Oily skin is easily identified by its areas of shine and sometimes lumpy, bumpy texture. The good news is that it ages far slower than other skin types, unfortunately it can be a frustrating skin type to deal with. Make up doesn't seem to last, shiny areas appear by mid afternoon and the inevitable breakouts really can bring you down. Oily skin is caused by the overproduction of sebum by the sebaceous glands. Sebum is absolutely essential to the good health of skin, in fact it is your skins natural moisturizer, it locks in moisture and keeps skin soft and supple. Sebum flows out through the pores and coats the skin, giving your skin unbeatable protection. Unfortunately when excess sebum is produced it coats the skin cells in your pores which causes them to stick together, blocking the pore. As this is happening sebum is still being produced in the lower level of your skin and its travelling upwards. The blocked pore causes a back up of sebum (its like when you are behind that incredibly slow couple getting off the escalator, you sort of have to sneak out at the side of them to avoid a collision!) causing the pores to stretch as more sebum is produced. Bingo, thats how those nasty lumps and bumps that you can feel just under the surface of your skin are caused. You may have a predisposition for this skin type but with a few simple changes you can take control.
Be Gentle!
Steer clear of all those nasty, horrid chemical laden products. Harsh products irritate your skin and dry it out. When this happens your skins natural reaction is to protect and repair itself; as a consequence the sebaceous glands are kick started into producing more sebum to protect the skin and lock in moisture. Hey Presto, even more oil!
Exfoliation
I'm not suggesting you recreate the opening scene from Mommie Dearest, but gentle exfoliation will ensure that your pores are clear of blockages and sebum can flow freely out onto the skin.
Allow Your Skin To Breathe
You don't always need to slather on a moisturizer, sometimes its a good idea to give your skin a break. Your skin is a highly effective organ which is more than capable of repairing and restoring itself. Just take a break every few evenings and go to bed without any moisturizer, this simple step will allow your skin to just take a break from processing all the goodies you load it with and utilise its own innate healing nature.
