What's Your Skin Type? Oily.

Now that it’s summertime, we all deal with sweat. But while some of us can blame the heat on our makeup “melting” off our faces, others can’t. Some of us deal with that incessant shine and obnoxious sheen all day, every day, winter included. Instead of calling it sweat, we call it oil.

If you suffer from oily skin, you know what I mean. It’s that “glossy” look you get right after a shower. Or that feeling of having to blot your face a hundred thousand times a day. Not to mention, the constant breakouts.

For those of you fortunate enough to not have oily skin, or it’s sister condition, combination skin, let me break it down for you. I’ll list all of the ins and outs to oily skin, so we can all help each other glow like the bad****s we are.

What IS Oily Skin?

First things first, what exactly IS oily skin? For starters, it’s actually called sebum, and sebum is naturally produced by the body to keep your skin soft and supple. You get oily skin when your pores get overly excited about doing their job and produce too much. While your pores overproduce sebum, the ever present hormones occasionally kicks things up a notch and decide to join the party by increasing androgen levels. The higher amount of androgens present, the more sebum is funneled through the pores, which then sits on the surface of the skin, creating an oily sheen. Once again, blame hormones.

How Can I Control It?

Now that you know what causes that wonderful shiny sheen on your face, the obvious next question is: How the FRÉck can I control?! Without going into the overwhelming list of Do’s and Don’ts, the simplest and best solution is: Wash your face. But don’t JUST wash your face, use a gentle, non-comedogenic, and oil free face wash, like PURIFY ME. After all, if you’re going to wash your face a million times a day you might as well enjoy it, right? There’s nothing better than using a face wash that feels great, and rather than strip your face of all it’s goodness, leaves your skin fresh and hydrated.

Another great tip: moisturize! Sure it sounds counter-intuitive. Think of it this way; the more you wash your face, the more likely it is to dry out. When your skin dries out, it produces oil. If you already have oily skin to begin with, guess what that means? More oil! So go ahead, grab your favorite moisturizer or serum, and slather away. Just be sure to use formulas that won’t clog your pores and will balance your pH levels. Look for products that penetrate into the deeper layers of your skin for real hydration. Lightweight serums like REVIVE ME, which contains Argan Stem Cells for deep seated rejuvenation of the skin, and non-comedogenic moisturizers like PROTECT ME, with an SPF 30 and Chamomile, Melissa & Rooibos, which contain powerful anti-oxidants, are great options.

Summer-Sweat and Oil Don’t Mix… Or Do They?

You might think that with summer and all her sweaty glory that you’re S.O.L (S---t Out of Luck) on oily front, but fear not! We’ve got a couple more tricks up our sleeves to help us shiny gals conquer the summer sweat. As we already know, washing your face is a major way to combat oil, and keeping your skin hydrated is key. We also know that we’re real women. We go outside. We run along the beach. We do Yoga in mountains. We live life. Living life doesn’t always afford us the opportunity to wash our face every five minutes.

So what’s a gal to do? For starters, check the products you use, make sure to use non-drying face primers and lightweight oil free makeup. If all else fails, blotting papers to the rescue! We all know how disgustingly satisfying it can be to check out all the oil that comes off our faces after using one. So blot away! And at the end of the day, if all else fails, remind yourself that women with oily or combination skin types often age more slowly. Oily skin remains lubricated, preventing fine lines and wrinkles. So while you might hate the oil now, you’ll have the last, perfectly un-wrinkled laugh later.

To read more on the different Skin Types, check out our blog here.