If you have oily skin, then you may be dealing with a shiny appearance and acne. However, oily skin isn’t all bad. In fact, people with oily skin usually have fewer wrinkles and thicker skin. This oil (AKA sebum) maintains the youthfulness of your skin, so it’s what you might call a necessary evil. However, with some balancing tricks in your skincare routine, you can make your oily skin work for you instead of the other way around.
If you want to decrease the oil buildup, then you need to apply a daily moisturizer. That may sound contradictory, but it’s true. With oily skin, not just any moisturizer will do. Read on to find out why your skin needs moisture and how to find the best moisturizer for oily acne prone skin.
Why is my Skin So Oily?
What causes oily skin? Unfortunately, there’s no magic spell or product that can change your skin type. Several factors can, however, influence it including stress, humidity, genetics and hormones. These factors cause the skin’s sebaceous glands to overproduce sebum (oil). While sebum helps maintain the moisture level in our skin, too much of it can become trapped in your pores making an irritating clump of oil, dead skin cells and bacteria. This is often a one-way ticket to zit land.
You wash your face in the mornings only hours later for it to be greasy. And because you know this is going to happen, you don’t want to add fuel to the proverbial grease fire and apply a moisturizer. Does this sound familiar? Unfortunately, skipping the moisturizer is not the answer. An alternative is to use a face lotion for oily skin.
Now here’s the kicker. When you don’t moisturize, this can cause your sebaceous glands to freak out and produce more oil than your skin needs. That’s why it’s important to find the best moisturizer for oily skin, so you can control at least one factor in what is causing your skin to be oily.
If you have oily skin that’s also acne-prone, you know the struggle of what treatments can do to your skin. Most doctors provide a variety of medications to treat acne. These medications may include:
• Isotretinoin
• Adapalene
• Salicylic acid
• Benzoyl peroxide
These acne treatments can irritate and dry out your skin. A good moisturizer for oily skin can help with the side effects of these treatments.
How to Choose a Good Moisturizer
The key to a good oily skin moisturizer is for it to be lightweight, hydrating and non-comedogenic. Non-comedogenic means it won’t clog pores—which is essential to keeping your face clear of pesky breakouts. A good moisturizer has three types of ingredients in it that make these three characteristics possible: emollients, humectants and occlusives.
• Emollients help smooth skin by filling the cracks in its outer layer. This layer serves as a barrier between the body and the outside world, so it’s crucial to keep this machine well-oiled. (Pun-intended.) These ingredients include stearic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, lauric acid and fatty alcohols.
• Humectants keep the skin hydrated by attracting moisture. Look for any of these on the back label: glycerin, sodium lactate, ammonium lactate, hyaluronic acid, sorbitol, Urea, and alpha hydroxy acids.
• Occlusives seal in moisture by forming a protective layer on the skin. Ingredients like petrolatum, lanolin, mineral oil, paraffin and squalene do the job, but they’re usually greasy. Instead, look for occlusives that are silicone derivatives like dimethicone or cyclomethicone.
PanOxyl’s AM Oil Control Moisturizer contains an occlusive agent, a humectant, and an emollient. Our hydrating trifecta includes stearic acid, hyaluronic acid, and cyclomethicone. Together, these products form a lightweight face lotion for oily skin that won’t clog pores.
But I’ve got more oil than a popcorn machine…
The good news is some moisturizers can do double duty and absorb some of that oil while you wear them. PanOxyl AM Oil Control moisturizer uses a mattifying starch to absorb excess oil while you wear it to help fight oily skin breakouts at the source.
Add some SPF
We’re going to go ahead and say it: you should be wearing sunscreen every day. Not only does it help fight early aging signs, protect you from sunburn and the big C word, but some acne treatments can increase your sun sensitivity or photosensitivity. This happens when a treatment interacts with the sun and can result in an annoying and sometimes painful rash. That’s why some acne treatments come with a warning to wear sunscreen while using them.
Using a moisturizer with SPF is a great way to combine two essential skincare products. If you’re sneaking this protection into your moisturizer, make sure it’s at least SPF 15 as recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology.
PanOxyl’s AM Oil Control Moisturizer contains SPF 30 mineral sunscreen for broad spectrum sun protection from UVA and UVB rays.
When to Moisturize
The best time to moisturize is right after a shower and after washing your face. This will help trap the moisture from the water within your skin. You should also moisturize year-round and not just in the winter. While the bitter cold winter air can dry out your skin, so can being inside during the summer. Air conditioning pulls moisture wherever it can get it, including your skin.
Go beyond hydration to control breakouts
PanOxyl AM Oil Control Moisturizer is a mineral sunscreen moisturizer that covers all of the bases for oily, acne-prone skin. This lightweight moisturizer helps stop breakouts before they occur by absorbing excess oil.
Combining SPF 30 mineral sunscreen, this moisturizer protects with broad spectrum Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide UV filter. This facial lotion nourishes skin with caffeine and green tea and seals in moisture with hyaluronic acid to keep skin feeling hydrated and looking healthy.
