How to Control Oily Skin

So this long weekend, I had a girl come up to me after a demo/lesson at Chop Restaurant about her oily skin.  I also have oily skin too so I shared some of my secrets with her!

Firstly, there are different reasons why your skin can get oily.  One reason could be due to stripping your skin of natural oils.  It can be due to your soap (too harsh and drying), constant exfoliating (should only be done 1-2 a week), or your moisturizer (doesn't absorb into your skin and just sits on top).  When the oils are stripped, your body will secrete more sebum (skin oils) to protect the skin from drying out.  Other reasons can include hormonal imbalance (e.g. teenage years, menopause, or pregnancy times), hereditary, and the weather (e.g. hot humid weather). 

So what can you do?  Wash your skin with cleansers that are not harsh - like a gel cleanser or even an oil-based cleanser!  Weird right?  Oil-based cleanser for oily skin?  But the oil-based cleanser dissolves sebum oils better than water-based and still leaves a good balance on your skin (not stripped).  Try the Shu Uemera oil cleansers...takes makeup off really well.  Find toners that do not contain alcohol since alcohol will dry out your skin.  The toner will remove left over makeup residue and keep your pores unclogged.  It also balances the PH in your skin (which helps with acne).  I found witch hazel at Rexall Drugstore for like $3 bucks for a 100ml when I was trying to find 99% alcohol for sanitizing my products and tools.  Witch hazel is used for bruises, reduces inflammation, and a great cleanser and toner!  Cheap too!  When finding a moisturizer, make sure it's not thick because thicker moisturizers have larger molecules.  Large molecules are not easily absorbed and will sit on top of your skin.  Serums are nice because the small molecules absorb fast and deep into the layers of the skin - serums are great for the delicate under-eye skin.  Choose light moisturizers that are oil-free (I personally like the Kiels Photo-age face lotion). 

I also like to use primers to keep my makeup under control.  I like the Too Faced Poreless Primer or the Dr. Brandt Pores No More (not Smashbox for oily skin) with my foundation, dusted off with a loose powder.  Loose powders are better with oily skin because they absorb more oil.  Then, I like to spray a makeup setting spray (I like Urban Decay All Nighter)...wait till it dries, then dusted with some more loose powder.  This helps soooooo much and blotting routines significantly reduces.

Keep blotting sheets on hand for maintenance purposes - ones that don't have the powders on them.  Clean and Clear are great, or if you live in the States, ELF blotting sheets for $1 are great too and contains green tea extract that helps with redness. 

These tips and products should help maintain/control oily skin!  It works for me so let me know if it works for you - comments and feed back are greatly appreciated!