If you have oily skin, you probably consider your cleanser to be one of the most important products in your skincare routine. You’re eager to remove the oil buildup and makeup residue on your face at the end of a long day.
But what if your cleanser could do more than just wash your face? What if your cleanser could help to nourish your skin and support its radiance from within? Here’s what you should know about choosing a cleanser for oily skin.
What Causes Skin To Produce Too Much Oil?
Some people have naturally oily skin because they’re genetically predisposed to produce a lot of sebum, which is the natural oil that coats the surface of the skin. However, in many cases, oily skin can be environmental or tied to lifestyle factors.
Your Local Climate
You’re more likely to have oily skin if you live in a warm or humid climate. This is why you might find that your skin only gets oily during the summertime. Heat opens your pores, which can cause oil to pool up on the surface of your skin.
It would be excessive to move to a different part of the world just to avoid oily skin, but you can make seasonal or weather-related adjustments to your skincare routine to support your skin through the summer months.
Dehydration
Moisture and hydration are two different things. Moisture is the water content on the surface level of your skin, while hydration is water content within your skin.
While drinking enough water can help with overall hydration, it doesn’t always help when your skin is dehydrated — and when your skin is dehydrated, it may respond by producing an excess of oil in an attempt to hydrate itself.
Infuse moisture into your skin by using moisturizers every time you cleanse your skin. We also recommend moisturizing after showering.
For ultimate hydration, look for a mix of humectant and occlusive ingredients. While the former helps attract moisture to your skin, the latter helps create a barrier to lock in that moisture for longer periods of time.
Harsh Skincare or Cosmetics
A lot of skincare and cosmetic products aimed at people with oily skin may actually be making the problem worse. Harsh acids, strong soaps, and mattifying ingredients can remove oil from the surface of the skin, which can trigger excess oil production.
When your skin thinks it's being dried out, it may attempt to replenish its natural oil. This can cause your skin to appear oilier than it was before, creating an endless cycle.
Your skin needs to find a proper balance for its long-term health. Instead of using harsh ingredients, try soothing ingredients that help gently support your skin from the inside out.
How Can You Choose the Best Cleanser for Oily Skin?
People with oily skin tend to reach for heavy-duty cleansers because they want to remove the excess oil from their skin as efficiently as possible. This is a counterproductive strategy.
Oily skin doesn’t need a very drying cleanser — it needs to be gently cleansed and adequately nourished to support its overall health.
Avoid Drying Formulas
Cleansers with ingredients like sulfates are designed to strip the skin. Your goal should be to manage the amount of oil on your face without completely eliminating your skin’s microbiome. In order to do this, choose gentle cleansers without heavy surfactants or acids.
Look for Nourishing Oils and Water
Oil removes oil, and water removes water. When you cleanse your face with botanical oils, you’re removing the excess oil on your face and replacing it with a nourishing oil that can promote the health of your skin.
What Is a Good Cleanser for Oily Skin?
Our Cleansing Balm is designed to support the health of all skin types. Our balm formula combines hydrating olive leaf water with nourishing extra-virgin olive oil to remove impurities from the skin without depleting it. Meanwhile, gentle plant-based surfactants like soapbark and soapwort help to cleanse the skin without leaving it dry and vulnerable.
This Cleansing Balm is powered by botanicals. Soothing chamomile can help to support your skin’s natural microbiome while soothing redness, and ingredients like wild organic beet, wild organic chicory, and wild organic poppy create an antioxidant shield that can support your skin’s defenses against free radical damage.
Even better, these ingredients are grown right here on our sustainable, regenerative farm in the Sicilian countryside. Fed from natural springs and wild-foraged as needed, these botanicals are rich in skin-loving compounds.
Work with nature, not against it.
How Often Should You Cleanse Oily Skin?
Oily skin should be cleansed twice a day — in the morning and before bed. A cleanse in the morning can help to balance your skin.
Meanwhile, a cleanse at the end of the day can help to remove dirt, debris, bacteria, and environmental pollutants that have built up on the surface of your skin throughout the day.
You shouldn’t cleanse your skin more than twice a day unless you have visible dirt or debris you need to remove. If you cleanse your oily skin too much, you may irritate your skin and cause it to produce excess oil in response. Luckily, our deeply nourishing and moisturizing cleansing balm can be used twice a day to keep your skin free of buildup.
What About Moisturizer?
After you cleanse your face, you should follow up with a moisturizer like our Daily Renewal Cream. Moisturizer is necessary for all skin types, including oily skin. A high-quality and lightweight moisturizer should hydrate your skin without triggering excess oil production.
When your skin receives moisture from an outside source (aka your moisturizer), it shouldn’t feel parched. If your skin doesn’t feel parched, it won’t send signals to your sebaceous glands to produce more oil.
The Final Word on Cleansing Oily Skin
Don’t be afraid of using cleansers with moisturizing ingredients or gentle oils if you have oily skin. Nourishing and hydrating your skin can help your skin find a better balance and naturally support healthy oil production.
Our Cleansing Balm is formulated with rich extra-virgin olive oil and olive leaf water and is designed to work for all skin types. This gentle and powerful formula can continue to deliver nourishing, protective, and hydrating benefits to your skin even after you cleanse.
Sources:
Why Is Acne Worse in the Summer? | Health Essentials | Cleveland Clinic
Water: How much should you drink every day? | Mayo Clinic
Sebaceous Glands: Function, Location & Secretion | Cleveland Clinic
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