WHAT CAUSES OILY SKIN?

Oily skin is commonly shiny with large pores especially around the nose and cheeks. The sebaceous glands which secrete a sealing film of oil to coat the pores, are overproducing. While heredity plays a dominant role in skin type, hormones, immune system deficiencies, lifestyles, and chronic irritation set the stage for aggravated oily skin. This leads to a shiny appearance. At the worst, excess oil can be trapped in the pores due to keratinization of tissue on the skin's surface. This trapped oil sometimes mingles with bacteria to cause eruptions. Other contributing factors include alcohol consumption, smoking, an unbalanced diet, vitamin or mineral deficiencies especially in zinc and vitamin A, stress, pollution, and lack of water intake. Oily skin and skin with acne should not be confused. A skin with an over production of oil is not necessarily a skin with acne. The key is to control the sebum production and not to eliminate it. Sebum is important and can actually protect te skin against sunrays.

Be careful not to treat skin with harsh products. If skin has been aggressively treated with a harsh or irritating ingredient, it may be excessively dry or tight on the surface, while impurities will still remain trapped under dead skin.

Be sure to use oil-free, non-comedogenic foundation and powder. Heavy, oil-based foundations may camouflage skin problems but also invite trouble, clogging pores and adding other oils and irritants to overburdened skin.

Lifestyle choices make an impact on their skin as well. A balanced diet plays an important role in general skin health. It is recommend that a person follow a low-fat diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Drink 8-10 glasses of water daily. Along with regular facial treatments, it is important to maintain skin at home.

Regular exfoliation treatments can greatly reduce clogged pores that lead to pimples. Weekly exfoliation followed by a mask is one of the most important regimens a person can use to maintain the effectiveness of the treatments. Enzyme peels work well to slough off dead skin cells, while helping to stimulate circulation. Papain, an enzyme from papaya is an excellent and gentle exfoliator that is well-tolerated by most skin types. Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) can have a dramatic effect on keeping oily skin free of blemishes. This is accomplished by speeding up the rate of turnover of skin cells in the epidermal layer. Some tolerate lactic acid based AHAs while others do well with fruit based ones like glycolics.