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Oily Skin

Perhaps you have been wishing your oil-laden T-zone would suddenly vanish only to be replaced with a healthy, radiant complexion. It’s not an unattainable goal. But replacing oiliness with fresh & glowing depends upon confronting the predicament without giving in to skin-traumatising temptation. The source of all the trouble is the microscopic sebaceous gland, safely hidden beneath the surface of the skin. Concentrated on the face (particularly the notorious T zone), back, scalp and mid-chest, these glands should play a normal role in lubricating the skin and hair, protecting them from environmental challenges like dehydration and maintaining health and lustre. However, as anyone who suffers from oily skin knows, when too much sebum is produced, it’s a real problem. Oily skin has a terribly negative effect on self-esteem as well as body image. Greasiness and shine often outweigh acne concerns. Oily skin is both uncomfortable and cosmetically unacceptable. Sebaceous glands working overtime is key to problematic oily skin. Too much sebum produces surface oiliness, blocks pores, provides nourishment to bacteria that live upon the skin (P. acnes) and contributes to acne flare-ups. Oily skin feels thicker, may have large pores, and requires care to prevent it from becoming a breeding ground for acne.

Key facts are:

• Is characterised by an overproduction of oil (sebum) and may appear greasy, shiny, or with large pores.
• May have enlarged pores or be prone to blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples.
• Needs a balancing skincare regimen.
• Can easily suffer from dehydration if treated with overly drying or harsh cleansers and products in an attempt to control the shine. These will only trigger the skin to produce more oil, leading to more surface grease and making the problem worse.
• Requires hydration with non-greasy, natural moisture factors.
• Benefits from regular exfoliation and deep cleansing clay-based masks that make pore sizes appear smaller. Best approach to oily skin is to balance the symptoms with naturally based formulas to restore skin hydration and resilience before, during, and after the change.

Learn More About Oily Skin

Over production of both oil (sebum) as well as structural lipids (produced by the epidermis) is really just a matter of having too much of a good thing. The skin's natural oils maintain hydration and play a major role in keeping it plump and youthful looking. Healthier and less vulnerable than dry skin, oily skin, ages the best of all the skin types. Everyone's skin falls into a basic skin type - normal, dry, or oily. Genetically determined, each has its own characteristic physiology and best approach for care. But, on top of your basic skin type, you may have one or more skin concerns to address as well. Oily skin's most frequent concerns include perpetual grease, larger pores, blackheads, and increased vulnerability for acne. Plus, makeup sliding off your face is nobody's idea of a good time.

Characteristics of oily skin

The causes of oily skin include:

• Genetics - The amount of sebum your skin produces is hereditary.
• Age - Oily skin is most common in teenagers but can occur at any age.
• Hormones - Oil production in the skin is exacerbated by hormones which means that puberty, pregnancy, and birth control pills may trigger oil production.
• Gender - Though oily skin isn't gender-specific, it is more common in men.
• Stress - Stress hormones can cause increased sebum production.
• Humidity - Where there is a lot of perspiration, there may also be an increased amount of oil production as well.
• Rebound effect - When oily skin becomes dehydrated through the use of harsh cleansers or other overly drying products, it 'compensates' by producing even more oil.

THREE of the BEST things to do about oily skin:

1. Proper daily skincare regimen with:

   • Hydrating ingredients (Sodium PCA, Phytoceramides) to keep skin balanced and protected.
   • Exfoliants (AHAs, BHAs) to remove pore clogging dead skin cell build-up.
   • Balancing ingredients (retinal, farnesol) to normalise sebaceous gland production and diffuse oil.
2. Environmental protection from the outside:

   • Daily use of full-spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreen protection helps prevent environmental damage that causes a loss of skin elasticity
3. Supplement protection from the inside:
   • Vitamin A to stabilise excessive sebum production.
   • Blood purifiers yellow dock and burdock root to eliminate toxins.
   • B-complex vitamins to encourage tissue repair.
   • Zinc to aid cell repair and reduce inflammation.
   • Antioxidants such as grape seed extract, Vitamins A, C and E to neutralise aging free radical damage.

