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Often, too much of a good thing can turn out to be bad thing. And, oily skin is a good example of this irony. This is something you would certainly understand, if you’re suffering from oily skin problems. Oil control and tips for how to get rid of oily skin, are common topics that people suffering from this condition, are constantly checking out on the internet.
Oil is Bad for Skin?
Oil is essential for the skin’s health and appearance. Our skin needs some oil to stay naturally moisturized, and healthy. For a moment, close your eyes, and imagine your skin deprived of oil. It’s a scary picture that confronts you… dry, scaly, leathery-textured skin that is unattractive to the look and feel. Apart from keeping it supple, and imparting an attractive sheen to skin, oil also keeps aging at bay, by preventing wrinkles from forming easily.
Acne Breakouts
Conversely, you face nightmares, if there’s excess of oil in your skin. Apart from a shiny, greasy complexion, people with oily skin tend to suffer breakouts on the face. Left untreated, excess oil can clog the pores, leading to the accumulation of dead skin cells and black heads, pimples, acne, and other skin issues. Pimples’ removal and acne removal figure among the most popular treatments contemplated by people with oily faces.
How does skin get oily?
At the root of oily skin problems, are the oil-producing glands that go into ‘over-drive’ mode and produce more than the necessary quantities of oil required by the skin to stay healthy and look good. Known as sebaceous glands and located in the skin, the oily glands produce an oily substance known as sebum. Sebum is secreted along with sweat, playing the role of protector, and nourisher to our skin.
Now, in normal times, this sebum lubricates the skin and prevents loss of water from the skin through evaporation. As a result, the skin stays healthy, elastic, and attractive. However, when there is a malfunctioning of the sebaceous glands, excess sebum is secreted. The result is, overly shiny skin, clogged pores, and the problems associated with oily skin. Fortunately, there are solutions such as lasers for acne, that your dermatologist will recommend for treatment.
Why does skin get oily?
The prime factors responsible for oily skin are genetics, gender, age, diet, and weather conditions.
1. Genetics
If you take a quick survey within your family, you might discover that several members have oily skin. This condition is significantly influenced by genetic predisposition, meaning your likelihood of developing oily skin is largely determined by your genes. One of the key factors is pore size; larger pores are more prone to producing excess sebum, and this trait is often inherited. Ethnicity and family history also play crucial roles in determining the size of your pores.
2. Gender
Oily skin is more commonly found in males than in females. This difference is due to the higher levels of androgens, such as testosterone, in men. Testosterone is linked to increased oil production in the skin. On the other hand, women have higher levels of estrogen, which helps reduce the skin’s oil production capabilities.
3. Age
During adolescence, the body experiences an all-time high rush of growth hormones which boost sebum production. Oily skin, and the prevalence of acne in adolescents, are indicators of the growth hormone’s role in excess sebum production.
4. Stress
Excess or continual stress leads to the release of stress-relieving hormones, which also provoke the sebaceous glands to produce oil in higher quantities. Dermatologists point out to that excess stress is known to aggravate acne conditions.
5. Diet
Oily foods and those that are rich in simple carbohydrates, are a potential trigger for sebum production. While simple carbs are known to boost growth hormone levels, thus increasing oil production in the body, oily foods add to the sebum levels of the body. So watch your diet in order to get rid of oily skin.
6. Weather
Humidity provides the right conditions for sweating and oil production. Therefore, people living in humid zones are more susceptible to oily skin. Similarly, summer season is conducive for sweat and oil production in the body.
Ironically, excess cleansing is also considered a major factor in causing your skin to go oily. The excessive cleaning leads to irritation of the skin, which in turn switches on the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum to compensate for the loss. Excessive make-up, and keeping on make-up for too long, are also seen as triggers.
Watch out for these signs that are pointers to oily skin:
How to Get Rid of Oily Skin
The basic objective of treating oily skin, is to achieve a balance. This is because excessively oily and excessively dry skin are not desirable conditions to live with. The key, therefore, is to ensure that your skin has the right amounts of oil content. Here are some Tips on how to Get Rid of Oily Skin – Dos and Don’t
Basically, there are three approaches to treating oily skin.
Topical Treatment
This approach involves using medicated applications on the affected areas of skin. You can do it at home with the help of creams or solutions. At clinics, common procedures include medical chemical peels - like glycolic or salicylic acid peel.- A variety of lasers, such as ND: YAG, Long pulse ND: YAG, and Erbium YAG fractional laser are used to target the sebaceous glands and reduce the amount of oil they produce. These lasers are an alternative treatment for acne, because they clean the skin and help to increase skin cell turnover. Other devices such as Light Therapy can also help to control these oil glands, making them less active. This, in turn, helps to get rid of oily skin.
Lasers Treatment
Energy-Based Treatment -
Another alternative treatment is the RF Microneedling treatment that uses Repeated Ultra-Short Pulsed (RP) technology to target abnormal blood vessels that treat pigmentation, vascular lesions, and other skin discolouration. It targets the dermis layer of the skin, which can help repair the skin, minimize the pores, lighten the appearance of acne scars and control the overactive oil production.Injectables-based Treatment
The skin surface is injected either with botulinum toxin injectable (neuromodulator) in extra-small dosages, to decrease the transmission of nerve or chemicals to the sebaceous glands. Polynucleotide injections are another option in this treatment category. Derived from salmon DNA, these injectables are perfectly biocompatible with human skin. Apart from downtimes as low as 24 hours, polynucleotide injections help in skin rejuvenation, and reduction of fine lines on the skin.
Five Tips to Tackle Oily Skin
Here are a few simple but effective tips, to relieve oily skin conditions.
- 1Cleansers: Use cleansers that are not too harsh. However, make sure your skin cleanser contains glycolic acid or salicylic acid, as they seep down into the oil glands and reduce production of oil.
- 2Moisturizers: Apply a gentle, oil free moisturizer or serum. This will prevent excessive dryness of the skin surface.
- 3Make-up: Cleanse away or wash-off make up properly. Don’t allow make-up to remain on your skin for too long. Make-up that has dried for too long, tends to mop up oil and thus induce skin to compensate by producing more oil.
- 4Blotters: Use blotters in moderation. Also do not wipe the skin harshly as it can only provoke the skin to produce more oil as a reaction.
- 5Food: Avoid consuming foods that are high in glycemic index or rich in sugar content.
The knowledge that oily skin is a fairly common problem in our part of the world, is probably comforting to you. But this information should act as an alert against the underlying problems that this condition is pointing towards. As we have seen, unattractive, uncomfortable, oily skin can be easily tackled. All you need to do is seek help from a doctor. With help at hand, oily skin need not be a problem any longer for you.