Like most blog posts I write, the idea for this post on oily skin came from numerous interactions with you fine folks here on the blog, on my Instagram, and on my Youtube. I often hear from you guys that your skin is (your words, not mine) SUPER oily and while obviously people have oily skin, me being one of them, I do want to make sure you guys don’t have SUPER OILY SKIN because of something you’re mistakenly doing in your routine. So let’s talk out a few reasons why your skin might be so oily.
Bear in mind, this is a checklist to help guide you in the right direction. It’s not a diagnosis (um, I’m clearly not a REAL doctor…lol) but some things to keep in mind that might be self-sabotage on your skin.
Your age
I don’t have a huge teen-aged audience (or one at all, really…lol) so I don’t often cover teen skin topics. But if you came here by means of a google search and you’re a teenager, your skin might be super oily on a count of your hormones. Overproduction of sebum is common in your teen years and thankfully over the counter treatments containing 10% benzoyl peroxide or 10% salicylic can be enough to help curb some of the oiliness and the acne that comes with it.
Now if you’re an adult reading this section, those higher percentages of benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid can be too much for our skin and can actually dry us out and cause more issues (including making the skin go into panic mode and produce even MORE oil).
As a teen, it’s important to make sure you wash your face twice daily, use treatment products when necessary, wear sunscreen during the day, and make sure you’re not leaving makeup on overnight (because if you’re wearing makeup—how can you also be washing your face?).
For my adults out there, as we get older the skin tends to produce less oil. I’ve personally experienced this—my skin is definitely still oily at 37, but it isn’t as oily as it was when I was in my 20s. So if you’re well into adulthood, you also want to make sure the products in your routine aren’t aggressively targeting the oily skin that you don’t even have anymore.
Are you exfoliating?
Proper exfoliation helps the skin shed dead skin cells. Typically the skin does this on its own, but as we age this process tends to slow down so sometimes the skin needs a little extra help. There are two types of exfoliation: chemical and physical. I wrote about both so you can read more about the differences here.
How often you exfoliate depends on a number of factors: your skin type, your age, your skin concerns, the type of exfoliator you use, etc. On average, you should exfoliate 2-3 times a week (less if you have sensitive skin). I personally prefer chemical exfoliation, but I sometimes also use gentle physical exfoliators.
So if you’re not exfoliating regularly or you don’t exfoliate at all, what can happen is you create an environment where the skin is now dealing with oil secretions AND clogged pores. Your skin is screaming and you can’t even hear it through the clogged pores :x
If you’re an exfoliation newbie and have no clue where to start, I would suggest seeking out a trusted esthetician in your area for a facial. They should be able to assess your skin situation and provide a treatment to help. You want to ask tons of questions during your facial as well as take notes on what the esthetician suggests for you to do at home in between visits. And yes, sometimes a good facial can put a dent in your pocket, but think of it like this: if you were to try a bunch of things at home when you have no clue what you’re doing and mess up your skin, imagine how expensive THAT would be to fix :/
Is it your moisturizer?
I talk about the moisturizer switch-up pretty often, but in case you missed the first post, check it out here. If you live somewhere that has different seasons or if you lived in one type of climate and moved somewhere that is the total opposite, you will very likely need to change your moisturizer.
I have oily skin and live in NYC where we get four seasons a year (and girl, sometimes we get four seasons in a week :x). When it gets colder out, I need a moisturizer that is more hydrating than what I use when it’s warmer out. I also can’t really use the same moisturizer in spring than I would use in summer. And get this, if it’s 50 degrees on Monday and then 65 on Tuesday and then 85 on Wednesday, that’s at least 2 different moisturizers right there in the same week.
If your skin is SUPER oily, make sure that you’re not wearing the wrong moisturizer for not only the season, but for the weather that day.
Read more in my moisturizer category on the blog.
Is it your foundation?
Just like your moisturizer, there is also a foundation switch-up if you live somewhere with different seasons (or have moved to a climate different than where you lived). There are certain foundation formulas that I can wear in the winter that I cannot even try to play myself and try to wear in the summer. I LOVED the Laura Mercier Flawless Lumiere Foundation and its luminous finish, but I can only wear it when it’s colder out. If I even tried to wear this in warmer temps, it would look super greasy like two minutes after I apply it. And then I love the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Foundation, but I found it too matte for me in the winter where the formula would be fine for me when it’s warmer out.
Find out more about choosing the right foundation formula in the video below.
Is it your other makeup?
Your other makeup could also be killing your quest to balance your oily skin. Makeup with a cream or liquid formula like highlighters, bronzers, blush, etc. could be making your face prematurely greasy. You can either save these formulas for colder weather where they will have a better chance of working better with your skin, switch to versions that dry to a powder finish, switch to all powder finishes, or try layering these by setting it with powder to give it more staying power.
More things to know…
Now it’s important to understand that oily skin is not a curse or something that needs to be obliterated. You want to BALANCE your oily skin, not zap every ounce of oil out of it (trying to do that is counterproductive anyway—dehydrated oily skin produces MORE oil to compensate). A little oil breakthrough won’t hurt anybody, boo. But if you find yourself making sure you’re not doing any of the things mentioned above and you’re still dealing with SUPER oily skin, you might want to see a dermatologist who can better assess your skin and who might also give you some prescription strength treatments (if needed) to help.
