How To Take Care of and Treat: Oily skin

Since my last post was about the different skin types, I figured I'll write about how to take care and treat your skin type. Today, I'm starting with oily skin because that's my skin type and it's the type I know most about. So, lets get into it! 

Now, I'm going with personal experience here and let everyone know what I use and also recommend what I like, but I'll give some other options and recommendations as well. So, once you've decided your skin is oily, the first step is to find a good cleanser that's preferably gel-based or foaming (I love both honestly). I actually use two cleansers because I also have sensitive skin on top of the oiliness. One in the morning and the other at night. In the morning I use Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Cleanser, one because it's gentle enough for my sensitivity, and two because it's foamy enough to clean my skin but not strip it and dry it out. This has been my regular morning cleanser for about a year or so now. At night, I recently started using Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser. I use this to help keep my breakouts at bay and it also does a good job at taking off any makeup I wore that day (along with using my Clarisonic, but a review of that will be in another post! :)). Another good cleanser that is actually very popular is Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin. Now, I haven't used this cleanser in years, and by years I mean since I was around 13, so that's a good 10 years but I remember it being kinda like a creamy gel consistency but not too creamy and it left my face feeling clean and soft. If drugstore brands aren't what you're after a good cleanser that can be found at Sephora is Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel. I can't say enough about this cleanser! This is the cleanser I used as my last night cleanser and it is uh-may-zing! Pairing it with my Clarisonic made it a zillion times better. My skin was always soft, smooth and clear and took every little bit of makeup off my face. It's just a wonderful product.

This next part isn't an absolute must in your skincare routine, but I use it every single day, and that is a toner. Now, like I said, you don't have to use a toner but because my skin gets so greasy, especially now with how hot and humid it's been, I'm gonna talk a little about them. Again, I use two different toners for morning and night. In the morning I use The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Toner. This stuff is fantastic. It mattifies my skin and makes it feel really soft. The toner I use at night is another The Body Shop toner. It's the Aloe Calming toner. Again, this stuff is amazing too. There are only six ingredients in it, so it's perfect for sensitive, fussy skin. It's also good for in the morning if you're feeling lazy, you can just splash your face with lukewarm water, dry, then swipe that toner all over. You can even put it in the refrigerator if you got sunburned or just want to cool off. Another good higher end toner is BLISS Daily Detoxifying Facial Toner. I'll be honest and say I haven't tried a drugstore toner but I hear there are good ones from Neutrogena and Olay.

Onto Moisturizers. A lot of people who have oily skin think they don't need a moisturizer, but we really do! We just need one that's not a heavy, thick cream. We need more gel or light lotion based moisturizers that help balance oil production. For in the morning, I just started using Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream. This is actually pretty nice, it keeps my skin moisturized and hydrated without making me oily. The only downside for me is that its smell is a tad too strong for my liking. I try to stay away from very fragrant products because of sensitivity, but some people may like it. (EDIT: another downside is the packaging. It's way too bulky and I've already dropped it twice.) At night, I combine a serum and lotion together. I use The Body Shop Aloe Protective Serum and The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Blemish Fade Night Lotion. (Can you tell I like The Body Shop Now?) Anyways, I just squirt half a pump each into my hands, rub them together and onto my face. I will say though, it can make my skin a little greasier than I like, but it doesn't bother me too much since I'm using it before I go to sleep. When I wake up in the morning though, my skin looks and feels so soft and clear so the extra grease doesn't bother me. A good higher end moisturizer is Philosophy On a Clear Day Oil-Free Moisturizer. This is really nice and keeps your skin looking soft and matte. A nice drugstore one is Clean & Clear Oil-Free Dual Action Moisturizer. This is just a nice, simple everyday moisturizer for oily skin. 

Now I'm going to talk a little about sunscreen. Everyone knows about it, everyone knows they should use it, but not many people do, especially on a regular basis. This to me is probably the most important step in your routine. If you do nothing else but wash your face and put on sunscreen, I'd be a happy girl. Every morning I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 55. I know, I know. The SPF is super high, but I'm paler than Casper the ghost so I need it, trust me. I say try and go for at least SPF 30 but if that's still high, 15 is as low as I'll suggest. This is probably the best sunblock I have ever used in my whole life. It does tend to make your skin look really white at first but if you blend it well, it goes away. But this stuff doesn't make my skin greasy, it doesn't clog my pores and it makes my skin feel softer. I use this every morning on my face, neck and chest area. I will put it on everywhere if I'm spending the day outside, though. I'm not even going to recommend another sunblock for oily skin because this truly is by far the best one I've used.

 If you're still reading at this point, you're awesome! I know this blog is very long but hey, I'm trying to give you all the best advice I can. I'm definitely gonna go into exfoliators, treatment masks and so on for different skin types, but those will be in separate posts after this little series. The next blog will be on how to take care of and treat dry skin. Anyways, thank you to everyone who takes time out of their day to check out my blog. Please leave any comments or questions and I'll respond as soon as I can.