THREE of the WORST things to do about oily skin:

1. Dehydrating with drying products: Stripping the skin of oil will create a backlash of increased oil production.
2. Overscrubbing: Though oily skin is tougher than other skin types, treating it harshly can still leave it damaged.
3. Falling asleep with your makeup on: Without cleansing your skin of makeup and buildup from the day, oily skin runs a double risk of clogged pores and breakouts

Frequently Asked Questions for Oily Skin

Why is exfoliation so important for oily skin?
Since small pores are what give the impression of smoothness, oily skin's larger pores can make it appear rough. Excess dead skin cells and blackheads can actually stretch a pore too making it appear even larger. By deep cleansing the pores of this cellular debris, exfoliation makes larger pores appear smaller.

Does having oily skin automatically mean that it is acne-prone?
No. But excess sebum is one of the three main acne influences (an overabundance of dead skin cells and p-acnes bacteria being the other two). Plus, oilier skin does tend to have more blackheads. The solution is to keep it very clean.

If I have oily skin, do I still have to moisturise?
Yes, absolutely. The biggest mistake is to strip away all oil, because the skin reacts by creating even more oil.

Common Misconceptions:

1. Using oil control products will lead to an increase in sebum production: This is absolutely false.
2. Oily skin is not a concern for those with rosacea: Again, false. While rosacea sufferers are more likely to have drier, more sensitive skin due to the natural aging process, I have seen more than my share of significantly oily skinned rosacea patients.
3. You can’t wear make-up while using oil control products: Make-up should be labelled oil-free or “non-comedogenic” and is appropriate for use by those with oily skin. It may also be applied on top of products that help control acne or oily skin conditions. For those more affected by excess oils, despite the use of some oil control products, the use of a powder base may help. Rice powders don’t plug pores and help absorb excess oils.
4. Oil control products cause unpleasant dryness and irritation: While many products which reduce levels of facial skin oils may cause these problems, this is absolutely not true across the board. And product misuse or overuse can also be responsible for skin irritation, not just the product formulation. Please continue reading to find out what you can do to help your oily skin.

Oil Control Products:

Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid, or as it’s more trendily known “Beta Hydroxy Acid” functions in a similar manner as the glycolic acids. Salicylic acid helps in the exfoliation process, and helps remove oils present on the skin. However, it does not treat the underlying condition. Salicylic acid may cause dryness or irritation in some people if over used.

Masques
Masques may effectively reduce the feeling of oiliness on the skin for several days. Not really an attractive approach, but it helps.

Dehydration

APPEARANCE

Dehydration is a very common skin condition. Dehydration is the loss of water from the body. Dehydration, is the skin’s inability to retain its limited moisture in the epidermis. The quantity of water transmitted from the inside (dermal reserve) to the outside layers (epidermal) of the skin, is dependent on the level of internal hydration. Trans-dermal water loss or flow (TEWL) is the movement of water through the epidermis. People often get confused between dehydration and dryness. DRYNESS is lack of oil on the skin and DEHYDRATION is lack of moisture in the skin. Skin feels a little like tissue paper. If you feel a babies skin it feels soft and plump. Whilst dehydrated skin feels less dense and dull.

WHATS HAPPENING

As you age, your cells will be replaced by cells containing less water, which affects how you look. A newborn infant is about 80 percent water, but the body mass of a wrinkled, older person is only about 50 percent water. Interstitial fluid reaches all body tissues through the blood, and makes up approximately 70 % of the body. It penetrates capillaries and circulates within and among cells, carrying with it nutrients and water vital to cellular function. It then acts as a waste collector for the cells and eventually becomes lymph, flowing back through the lymph vessels with the accumulated wastes. Without this proper exchange of nutrients, water and wastes, cells cease to function and eventually die.

CAUSES

Internally, this will be due to a EFA fat free diet and a number of physical, chemical and environmental factors. External causes are

A) Poor cleansing: Any cleanser leaving the skin "squeaky clean" or even taut is dehydrating. Soap is harsh because it is alkaline, stripping the hydro-lipid film from the surface of the epidermis and leaving the horny layer exposed, unprotected and subject to moisture loss. Other alkaline washes, such as foaming cleansers and alcohol solutions used for oily and problem skin, are even worse since they produce closed comedones (clogging) which ultimately become blackheads and possible pustules.

