Let's Talk About...Oily Skin

Oily skin is actually a blessing in disguise. I know, that doesn’t sound right, but it’s true! Oily skin will actually age better than dry skin. But what about really oily skin? I'm talking about the kind that requires a good wipe down by early afternoon every day; the kind that always glistens and shines in pictures no matter what you do to it.  What’s up with skin like this? It turns out that overly oily skin is a lot easier to fix than you think. Balance is the key most things in life. 

If you feel like your skin is too oily, chances are that it is actually dry or excessively stripped. It sounds counter intuitive, but think of it this way: if your skin is producing an excess amount of oil, it’s because it thinks that it needs to. Something is going on with your skin where the natural protective barrier, which is composed of your skin’s naturally occurring sebum, is continually being stripped away, or your skin just is not holding enough moisture.

Both of these problems are super easy to fix, though it may take a little bit of time as your skin balances itself out. The first thing you will want to do is discontinue any use of harsh detergents (found in your cleanser) and toners that strip away your skin’s natural protective barrier. If you’re not sure that your skincare products are doing this or not, a good way to check is to see if your skin feels squeaky after you wash or tone it. If it does, then it’s being stripped. Try using something a milder like the Oil Balancing Cleanser in the Purify and Balance Collection. 

You can replace washing your face with stripping cleansers by switching to oil cleansing with something like jojoba oil. Even though this sounds like it would make things worse, jojoba oil actually helps teach your skin how to produce the correct amount of oil for itself. Its composition is very close to that of human sebum and is thus super easy for your skin to utilize. Oil cleansing like this every day will repair your damaged protective barrier, teach your skin to produce the right amount of oil and let your skin know that there’s enough oil to go around and that it doesn’t need to produce so much of it. With a little bit of time, your skin will be much more balanced, moisturized, hydrated and oil slick free.

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