for our oily friends.
Oil is the devil when it comes to skin health, and while having enough is important to keep skin balanced and hydrated, having too much especially during this time of year can be problematic for our skin especially if we are already more acne prone as it is! So, this week we want to dive a little deeper into a couple different skincare options we recommend for oily skin and especially during these hot/sweaty months. We will go in order of how we recommend your skincare routine to flow as well to keep everything easy and simple!
Cleansers- we recommend adding or switching your cleanser to a nice foaming cleanser or a cleanser that has some exfoliation properties. We also recommend always double cleanse. First cleanse to get any makeup and excess oil off of the skin and second cleanse it to actually cleanse the skin and get the product where it needs to go.
Exfoliate- in our “summer essentials” blog we talked about why exfoliation is needed for summertime and especially for our oily skinned patients. We need all that buildup off the skin and exfoliating helps to promote cellular turnover. Cellular turnover needs to happen to prevent acne and promote anti-aging and collagen production! This step is one we find most of our patients either don't do or don’t do enough of, so add this to your routine ASAP!
Toner- specifically oily skin we recommend a toner that has some type of active ingredient in it like salicylic acid or glycolic acid specifically to help not only with the PH of the skin but to also help with sensitivity, redress, and excess oil.
Moisturizers- with moisturizers we worry more about what to avoid ingredient wise in your everyday moisturizer. A good rule of thumb for oily skin is to avoid any ingredients that end with “oil” (obviously). Some good examples are coconut oil, jojoba oil, sunflower oil, palm oil, and soybean oil. These are all notorious when it comes to clogging pores and making oil control impossible. Now we aren’t saying never to these products, every once in a while a moisturizer or a mask that has these in them isn’t going to drastically change your skin but avoiding them on a daily basis is a must!
Retinol- now retinol is something we will cover in another post in great detail but for now all you need to know is a MEDICAL grade retinol is a must when it comes to excessive oil. Not only will it help with the oil production itself, but it will also help with the cascade of things that happens because of the oil (i.e. breakouts, pimples, blackheads, and premature aging).
Now that we have given you just the bones or an outline of what you need, we wanted to link our general protocol we would love to see you on if you came into us with oil being the number one troublemaker. Keep in mind every single patient's skin is different, and we like to see everyone before we prescribe any type of skincare regimen. But for now, here are some of our must haves for oily congested skin! (Exfoliating Cleanser, Dual Action Scrub, Oil Control Pads, ZO retinols (we pick one specific for your skin/any other concerns)
And as always you can book a free skincare consultation to make sure these products are right for you!