Skincare for Oily Skin

Sebum is responsible for giving hair a healthy sheen and keeping the skin plump and hydrated but sebaceous glands produce more than the required amount of sebum in case of oily skin, resulting in greasy skin. This could be because of hormonal changes during puberty or hereditary factors.

My skin has been extremely oily for as long as I can remember. But that’s not the end – it also tends to be very sensitive, but more on skincare for sensitive skin later.

Start your day with a glass of warm water with honey and the juice of one lemon. You might find it repulsive at first but you’ll soon get used to it. This will help flush out toxins from your skin and also helps lose weight!

When you wake up, wash your face with a gentle face cleanser. I prefer Lush’s Herbalism or Fresh Farmacy, but you could choose whatever works for you. Both the cleansers are very gentle. Follow this with a toner or astringent like Tea Tree Water or Tea Tree Toner. Follow this up with a moisturizer or a mattifying day cream like the Tea Tree Oil Mattifying Gel, which controls shine for 4-5 hours.

I have used a lot of products for my skin, some with adverse effects too but overall, I rate Lush and Body Shop very high. They have products that do what they’re meant to do even though they might be a little expensive.

Once a week, I also use a face mask to clean the skin of all the dirt. This step is very important because clogged pores can cause blackheads, which might then develop into ugly acne. I use Lush’s Mask of Magnaminty, which makes your skin feel squeaky clean. Its almost as if someone sucked away all the grime. I recommend this product highly. Some people get bothered by the smell but I like the minty smell and the freshness of the mask. It doesn’t have a very long shelf life so you could start by using the smaller pack.

In summers, you need to take extra care of your skin because oil production will be at its peak. Make sure you carry facial tissues and tea tree water with you so you can spritz your face every few hours. I also use natural things like tomatoes and papaya for my face. Tomatoes help in reducing pore size if used regularly and papaya helps in giving the skin a nice, healthy shine.

Twice a week, I clean my skin thoroughly. Most beauty salons offer the service but I prefer doing it at home. You’ll need:

* Face cleanser/ face wash

* Face toner/ astringent

* Face scrub

* Face mask

* Warm water

* Ice

* A blackhead remover [its a metal stick with a loophole at the end to pick out blackheads]. I have a Panasonic Pore Cleanser which I use for this purpose.

Start by washing your face and then clean it with a toner or astringent. Now, apply dots of the scrub all over your face and start massaging. Don’t rub too hard, instead use soft, rotating hand motions. Do this for 10-15 minutes, using more face scrub if required. Once this is done, dip a soft towel in warm water [I prefer hot water but not scalding hot!] and wring it out well. Cover your face with this for 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, you could use a steamer too. Once you do this, take out all the blackheads. With a pick, you’d need more force – it might hurt a little but that’s okay. Warm water will make the pores bigger so it becomes easier to remove blackheads. Once you remove all the blackheads, apply ice all over your face to close the pores. Apply a face mask and remove after its completely dry.

All this might seem like a lot of hard work but good skin comes with a lot of hard work and care!