Ugh! Have you ever woken up with oily skin in the morning?
You look at your face and all you see is a greasy mess. Or when you get home after a long day and see that everything on your face is slip-sliding away? It’s annoying, frustrating, no fun and makes us feel so self-conscience.
Oily skin is known in the medical community as seborrhea and is caused by excess skin oil produced within the pores. Teenagers going through puberty tend to have oily skin because fluctuating hormones can result in increased androgen levels and it’s the androgens that are considered one of the top oily skin causes. During this hormonally active period, testosterone levels rise and are metabolized into DHT, which can cause overproduction of sebum, which causes the extra oil. Stress can also send your hormone balance into a tailspin, as can your menstrual cycle, pregnancy, birth control pills, especially when you go off of them, menopause, stress, smoking, and even certain medications.
It’s one of those things that usually happens when we are teens, but as adults, we still remember being self-conscience about it forever. Some adults experience it, but not to the extent of the hormonal generation.
But this is the thing. And I know it sounds crazy. Oily skin will become less oily when it is cleansed with oil. That’s because the skin is begging for balance. Yes! Balance. So when you teeter it on the edge of dryness by stripping all the oil away, your skin is then going to make more sebum oil to compensate. Thus the oily/dry syndrome begins and it is a vicious cycle. Skin is the largest organ and really needs help on a daily basis. And balancing it with natural botanical oils is one of the best ways to achieve that goal.
Botanical oils are so similar to the skin’s own beneficial essential fatty acids. That is why they are so great for the skin. They help put the skin back in balance because they nourish the skin instead of drying it out. Then the sebum oil glands slow down their own process.
Other ways to help slow the process of oily skin down:
Drink up! Preferably lemon water because it adds Vitamin C to the mix, which is a collagen builder and great for the skin. The right amount of water is about 1/2 your body weight, in ounces. For example, a person weighing 150 pounds should drink no less than 75 oz. a day of water. This keeps your system working better and helps to flush it out.
Keep hands off! Don’t touch your face with dirty hands. You’ll add bacteria to the mix which can lead to blemishes. Instead, when feeling sweaty, or itchy, or any other reason for wanting to touch your face, dab a tissue gently, without wiping. This will absorb any oil without disturbing the delicate skin tissue.
ZZZZzzzz’s are key! Get more sleep and use a light cotton pillowcase. Sleeping helps the body regulate and rejuvenate. A cotton pillowcase will absorb any oil that may happen during a night sweat and you won’t wake up feeling slick.
Take your makeup off! Going to bed with a face full of makeup will clog your pores and stimulate sebum oil production. Make sure to remove all traces of makeup and then moisturize with something gentle and calming like Bye Bye Bagz at night. It hydrates skin without leaving it feeling greasy in the morning, just dewy.
It took me years to get my skin under control. I remember the physical and emotional pain of cystic acne and how the medication dried out my skin. Too bad we didn’t know then what we know now.