B) Skin damage: This may result from using harsh acne treatments like hydrogen peroxide, retinoic acid, benzoyl peroxide, hexachlorophene, etc. These substances alter the keratinisation process and weaken the ability of the cells in the horny layer to bond together. A similar process results from continual sun exposure, and in addition dermal tissues which affect the transfer of moisture to the epidermis break down and do not function properly. In both instances the damaged skin takes on a withered look, and affected persons need assistance at the level of the horny layer.

C) Neglect: This covers a wide area, from failure to drink sufficient amounts of fluid, to applying protective creams on a regular basis, to deliberately hampering the body's ability to function normally. Cigarette smoking, for example, is directly associated with wrinkle formation by constricting blood flow in the capillaries, which reduces the flow of moisture and nutrition to the cells.

D) Medication and illness: Certain illnesses may cause internal dehydration and ultimately affect the epidermis. Diuretics and many cold and flu remedies that dry up mucous have their side-effects on the skin's surface. The use of cortisone also induces dehydration and may produce permanent effects since it acts in the dermal layer.

E) Inadequate moisturisers: Light textured and milky moisturisers that "disappear" into the skin offer little or no protection. The water soon evaporates and does not penetrate the horny layer due to the presence of hydrophobic fats and the "Electro-Physical Barrier of Rein". The superficial wetting only impregnates squamous cells, and the constant evaporation of water can itself cause severe dehydration and fissures to form in the horny layer. F) Scrubs: The regular use of scrubs can break down cell cohesion in certain skin types, which reduces the capacity to retain moisture and places capillaries at risk.

G) Astringents: Alcohol based tonics wiped on skin remove sebum and act like strong cleansers. Use toners only on dry, sallow skin that does not show couperose tendencies, and pat them on following application of a day protective or lipid cleanser.

H) Air conditioning and climate: Moisture evaporates quickly within the dry atmosphere of air conditioned and/or overheated rooms, and adequate protection must be taken. Similar precautions are necessary in very hot or cold climates.

I) Hot showers: The friction and heat of hot water remove sebum from the skin's surface, inviting capillary damage and dehydration. Always wash the face separately using lukewarm water only.

J) Diet: An excessive intake of table salt (sodium chloride) can have a dehydrating effect. It transfers water from the interior of the cell to the interstitial fluid, creating water retention and bloating at the same time. Coffee, in addition to other negative effects, can also contribute to dehydration. Alcohol is singlely the biggest culprit.

HOW TO REPAIR

Although sufficient water intake is critical in maintaining metabolism, it will not by itself correct existing surface dehydration. The main water reservoir of the skin is located in the two lower layers, the dermis and hypodermis, and is regulated by the antidiuretic hormone (APH) secreted by the pituitary gland. The epidermis, the location most vulnerable to fluid deprivation, cannot compensate by drawing moisture from below, as interstitial circulation ceases where epidermal cells become keratinised. The epidermis can receive moisture indirectly only by the production and upward movement of new cells (containing adequate amounts of fluid) from below, or topical moisturising of the horny layer.

Results are achievable when treating a dehydrated skin externally, but long-term effective results can only be achieved when internal and external are combined. The first step in combating dehydration will always begin with restoring the acid mantle and ensuring the keratinocyte cell membrane is in optimum condition. Do this with dietary supplements like evening primrose oil and topically applied treatments. using oil based (w/o) or water based (o/w) creams that contain the actives that are compatible will enhance the skin structure and function.

INCREASE

AVOID

• Alcohol, coffee, sun, salt, air-conditioning and medications like diuretics etc. These element have an extremely negative effect on your skin. Each of these have water drawing properties removing the much needed water from the skin.

• Too much exfoliation impairs the skins natural defense layer. Exposing it to external aggressions such as air conditioning and heat.

WOW

• Avoid hot showers, the hotter the water the more dehydrating to the skin. Like attracts like.