3 Habits to Avoid If You Have Oily Skin

For babes with oily skin who are always struggling with greasiness and shine, controlling excess oil is probably your utmost priority. However, this can get a bit tricky, and might even backfire if you follow the wrong skin care regimen. To help you tackle oiliness better, in this post, we will be sharing some common bad skin care habits that you should stop doing if you have oily skin!

1. Using ingredients that can strip your skin’s natural oil

People with oily skin types tend to reach for products that can quickly get rid of the greasiness on their skin, such as harsh scrubs or cleansers containing sulfate (an infamous skin-stripping ingredient!). However, this is the biggest mistake you can ever make. Why? Because these substances will not help you control sebum. Instead, they will damage your skin’s healthy barrier.

Related article: How to Balance Your Skin's pH Level for Healthy Skin

Technically, when your skin produces more oil than usual, it can mean that it lacks water content/ hydration. Thus, it tries to compensate for the deficiency by secreting more oil. Using skin-stripping ingredients or scrubs in this situation will get rid of both the oil and hydration on your skin, thus emphasising the dehydration and even leading to more oil production. Moreover, these kinds of substances will weaken your skin’s top layer, allowing all the harmful bacteria to attack your skin, causing irritation and acne.

DO: In this case, you should use a gentle cleanser to cleanse your skin without taking away hydration. For better results, you might want to try a cleanser with a low concentration of Salicylic Acid such as Cosrx Salicylic Acid Daily Gentle Cleanser, a lovely product designed to effectively remove dead skin cells and oil while still providing moisture to the skin.

2. Over-exfoliating your skin

Exfoliating is a crucial skin care step for oily skin because this skin type tends to produce more dead skin cells than others. However, it will do your skin no good if you exfoliate it too frequently, as not only the dead skin cells but also the top layer of the skin will be removed.

DO: You should only exfoliate your skin 2 – 3 times a week to prevent your skin from being over-exfoliated. Try products with AHA or BHA, such as the Cosrx BHA Blackhead Power Liquid, for a more effective yet mild exfoliation. 

3. Using thick moisturisers with high oil content

While moisturising is necessary for oily skin, applying thick, occlusive moisturisers will only add up to the excess oil and lead to congestion and clogged pores. Plus, the oil content will not be able to penetrate deeply into your skin to give it the proper hydration it needs, leading to tightness and dehydration afterwards.

DO: Look out for oil-free or gel moisturisers! Gel type moisturisers in particular will sink into the skin quicker, giving it the much-needed hydration and a fresh finish.

This is our recommendation for oil-free cream: By Ecom Pure Calming Cica Cream, which is a lightweight gel-type product with long-lasting hydration effect, perfect for oily and combination skin types.

Do you have any other tips to better take care of oily skin? Share with us in the comment box!