Oily Skin
Oily Skin
7 Restoratives for a Happier Face
It's not your fault, really. If you've got to blame someone, blame your ancestors. Chances are they came from someplace where oily skin served a useful purpose, such as combating the effects of excessive Mediterranean sunlight or monsoon rains. Now you're stuck with oily skin in the middle of Minnesota, where the embarrassment of a shiny forehead outweighs any possible protection your skin might afford you from scorching rays or tropical torrents.
Heredity does play a big part in oily skin, but so do hormones. Pregnant women sometimes notice an increase in skin oil as hormonal activity changes. So do women taking certain types of birth control pills. Stress can also cause the oil glands to kick into overdrive. The wrong cosmetics can easily aggravate an otherwise mild case of oily skin. Some of these causes are within your ability to control, but others you'll have to learn to live with.
There is no magic cure for oily skin. State-of-the-art advice from the experts calls for keeping it clean, and keeping at it all the time. Our tips will help you do that as well as it can be done.
On the up side, skin experts believe there are some advantages to having an oily hide, not the least of which becomes apparent with the steady passing of time. That is, oily skin tends to age better and wrinkle less than dry or normal skin. Today's curse; tomorrow's blessing.
Make mine mud. "Clay masks or mud masks are worthwhile," says Howard Donsky, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and staff dermatologist at Toronto General Hospital. But Dr. Donsky cautions that masks will make skin feel good and look better only temporarily, so don't count on the effects lasting for any length of time.
Generally, the darker brown the clay (mud), the more oil it can absorb. White or rose-colored clays, though, are gentler and work best on sensitive skin.
Masks can cleanse the skin of surface greasiness, but don't expect them to "deep-clean" the pores (the term is meaningless, some experts say) or do anything more than temporarily tone the skin.
Splash on the hot suds. "Hot water is a good solvent," says Hillard H. Pearlstein, M.D., a private practitioner and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York. For that reason, he recommends that oily skin be washed in very warm water, with plenty of soap. "Hot water plus soap will dissolve skin oil better than cold water and soap," he says, "because more things dissolve in hot than cold, and that includes soap and the grit and grime you're trying to get rid of on your skin."
Seek out drying soaps. "Given the state of the art in oily skin treatment, all you can really do is degrease the skin," Dr. Pearlstein says, "and that has to be done repeatedly, with astringents and with drying soaps."
Finding a drying soap is not a problem (finding one that won't dry the skin can be, however). Many dermatologists seem to favor good old Ivory for oily skin, along with more specialized degreasing soaps such as Cuticura Mildly Medicated Soap, Clearasil soap, and Neutrogena Oily Skin Formula, to name a few.
But there's really no reason to spend lots of money, says Kenneth Neldner, M.D., a professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. "Some people feel that soaps like Safeguard and Dial are fairly drying, and these should do the trick. The thing is to make sure you use lots of it—go heavy on the soap and scrub that skin."
Forget the Food Connection Although some magazines and skin care books recommend special diets for reducing oily skin problems (usually by cutting out fried and fatty foods), our experts dismiss such things as pure fantasy and wasted effort. "There's no relationship between diet and oily skin," says Hillard H. Pearlstein, M.D. "The condition is genetically determined, and you either have it or you don't. You can't turn off the oil glands with diet—all you can do is mop up." Kenneth Neldner, M.D., agrees. "I don't think diet has any effect. If it does, there's nothing about it that's known to the medical community. I mean, if you have dry skin, there's nothing you can eat that will make your skin oily, so there's no reason to think it would work the opposite way for oily skin." |
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Follow with astringents. Astringents with acetone are your best bet, according to Dr. Neldner. "Acetone is a great fat and grease solvent, and most astringents have a bit of acetone in them. If you use it regularly, you can surely remove oil from the skin."
Although most astringents contain alcohol, look for a brand that also contains acetones, such as Seba-Nil, says Dr .Neldner. Ordinary rubbing alcohol, however, can be used as an effective, inexpensive astringent. Those looking for something milder can try witch hazel, which contains some alcohol and also works well.
Nonalcohol astringents contain mostly water and are not as effective as those with alcohol and acetone, but they may be of help for those with sensitive skin. Worth noting: Dermatologists say that rather than washing the face several times a day, which can leave it too dry and irritated, you're better off to carry astringent pads with you and use them to cleanse the face.
Select cosmetics with care. "Cosmetics come in two major categories," says Dr. Neldner, "oil-based and water-based. If you've got oily skin, use only a water-based product."
There are many cosmetics formulated for oily skin. They are made to soak up and cover oiliness so the skin doesn't look as greasy. But no cosmetic has any magical ingredient that will slow down or stop oil production, so don't be lured into buying products that make such claims.
Take a powder. Baby powder, that is. For additional shine-free protection, some women find that simple products such as Johnson's Baby Powder make a superb face powder when fluffed lightly over makeup.
PANEL OF ADVISERS
Howard Donsky, M.D., is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and staff dermatologist at Toronto General Hospital. He is author of the book Beauty Is Skin Deep.
Kenneth Neldner, M.D., is a professor and chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Lubbock.
Hillard H. Pearlstein, M.D., is a private practitioner and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York in New York City.
