Facial Skin: Oily
From Domicella's wikiStyle
The source of all the trouble is the microscopic sebaceous gland, safely hidden beneath the surface of the skin. Under normal circumstances, these glands should play a normal role in lubricating the skin and hair, protecting them from environmental challenges like dehydration and maintaining health and luster.[1]
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Controlling Oily Facial Skin
- Wash with a cleanser containing 2% salicyclic acid. In the winter, use a milder cleanser just on your cheeks, where you have fewer oil glans, and your regular cleanser everywhere else.
- If your T-Zone is oily, swipe a cotton pad soaked with an alcohol-free 2% salicyclic acid toner over your forehead, nose, and chin after cleansing.
- You may be tempted to skip moisturizer, but even oily skin needs a little hydration. Try a lightweight oil-free lotion. The only time you may want to forgo moisturizer is in hot weather; replace it with a primer labeled "mattifying" or "oil control."
- If your cheeks get dry in the winter, smooth a lotion with hyaluronic acid or glycerin on them; these draw water to the skin but don't feel heavy.
- Once a week, apply a mask containing 2% salicyclic acid or 2.5% benzoyl peroxide to help unclog pores. If you have sensitive skin, a clay mask is gentler and soaks up oil.
- Resist the urge to exfoliate too often, which can lead to irritation. Try using a weekly at-home peel with 10% glycolic acid (just don't use it on the same day as the mask).
Remember these strategies, as well as those that involve astringents, blotting paper, and toners are meant as temporary fixes to oily facial skin. Hence, you need to find a frequency that balances oil control with skin irritation.
Oily Facial Skin Misconceptions
- Using oil control products will lead to an increase in sebum production.
This is absolutely false.
- Blotting facial oils helps to reduce the production of sebum.
False. While blotting can provide a temporary method of removing the oil, just like topical oil control products, they have no affect on the production of sebum.
- Oily skin is not a concern for those with rosacea.
Again, false. While rosacea sufferers are more likely to have drier, more sensitive skin due to the natural aging process, I have seen more than my share of significantly oily skinned rosacea patients. DERMAdoctor Calm Cool & Corrected Anti-Redness Tranquility Cream contains NDGA, an ideal botanical for this concern. Combined with sebum sequestering micro-particles, excessive oils are absorbed, yet the product is formulated in a base appropriate for the rosacea patient prone to skin sensitivity. An ideal regimen combines it along with DERMAdoctor Born To Be Mild Medicated Face & Body Cleanser.
- Accutane fully eliminates ("cures") oil production.
False. While Accutane does normalize the faulty mechanism related to the formation of cells lining the sebaceous glands, which in turn stops cystic acne, sebum production is not entirely eliminated. After treatment, the skin may either remain non-greasy or experience a return of oiliness post treatment.
- You can't wear make-up while using oil control products.
False. Make-up should be labeled oil-free or "non-comedogenic" and is appropriate for use by those with oily skin. It may also be applied on top of products that help control acne or oily skin conditions. For those more affected by excess oils, despite the use of some oil control products, the use of a powder base may help. Rice powders like those used in T. LeClerc feel light, don't plug pores and help absorb excess oils.
- Oil control products cause unpleasant dryness and irritation.
While many products which reduce levels of facial skin oils may cause these problems, this is absolutely not true across the board. And product misuse or overuse can also be responsible for skin irritation, not just the product formulation. [1]
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.dermadoctor.com/article_Oily-Skin_99.html
- ↑ "Master Class" Allure. October 2009: page 75.
