You know how you can be seated peacefully and suddenly just feel all this light bouncing off your face? Yea that’s how oily my skin gets. I have “mega” oily skin and yes I know what they say about oiler skin taking longer to age, but my goodness…make it stop.
I have had plenty of time this summer (which was also the perfect time) to figure out what was going on with my face. I think people with oily skin purchase the most products because we are in this constant battle with our faces. The bad news is, if you have oily skin that will never change because it’s a genetic thing. The good news is oil can be controlled! Worry no more, I’m in this with you. Maybe we can consider this an oily skin journey that I’ll call “Matte Madness”. I will start by giving a few tips on how I keep the oil under control…here goes!
Clean your face
If I had to give you only one important tip it would be this. You will have the most expensive facial products but if they can’t even enter your skin then what’s the point. Your skin absorbs over 6o% of the stuff you put on it, so if your skin pores are filled with dirt, make up and toxins from everywhere, how do you expect your luxury moisturizer to fit in, better yet have any space to even function? Clean your face…thoroughly every day! Have a daily cleanser for mornings and night. Clean the dirt off from the day at night; and in the morning, your skin has been working and repairing all night, so clean all that stuff off and reveal your new glow! See how I clean my face here.
Cut down on the products…less really is more
You have 6 cleansers, a morning cream, a night cream, a skin brightening cream, a toner, an exfoliator, an under eye cream, a spot removal cream, an age defying cream and an oil fighting cream….but your skin still looks like crap? It’s all that stuff you use…stick to a few, very good multitasking products. A lot of people are afraid of buying a good $30 moisturizer but will spend $60 buying and throwing away mediocre moisturizers that don’t work. I speak from experience, if there is an oil control product out there, there’s a very high chance I’ve owned it. I had piles and piles of products and no results. Right now, I have two products that I use on my face daily, a mask for the weekends and that’s it! Yes, seriously, that’s it, a cleanser, a hydrating/toning mist and a detoxifying mask. Any other product I have, is used when I’m wearing makeup.
Use oil free products
It’s very very simple…stay away from oily products. This should sound like common sense but let me share my experience. I walk into one of my favorite cosmetic stores and a pretty kind experienced lady comes to me and asks if I need help. I was actually looking at some promotional products they were selling…something about “Fight oil with oil”. Like I said, I have tried everything, so when I saw this, my mind was racing. It was a Josie Maran Argan Oil cleanser. The lady convinced me, this $30 miracle would save my face. The product was actually good and took off make up…but it did not reduce the oil! I mean it should have been obvious right, but the oil control stuff is actually in the description plus I had heard a lot of good things about argan oil and not to mention those very talented sales girls. Oily faces must be the easiest people to trick because we are so desperate. The “Oil free” product will always be a better option. Don’t get caught up in all this marketing, bottom line is, you can’t treat oil with oil…period!
Use natural products
Perhaps one of my personal greatest discoveries. All these chemicals will only bring you harm.
Side Note: I feel like being a pharmacy school student has opened up my mind more about chemicals and now that it’s not rocket science to me (as much), lately I’m so curious about what’s in everything and I try to keep it as natural and as organic as possible.
My two favorite brands are Juicy Beauty which sales organic products and Origins which uses all natural stuff. Bare Minerals, NARS and BITE Beauty are great for makeup. You know what’s funny, when all these cosmetic companies are marketing their stuff, they tell you the stuff that’s not in there and leave out all the other crap that’s in there. So read the ingredients at the back! Just because it said, “Made Without” sulfates, parabens and phthalates doesn’t mean you should get hooked. What about the Synthetic dyes, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, and GMOs? Many times you can’t help it, but you can avoid these products by sticking to “all natural” cosmetics or if you read on the back, the first listed ingredients are usually the most in a product so if you see sulfates listed as the third ingredient, be very scared!
Use masks
Last but not least, use a mask…a clay mask to be exact. Think of a cleanser like a broom. It cleans quickly and is used more often. Eventually the inner dirt has to be removed with something stronger like a mop or scrubbing brush…that’s your mask. Clay masks are power detoxifiers that absorb toxins lying deep in your pores. I feel like they literally suck out stuff. Being a big time make up person, I dedicated Saturday mornings to a 40 – 60 minute mask session just to take out all the stuff that was left during the week and could clog my pores.
I love make-up and wear it at least three times a week but I want to make sure that when I take it off, you won’t have trouble recognizing me so I take very good care of what’s underneath. Make up looks even better when it’s going on good skin…its looks flawless and makes you feel more confident knowing that you’re not hiding, but rather flattering what you already have.
Till next time, Happy Monday…Buba!
