Oily skin

Well the good news is you won’t get wrinkles.  But it can be a chore being prone to oily skin, particularly when your walking out of the cold into a warm room or vice versa - when guys encounter this major temperature change a complexion can get instantly shiny, this isn't necessarily oily skin, its the body regulating the body-temperature and this is why we thank Mr Tweezer oil blotting paper for rectifying this oily issue.

You know you have oily skin if you can actually feel oil on your skin surface and if you are often prone to clogged pores picture this – a pesky bacteria finds over produced sebum oil on the skin and guess what? You’ll have yourself a squatter for life.

Here's the science - we all produce sebum, it is what keeps your biggest organ, your skin, healthy and able to heal and grow.  Sometimes guy’s skin produces too much sebum announcing your arrival into the oily skin category. This can happen from stress (isn't that bad boy always to blame?) it can be a reaction to products you already use that you skin has decided - enough already, or it can be good old genetics resulting in having too much of the hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT) a metabolite of testosterone, which is responsible for triggering sebaceous glands to produce higher than normal levels of sebum.

Suffers of oily skin often make two big mistakes, they over wash with very astrigent face washes (just because its a big lather doesn't mean it's good) and they don't moisturise.  it is important to use a daily face wash, twice a day to balance excess oil, ensure its free from Sodium Laureth Sulphate (a lovely emulsifier invented in the 60's to remove car oil from garages - your not that greasy!) And ensure there are no artificial fragrances which always upset the skin more!  Then follow your face wash with an oil balancing moisturiser. Yes these products sent by the gods do exist; ours is No Shine (yup that name took us months) and does what it says on the box containing Lemongrass and Lemon for oil balancing. 

Another error of the oily ilk is to use an astringent toner. This is how astringent toners work, yes your skin will feel completely oil removed for a minute - but what astringent does is irritate the skin pore and forces it to swell up and close - creating the feeling of oil free, but trust me its there and it's now working double fast to get out. A particular well known bad boy brand has one of these astrigent toners as its best sellers and back in my days of running department stores skin counters it was the only toner that would get scuff marks off the floor - after the cleaners had been! Steer clear of astringent toners - if you do like to use a toner between wash and moisturise we love Liz Earles refresh toner.

It sounds like a chore but if you get the right combination of twice daily scrub with an oil controlling moisturiser, without any astringents or artifical fragrances you can make a positive difference to oily skin - if after this, the problem persists email our skin team for further advice as they are all trained beauty therapists. skin@rehablondon.co.uk