Curating Your Skincare Routine: Oily Skin

Before you continue reading this post, we must ask you one question: have you read 'Curating Your Skincare Routine'? If you have, and you think you have oily skin, keep reading. Otherwise make sure you head back to that blog and get familiar with the basics of creating a skincare routine.

Oily skin is possibly the most common skin type with men. Due to the nature of male skin, it tends to be oilier, but guys it's not all negative. Having a good level of oil in the skin actually helps slow down the ageing process. Sometimes oily skin can go into overdrive, and may actually cause you to look a bit greasy and breakout more often. This is when you might want to tailor your skincare routine to specifically combat oily skin, just to kick it back into shape.

How Do You Know If You Have Oily Skin?

This is pretty easy to figure out. Some initial signs may be having shiny skin and being more prone to break-outs. You may also notice that your pores look enlarged. If you want a fail-proof way of figuring this out, firstly wash your skin with a cleanser and wait for an hour without putting any further skincare on. Then dab your face with a tissue and if the tissue comes off looking greasy, chances are you have oily skin.

If you've got oily skin, try and look for products that are oil free. It's essential to have a full routine that targets oily skin, including a cleanser, toner and moisturiser. When rinsing off the cleanser, use cold water to help close the pores. Opt for an toner that controls oil, but monitor use so your skin doesn't get irritated. Finish with a moisturiser that is oil free, to help reduce shine on your skin whilst still hydrating.

What Ingredients Should You Look Out For?

Whether you're at the start of your skincare journey, or you're a pro in the area, there are a couple of ingredients we would recommend looking for in your skincare products. Whether one specifically, or multiple ingredients, have this list in mind when curating your skincare routine. Looking for products that are labelled ‘suitable for oily skin’ is also a good starting point.

• Salicylic Acid: Penetrates deep into the pore lining, helping to exfoliate inside the pore and the skin surface. This helps to reduce breakouts and oil production.
• Glycolic Acid: Helps to gently removes the outer layer of dead skin, helping to reduce clogged pores and remove excess oil.
• Benzyl Peroxide: Used primarily to treat acne, it helps to dry out the skin and reduce levels of acne-causing bacteria and oil.
• Clay: Clays help to absorb excess oil in the skin. Coming in many forms, the most popular are: Bentonite, Kaolin,  Rhassoul and Green Clay.
• Hyaluronic Acid: Oily skin may get dry and flaky. Hyaluronic acid helps to nourish the skin, without feeling greasy.

What Products Should You Try?

Every skincare routine should at least include a cleanser, toner and moisturiser. For the oily skin type, we would also recommend going for a clay based face mask. If your skincare is particularly oily, you could even get some blotting papers to use throughout the day.

Here are some of our favourite skincare products, suitable for oily skin: