out there who is struggling with their oily skin care. I understand your pain, as I have been in your shoes, however, with the right oily skin productand the right routine, you can have beautiful skin!