Oily skin, also known as seborrhea, is unfortunately acne-prone skin. Overproduction of oils within pores leads to a shine that doesn’t go away without help. Completely opposite to dry skin, you’re going to want to constantly be trying to strip away the oils and be careful of how you eat the food you do.
Common Symptoms
- Pores are (not always and not all at once) enlarged, easily clogged.
- Complexion is shiny or dull, with an impression of thickness.
- Skin is prone to breakouts-blackheads, pimples, and everything in between.
- Over time, blemishes get bigger and more irritated. This is the type where pimples will have full on green or yellow pus on occasion.
- Acne scars have definitely become a thing if you weren’t aware how to pop and clean properly.
Common Causes
Genetics – Here we are again. You are prone to an oily complexion, but you are not cursed with suffering due to it. It’s manageable, and after a while even just being aware goes a long way.
Hormones – In particular, androgens (male hormones in both males and females) are responsible for the maturation of the skin’s sebaceous glands. These glands increase production of oil as they mature. Fluctuations in these hormones will affect directly how oily your skin is at any time.
Stress – Well, yeah. I don’t really believe you can live in this world without that and I’m not about to tell you ways to manage stress without knowing myself. However, if you’re taking your hands and running it through your hair and across your face as a lot of people do when stressed–stop that. Don’t touch. You don’t need to be stressed over your face too.
Activity – Sweat, sweat and more sweat. It’s your enemy. Can’t stay cool? Wash away as much as possible. Cold water will keep your pores closed and uninviting.
Humidity – Summer is the worst with the heat, and even when it doesn’t get that hot living in places like England where humidity is high anyway is one of the many ways to make skin oily.
Hair – Now I don’t want to tell you how to do you. Your style is already yours. Just be aware that the oils of your hair are a common irritant.
I have an oily T-zone but I still prefer my bangs/fringe short. When my hair is curly (not straightened) I switch my middle parting to the side and keep my bangs out of the way of my forehead. This is because when curled, some of my hairs end higher and will touch my face constantly. When straightened, I prefer my bangs across my forehead. However, I have to thin them out regularly. With thick bangs, they insulate and I sweat easily so they need to be thinned out or I’ll be irritating my skin. Surprisingly, set foundation is a good layer to stop it from happening so if I’m all made up my bangs can go anywhere.
Advice
Wash your face every time you sweat. If you go to the gym, use the showers. Carry a foaming cleanser and a moisturizer. If you don’t have access to anything, cold water. Lots.
When you eat things like popcorn, or spaghetti–remember you are getting things just around your lips. The pimples that show up there on oily skin are usually from eating even just a bit messy. Be conscious, and rinse the area around your mouth quickly after meals. After a while, you might become hyper aware on the effects of actually greasy food and wash regularly then.
As a rule, you’re more likely to aggravate the pimples on your face the longer you leave them. Just pop them. However, make sure when you do that you can thoroughly wash your face right after. If you use your nails, you are at risk at damaging the skin itself around your pimple. When you pop and then wipe, you are wiping what was inside into the other pores surrounding it. After popping and cleaning, your best bet is to try and close the pores and dry them out to prevent swelling and redness from lasting as long or refilling.
To dry them out, as a quick fix because your day should have you washing your face minimum two times, use soap. All that excess oil and very drying hand soap is great at just being there for the cause.
Clay masks and charcoal masks, where the properties of it are the draw out the oil and wash it off are absolutely perfect. Try to stick with products that reduce sebum production and contain ingredients like tea tree to fight acne.
For this skin type, I have two friends with both tiny pores and large pores and oily skin, It’s a trip for sure. Be conscious and you’ll have this.
Hello Lovely 