Over the years, I have met many people who say that they have very oily skin—but do they really? Most people who think that they have oily skin really have combination skin. If your skin gets oily hours after washing it or get oily only around the T-Zone area, then you don’t have severe oily skin. That doesn’t mean that you can’t learn something from this post too, though!
People with very oily skin tend to have thick, dull, and acne-prone skin. The good news, though, is that oily skin ages much slower then normal skin!
If you think that you have oily skin (severe or moderate), then you should make sure to do the following:
- Resist the urge to wash your skin more than two or three times a day.
- Don’t use overly harsh products on your skin that claim to control oil. They will likely just damage your skin.
- Always, always, always use a very light moisturizer.
- Use an oil based soap. This means that you should use a natural soap rather than a detergent (which is what most mainstream soaps really are).
- Lastly, use warm water. The hotter the better, so long as it doesn’t feel like it’s scorching.
I am sure that many of the above steps sound odd. If you have oily skin, then why would you want to put oil on your face? If you skin is oily, then why would you need a moisturizer? The answer is simple. Your skin is oily because it produces too much oil and it isn’t balanced. You need to return your skin to a balanced state. Your skin naturally tries to stay balanced, but you need the right products to help it achieve that. If you use a product that overly dries your skin and strips it of its oils, then it will naturally start producing more oil in an attempt to restore the balance.
The goal should be to breakdown and remove excess oil, not all oil. To remove oil, you need oil. Some oils, such as those used in respectable skincare and cosmetic brands, are not harmful to your skin. They will help dissolve unwanted excess oil so that they can be washed away. Using an oil soap and hot water helps breakdown excess oil.
