What Are The Best Products For Oily Skin?

If your bathroom cabinets are anything like mine, then you’re just about swimming in products that claim to stop oily skin. I’m a bit of a skincare junkie, and if I see something that says it will stop me turning into an oil slick by the afternoon, I want to slather my face in it. So after years of trial and error, I’m here to break down the info you actually need when it comes to anti-oil propaganda and products! So let’s cut to the chase – what are the best products for oily skin?

The Best Oily Skin Cleanser

Ideally, you want to use one that ticks a few key boxes:

• It has a neutral pH level, so your skin isn’t stripped of it’s natural oils (this is important, and I’ll chat more about it later!)
• It’s gentle on the skin
• It contains salicylic acid

You might not find one that can do all three, but there’s a few that come close! The Garnier 3-in-1 cleanser is awesome for oily skin, and I’ve been a fan of it for many years. I wish it was cruelty free though! Apart from this one, I’m also a fan of the Sukin gel cleanser for sensitive skin, QV wash and cleansers by Skinstitut. Check out these options from Amazon!

What About Toner?

This might seem like a weird tip, but the thing is, you don’t really need a toner, especially if you have oily skin. There’s two reasons: One, most toners on the market that claim to help with acne and oily skin will likely help in the short term, but in the long term – they will suck your face dry. Why could that be a bad thing? Well, unfortunately it means that your skin will try to work harder to keep itself moisturised, which means it will go into overdrive producing even more oil! Think of it like a vicious, greasy cycle. Gross. And two, most toners contain alcohol, a seriously drying product that can cause seriously irritated skin. Again, stripping your skin of oil is not a good long-term game plan. If you really can’t quit toner, then consider making your own at home! It’s fun, easy, cheap, and you know exactly what’s going in it. Hey, I’ve even got a video about that!

The Best Moisturiser For Oily Skin

Hands down, the best moisturiser for oily skin is a gel moisturiser. Now, truthfully, these are harder to find, unless you’re in Japan or Korea. For some reason, the western world hasn’t jumped on that gel moisturiser bandwagon yet (but maybe it’s coming?!) The reason gel is better than your normal cream moisturiser is because it’s able to sink into your skin without clogging pores, it doesn’t cause shine (woo hoo!) and will allow your makeup to sit better on your skin (if you wear makeup that is). My fave gel moisturiser is from Japan (Curel Gel Moisturiser for Sebum Trouble Care), but you can find these others online too! And if you’ve found another in-store somewhere, drop me a comment below so I can edit this post (and credit you too!)

What about serums and oils?!

I feel like over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of additional skincare routine products like serums and oils. This isn’t such a bad thing (except for the state of our wallets…) but in order to stop wasting money on crap, we need to get things right! And it’s easy to waste money on this element of our routines, because they promise so much… for a price. A few tips to help guide you when purchasing these particular items include:

• Try fighting oil with oil. Like I said earlier on, we have a tendency to strip our skin of natural oils, thinking that it will help us achieve a matte finish. Unfortunately, this is a very short lived strategy, provoking our skin to work even harder, and therefore produce more oil. So try introducing an oil into your nightly skincare routine. Give it a few weeks and you should start seeing a difference.
• Aim for quality, natural ingredients. To be honest, this could and should be applied to all products in our skincare routines. Quite a few products don’t work in the long-term because they’re filled with fillers!  Avoid products with long ingredient lists, mineral oils and parabens.
• Be aware of packaging and use-by dates. Due to serums and oils containing more ‘active’ ingredients, or ingredients heavily affected by our environment, it’s not a good idea to leave them out in the sun or on the shelf for years. They are not collectable items! They should be packed in dark coloured containers with air-tight lids. Ensure you use them within their use-by date time (usually around 6-12 months) or you won’t get the full effect.

Phew! That’s a lot! So how about some recommendations then? Alright, here we go! I am a HUGE fan of Rosehip Oil, and I’ve tried a few brands. In Australia, my favourite is Trilogy. You can try others by Sukin or A’kin (and maybe you already have! Let me know in the comments!) I also recommend trying a serum with high potency vitamin C, like the one from Drunk Elephant.

              

Lastly…

Question: What product do you regret buying for your oily skin?

Share your biggest regret below, and maybe you’ll help stop someone making the same mistake!

Xx Jess