Skin Care for Oily and Dry Skin

Normal, dry, oily and a combination of both. The skin on our face is classified by one of these four descriptors. Each type requires their own specific skin care routine, because sometimes the products used for dry skin could instead dry out another person's skin out even more. Of course, this isn't the only issue but it does happen a lot, so in this post we will be talking about dry and oily skin and the skin care products designed for them.

Let’s start with what does it mean to have oily skin? Oily skin is the result of too much sebum buildup, causing a persons face to feel “greasy” only a few hours after washing their face. Production of oil is necessary to keep our skin soft, but too much can instead cause breakouts of acne and blackheads. Normally, oily skin tends to go away after puberty because of the hormonal change but some people may still have oily skin. To cut down oil production on the surface of the skin, estheticians recommend washing your face with a trustworthy cleanser every day. After sweating, you must gently wash it off or it will build up. Exfoliators containing vitamin a also aid in reducing oil production and acne. To remove the dead skin cells covered in oil and in general, acne, facial products with salicylic acid work best.

Dry skin on the other hand is usually hereditary, or caused by too much exposure to water (for example: a swimmer has really dry skin). Taking extremely hot showers too often can also be drying out your skin cells since the steam is drying out the natural oils. Using scrubbing sponges instead of a soft cloth or just bare hands can also damage/ dry out your outer layer of skin. The most common advice for someone with dry skin is moisturizer. People with oily skin should use water based moisturizers and lotions to make sure they aren’t adding more oils to their face. Once moisturizer is included in your daily skin care routine, your skin should feel refreshed once again. Another problem is that a lot of facial products use benzoyl peroxide which tends to dry out the skin while it fights acne.

The good news is that you can make your own face masks at home for these skin types. For oily skin, try mixing lemon, yogurt, banana, and baking soda together and applying it twice a week. The citric acid in lemons help control oil productions while yogurt acts like a natural cleanser. As a swimmer myself, I deal with dry skin around my nose and cheeks all the time but I still manage to find some D.I.Y face masks that do the trick for me. Mix together some coconut oil, banana, avocado and honey to apply three times a week. The honey traps in moisture while coconut is proven to restore skin cell and nourish the dry skin. Bananas and avocados have Vitamin E, an essential ingredient in moisturizing and restoring the skin.