Oily skin is one of the most challenging skin types to maintain. Having oily skin and living in a climate such as Singapore’s is not the best combination. Sometimes oily skin can be caused by genetics – which in this case, you can’t really do much but to try to keep the oil at bay. However, there are also other factors that can contribute to oily skin. Here are 10 commandments of combating oily skin. Hopefully, it’ll either reduce the oil production on the face, or help reduce the appearance of it throughout the day!
- 1. Thou shalt use proper cleansers, and not soap
- 2. Thou shalt exfoliate twice a week
- 3. Thou shalt use a face mask at least once a week
- 4. Thou shalt use a water-based face moisturiser
- 5. Thou shalt drink at least eight glasses of water a day
- 6. Thou shalt use a toner
- 7. Thou shalt watch diet
- 8. Thou shalt not overuse products
- 9. Thou shalt use a face primer
- 10. Thou shalt carry blotting papers/blotting powder in the handbag
1. Thou shalt use proper cleansers, and not soap
Soap is too harsh for your skin and cause it to dry up. Our skin’s natural reaction to dehydration is to produce more oil. Use a gentle cleanser that will cleanse your skin without drying it out, and you should do it every morning and night.
2. Thou shalt exfoliate twice a week
Exfoliating helps to remove the dirt from your pores. The more you remove surface dry skin cells, the less oil will stay trapped and congested in the pores. Check out our article on All You Need to Know About Exfoliating to find out what products you can use and the other benefits of exfoliating.
3. Thou shalt use a face mask at least once a week
Use a face mask that’s clay-based as it helps to temporarily decrease oil production or the look of having oily skin. Besides, it’s always a good thing to have a day where you give yourself a facial!
4. Thou shalt use a water-based face moisturiser
Firstly, just because you have oily skin doesn’t mean you cut out moisturiser. If you don’t use a moisturiser, chances are you’re going to make your skin even more oily. Why? Because dehydrated skin respond by producing more oil to hydrate itself (remember what we said in commandment number 1?).
Water-based face moisturisers (as opposed to oil-based ones) have more of a gel-like texture. It feels more lightweight as compared to a thick cream or lotion. Water-based face moisturisers also seep into the skin faster compared to a cream, which will ensure that you don’t end up feeling greasy throughout the day.
5. Thou shalt drink at least eight glasses of water a day
Drinking water helps to hydrate the skin and remove toxins from your body. The more hydrated your skin is, the less need for it to produce oil to hydrate it. Furthermore, removing toxins from the body also means that the chances of you getting breakouts, whether it’s due to oily skin or not, will be lower.
6. Thou shalt use a toner
Many people think that toners are not important. But they are! They help to close the pores after you’ve washed your face that prevents grease build up. So don’t skip the toner!
7. Thou shalt watch diet
If you still don’t believe that your diet affects your skin, well, it does. Those who have oily skin tend to have acne issues and if you fall into this category, you may want to find out which foods can trigger acne appearance.
8. Thou shalt not overuse products
Please don’t slap on too much of that moisturiser after what we said in commandment #4! You don’t need much moisturiser, you just need enough. This doesn’t just apply to moisturiser, it also applies to using facial masks, and exfoliating. Using too much of the products, or the routines (like exfoliating and facial masks) can end up aggravating your skin. It can also make your skin desensitised to the routines causing it not to work wonders on your skin like it should in the long run.
9. Thou shalt use a face primer
Using a face primer can help to control the oil when you’re wearing makeup for long periods of time. Not only that, there are even primers that can blur fine lines and pores!
To check out the primers we love, head over to our article Top Five Face Primers.
10. Thou shalt carry blotting papers/blotting powder in the handbag
While this is a stop-gap measure, using blotting papers and powder definitely help relieve greasiness, especially in the middle of the day. The key to this is not overdoing it. Over-blotting can potentially dry out the skin causing more sebum to be produced, while over-powdering means layering more products on top of dirt and sebum, which can potentially cause the appearance of pimples. If you have trouble with touching up because of oily skin, you may want to see the tips an expert gave to resolving this problem.
