1. You must moisturize. Don’t give me the “My skin produces enough oil” story, because it doesn’t work. Even us oily-skinned guys and gals have to moisturize after washing our faces, and the secret is this: when you replenish the oils into your skin by moisturizing, your skin doesn’t send the signal to produce more oils. And with winter-time wind and air, you will want moisturized skin. My favorite (and budget-friendly) is Cetaphil, a cult-classic that has thick and thin formulas. In the spring/summer I opt for the lighter formula, while dry weather like fall/winter deserve a heavier cream. Just make sure to throw on a light sunscreen!
2. You must cleanse properly. Don’t strip your skin by depleting it of all its nutrients. Your cleanser is vital because after a long day of being outside (hello, pollution) and wearing makeup on your face, you need to extract all of that junk out of your pores. My favorite cleanser remains the Tea Tree Facial Wash from The Body Shop. It’s light-weight, it smells good, and it leaves my skin tingly clean without stripping it of all its moisture.
3. Green Tea. This is a strange beauty product, but I promise you it helps. Green tea has long been used for its anti-inflammatory responses, and it also possesses a lot of antioxidants that help fight damaging free radicals (i.e. the pollution in the air that’s attaching itself to your skin). While there are a ton of products out there that have green tea as an ingredient, I just like to brew a huge cup in the morning and in the afternoon to stay internally hydrated, fight off my caffeine addiction, and use the antiflammatory resources when my skin wants to turn red from all the weather changes. And yes, opt in for honey instead of sugar.
4. Vitamin C. Yes, Vitamin C comes in tablets, folks, and I honestly suggest if you are a person with some pigment in your skin, you grab a bottle now. With the changes in the weather and sun exposure, many of us are not outside as often and picking up natural sunlight that has, you guessed it, the nutrients we need for our melanin. You might think, so what? So I lighten up a little, big deal. Actually it can cause health issues such as fatigue, increased thyroid problems, and a bunch of other health issues that can be alleviated if you simply take some Vitamin C tablets to make sure your body is getting everything it deserves.
5. Exfoliate. While you should never exfoliate too often lest you irritate the skin, everyone should exfoliate every so often to remove the top layer of skin cells, allowing a new layer to come up healthy. Exfoliating is also an amazing tool when recovering from acne scarring and hyper pigmentation, but even us oily ones need to exfoliate. Removing the dead layer of skin also allows your next layer to appear brighter, which also tackles the dull skin dilemma we hit around wintertime. I use the St. Ives Apricot Scrub, another cult classic that sits well in the budget range. Some have said they find this scrub too abrasive, in which case I use my hands to lightly massage it into my skin instead of using a tool like a Clarisonic.
6. Put down the setting powder. While I know we’re all trying to get that Kim K makeup-set look, that powder is severely drying your skin out with the air lacking moisture. Say goodbye to your Banana Powder and work to get that moisture back into your skin after you’ve done your makeup. A setting spray works just as well, and many of them include nutrients in them that are good for the skin as well as beneficial to your skin’s dryness. On a tight budget, the Elf Makeup Mist and Set truly delivers without doing too much extra to the skin. Almost like you quickly just drank eight glasses of water. Ya’ll, this thing is like…three dollars. You can’t beat that.
Now of course, these are only the basics to a good beauty routine for those out there with oily skin. You should check out retinols, serums and face masks, as well as switch out your normally mattifying foundation for probably something with more of a dewy or satin finish. Don’t get the winter blues when trying to figure out your skin; it merely takes a little bit of thinking outside your beauty box.
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How do you combat winter oily skin?
