What is the Best Face Wash for Oily Skin? The Top 12 Best Products

Writer and expert5 years ago

The right face wash for your skin type is a gift that keeps on giving, but if you get your choice of face wash wrong, it can rapidly turn into a curse. Those with oily skin can experience a range of problems unique to their skin type, and face washes can be the perfect tool to battle them, or the trigger that sets them off. In this post, we explain to you what you should be looking for in a face wash if you have oily skin, as well as talk you through the best face wash for oily skin.

What to consider when choosing a Face Wash for Oily Skin

All face washes, regardless of what skin type they're most suitable for, will include a surfactant that acts as a cleansing agent, removing oil, dirt and pollutants from the skin's surface. There are 3 further factors to consider when choosing a face wash for oily skin, however:

Face washes will take care of the skin's surface, but oil production starts in the pores, where blockages often occur - choosing a face wash with absorbent ingredients such as clay or charcoal can help to break down and remove sebum deposits in the pores.
Blocked pores interfere with your ability to generate new skin cells and shed old skin cells - this means a face wash with exfoliating properties is an extremely effective way to help deal with oily skin and its symptoms. By sweeping away dead skin cells, and helping to stop their build up in the pores, exfoliating helps to bring your skin's oil production cycles back into balance.
Stripping too much moisture from the skin can cause it to overproduce oil - this means that harsh cleansing agents, while they can be extremely effective in the short term, can worsen the problem of oily skin. Using a gentler cleanser with a lower foaming action for a couple of weeks is a great way to test out whether this could be a problem for you.