A common complaint I hear around this time of year is oily skin. First let me debunk a common misconception: Your skin type does NOT change. That being said your skin CAN develop a condition which makes your sebaceous gland over work or under work (causing very dry or very oily skin). Your skin type is yours for life.
There can be several reasons why your skin has all of the sudden started producing more oil (whether you have oily skin type or not) here are my top 8 possible causes:
1. Over use of skincare products. This is the most common cause of oily skin and very simple to fix. In search for younger clearer skin we are over cleaning, over exfoliating
or even applying to much pressure while using products. How do you know if you are using the wrong products on your skin? See your esthetician she will let you know J
2. Seasonal changes. During warmer seasons like spring or summer (depending on where you live) the rise in heat and humidity causes our sebaceous glands to work harder, creating more oil. Guess what happens to our skin during those colder months? Yep! You guess it more oily skin! In the winter when the air becomes dryer our skin is more likely to get dehydrated, causing our sebaceous glands to kick it into overdrive and over compensate for what’s missing. We just cant win! A good way to fight this is to use a heavier cream during winter, that is still suitable for you skin type but keeps it hydrated and use a lighter cream during warmer months.
3. Medications. Many medications can cause our skin to produce excess oil, most commonly hormonal birth control and hormone replacement medications can cause an increase in sebaceous activity.
4. Hormonal changes. In women, fluctuations of hormone androgens throughout life (pregnancy, periods, pre and post menopause) can increase our sebaceous gland levels. Great isn’t it?!
5. Stress. Stress does nothing good for us or our skin! When we stress our body releases more androgen hormones, which as we now know causes our sebaceous glands to go haywire!
6. Use of skincare equipment. Scrubbing with a washcloth, rotary brush, mitts, buffer pads, skin strips and cleansing cloths when unnecessary can dry and irritate our skin causing our sebaceous glands to hate us.
7. Sun tanning. We all know tanning is really bad for not only our skin but to our bodies innate systems. Something you may have not known is that tanning triggers an injury response within our bodies which causes our sebaceous glands to over produce oil in order to protect the skin at its surface.
8. Last but not least my old friend, Oil-blotting papers. These cause more harm than good. Throughout the day our skin comes in contact with many impurities, makeup, pollution and even free radicals. Using blotting paper might remove ‘excess’ oil but its also pressing makeup, dirt and oil back down deep into our pores delivering all the things P. bacteria needs to produce some nice pustules and papules that we all love to hate. Do your pores a favor, unclog them by throwing those papers away!
Still not sure how to combat that oil? Call or message us and lets get you booked for a consultation!
