Oily skin tips

Oily skin tips → Dry skin tips → Beauty tips

Oily skin condition is caused by a myriad of reasons (predominantly hereditary) and following these tips you can alleviate the problem.

Oily skin tips: Food and drinks

1. Eat balanced food containing all the required macro nutrients (proteins and essential fatty acids) and micro nutrients (minerals and vitamins).
2. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and fish.
3. Drink plenty of water to remove metabolic wastes and toxins. (very important tips)
4. Daily one litre of water per one kg of body weight is recommended.
5. Whatever food is bad for your health is also bad for your skin.
6. Avoid fat rich deep fried foods, fatty meat products and junk food.
7. Avoid alcohol as it interferes with absorption and utilisation of nutrients and induces excessive sebaceous gland activity.
8. Quit smoking, as smoking cuts down the optimal supply of oxygen to epidermis and induces sebum production.

Oily skin tips: Bath and washing

1. Take bath at least once a day, but spend minimal time bathing.
2. Use tepid water for bathing and washing.
3. Do not use hot water as it can strip your skin of moisture and induce sebum production. (very important tips)
4. Very cold water will shock the epidermis and as a response, after sometime, it will start producing more sebum.
5. Water with high chlorine content must be avoided for bathing, as chlorine has drying effect on the skin and body's response will be by overproduction of sebum.

Oily skin tips: Soaps

1. Use mild soaps and test and select a brand most suitable to your skin.
2. Use only neutral or slightly acidic soaps after testing their suitability. (very important tips)
3. Avoid harsh, alkaline soaps as they interfere with normal pH (acidic condition) of the epidermis.

Oily skin tips: Scrubbing

1. Sebum collects dirt and dust on it and combining dead cell debris, grime is formed and make the epidermis unhygienic. Regular scrubbing is necessary to remove it.
2. Exfoliate at least twice a week in order to keep the pores open and healthy.

Oily skin tips: cleansing

1. Keep a schedule of cleansing your face twice daily.
2. Never miss to cleanse face before going to bed.
3. Use cleansers which are mild and made especially for oily skin.
4. Cleansers with oily base work better by dissolving the sebum; follow it up with a water based cleanser.
5. Harsh cleansers, especially those containing Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) tend to dry out the skin and damage the acid mantle and the body responds by producing more sebum.
6. It is always better to go in for organic and herbal cleansers.

Oily skin tips: moisturizing

1. Moisturizers are not normally required in this skin condition, especially for adolescents and young adults. They can think of moisturization before going to bed after cleansing the skin.
2. Aged persons and women nearing menopause tend to have patches of sebum areas along with dry skin. They can use mild moisturizers which are least oily.

>Oily skin tips: toners and astringents

1. Toners tighten the pores and reduce the chances of clogging of pores.
2. In oily skin condition pores tend to enlarge giving mottled appearance, which can be alleviated by use of toners.
3. Avoid harsh toners, especially astringents with alcohol base, as they can dry up the skin and induce further sebum production.

Oily skin tips: blotting

1. Now and then you can use blotting paper to remove excess sebum on the face.
2. Powder layered blotting papers are more efficient in absorbing sebum. However they may leave a powdery substance on the face.
3. Blot powder can also be used to mop up extra grease. However this has to be washed off at the earliest opportunity to protect pores from clogging.
4. Facial tissue papers can also be used and prefer those without fragrance to avoid possibility of allergies.

Oily skin tips: Vitamins

1. High doses of Pantothenic acid (vitamin B₅) have been found to reduce sebum production.
2. Vitamin B₅ in sufficient quantities regulates the production of androgen (cause of sebum production) by its effect on Coenzyme-A (CoA).
3. Vitamin B₅ decreases the build up of fatty acids and their excretion through sebaceous glands.
4. Use of up to 2 gms of vitamin B₅ is recommended. (very important tips)
5. However to offset possible stomach upset, it is better to start at 500 mg per day in 2-3 split doses and gradually increase it to 2 gms/day.

Oily skin tips: Medication

1. If you are taking any medicine, check up with your health care provider for its effects on the skin.
2. Retinoid chemicals reduce the production of sebum and can shrink the size of sebaceous glands.
3. Acne medications like, Isotretinoin can help in prevention of sebum production.
4. Use of retinoids or isotretinoin must be only under the advice of dermatologists as there can be side effects.

Oily skin tips: make-up

1. If you require to wear make-up, make it minimal and use grease free foundation make-up, preferably in the form of powder.
2. Make it a point to remove make-up before going to bed to avoid clogging of pores.
3. Apply toner and wait for five minutes before applying make-up.

Oily skin tips: sun exposure

1. Avoid exposure to sun and heat. Exposure to heat causes excess production of sweat and sebum. (very important tips)
2. Tanning bed UV ray exposure also can cause excess sebum production and enlargement of pores.
3. Use grease-free sunscreen (at least 15 SPF), if you are required to go out in the sunlight.

Oily skin tips: associated acne problems

1. If cleansing of oily skin is not done regularly, the pores may get clogged and result in acne and pimples.
2. Steaming (for about 15 minutes) the face daily helps in opening up pores and in removal of black heads.
3. After steaming, use cleanser and then apply cold water to close the pores.
4. Using cleanser containing salicylic acid, helps in cases of acne breakouts.

Following these oily skin tips you can turn this condition into a nature's gift as well maintained oily skin, ages slowly and develops wrinkles slowly.

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