Over the past decade, beauty companies have started making “natural” products to meet rising demand. There’s actually no legal definition for the term natural according to the FDA though many skin care products use the term natural on the products packaging. Just because they use the term, doesn’t mean they are safe to use. The only way to find out if a product is really safe is to read the list of ingredients on the product but the ingredients will probably be unrecognizable to most people. To guarantee what you put on your skin is really safe and natural, you can resort to natural home remedies.
The following are natural ingredients that can help control oily skin:
This ingredient is one of the most common food items found in a household. It’s egg yolk. To apply it on the skin, use a cotton pad and apply the egg yolk to oily spots. Leave it on for 10 or 15 minutes and then rinse with cold water.
The next ingredient is well known for its healing powers and has been used by humans for thousands of years. It looks like a cactus but it’s a member of the Lily family. You guessed it. The miracle plant is Aloe Vera. If you have an Aloe Vera plant, use a sharp knife and cut a leave from the plan. Then slice open the leaf and apply the gel on your face. Do it a couple of times a day. Unlike egg yolk, you don’t have to rinse it off. If you don’t have an Aloe Vera plant, you can get Aloe Vera gel from the store.
Cucumber and Lime - Prepare about an ounce of cucumber juice and add 1/2 teaspoon lime juice to it. Stir nicely and use a clean cotton ball to apply the mixture to oily spots. Leave it on for 30 minutes and then rinse with cold water.
Honey, Lemon and Oatmeal - Make a paste using honey, oatmeal and some lemon juice and spread it on your face. Leave it on for 15 minutes and then rinse.
Finally keep a bottle of water in the fridge. Spray the cold water to your face several times a day to tighten the pores.
These oily skin care methods are not only low-cost and effective, but also good for the environment.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Diet for Oily Skin
There are two schools of thought on the relationship between diet and oily skin. One says that there is no relationship between the two as oily skin is a condition that is genetically coded. In other words, a person is either born with it or not. The other is that what you eat reflects on the state of your skin. So which one to believe in? In my opinion, there’s nothing to lose for trying to make dietary changes. If it works, that’s great. If not, you can always go back to your old eating.
So here are some recommended dietary changes that people with oily skin may want to make:
1. Restrict foods high in sugar and salt
2. Drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated and help your body flush out toxins. The body needs an average of two litters of water a day.
3. Consume Vitamin B2 foods such as barley, kidney beans, almonds, buckwheat and soya beans. Vitamin B2 helps alleviate stress which is one of the causes of oily skin.
4. Avoid fried foods and foods high in fat and use less amount of oil for cooking. If possible, use canola or olive oil.
5. Include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your daily diet.
6. The sugar content in carbonated drinks is generally high. So avoid them. The same goes for chocolates and other sweet foods.
The above are some of the recommended dietary changes. If you diet is drastically different from the recommended diet for oily skin, you would want to consult your dietician or dermatologist before taking the plunge as it might affect your health.
In short, cut down on the fat and sugar you consume, drink more water and consume more vegetables, fruit and Vitamin B rich foods. If you make these changes, there’s a possibility that your condition will improve.
So here are some recommended dietary changes that people with oily skin may want to make:
1. Restrict foods high in sugar and salt
2. Drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated and help your body flush out toxins. The body needs an average of two litters of water a day.
3. Consume Vitamin B2 foods such as barley, kidney beans, almonds, buckwheat and soya beans. Vitamin B2 helps alleviate stress which is one of the causes of oily skin.
4. Avoid fried foods and foods high in fat and use less amount of oil for cooking. If possible, use canola or olive oil.
5. Include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables in your daily diet.
6. The sugar content in carbonated drinks is generally high. So avoid them. The same goes for chocolates and other sweet foods.
The above are some of the recommended dietary changes. If you diet is drastically different from the recommended diet for oily skin, you would want to consult your dietician or dermatologist before taking the plunge as it might affect your health.
In short, cut down on the fat and sugar you consume, drink more water and consume more vegetables, fruit and Vitamin B rich foods. If you make these changes, there’s a possibility that your condition will improve.
How to Care for Oily Skin
Before you start, identify if you really do have oily skin. Your skin may feel greasy but that doesn’t always translate to oily skin. To determine your skin type, follow the following steps:
1. Wash your face with warm water. This is to wash away some of the oil on your skin. Then wait for 30 or 40 minutes. (Or you can choose to skip this step if you do the following step first thing in the morning)
2. Grab a Kleenex and wipe your face, especially the areas around your nose and forehead
3. If the tissue has traces of oil on it, it means you have oily skin. Otherwise, you are one lucky person.
Now that you have done the test and that you are sure that you have oily skin, it’s time to look at how to take care of it.
There’s no one product that fits everyone. So you’ll have to try some of the products out there until you find one that works well for your skin. With that said, below are some basic rules that you can follow to take care of your oily skin:
1. Wash your face two or three times a day and not more than that. It’s important that you wash your face to keep it clean but doing it too often will backfire because it will make the skin dry and trigger a reaction known as reactive seborrhea, where the sebaceous glands become overactive to compensate for the loss oil.
2. As I said above, you’ll have to find a cleanser or soap that works well for your skin. Avoid using cleansers that tend to make your skin overly dry. And use warm water to wet your face, cleanse and then rinse with cold water. You can use astringent after cleansing but make sure it’s not alcohol based.
3. If your skin feels overly dry after you wash, you can choose to apply moisturizer. Use moisturizers that are non-comedogenic, meaning not tending to clog pores.
4. Use facial care products that are meant for oily skin and try to stay out of the sun because heat can stimulate sebaceous glands.
If your condition doesn’t improve after following the above rules, consult your dermatologist. There are some drugs that are able to reduce the size of oil glands and the oil production.
Oily skin care is actually not too difficult.
1. Wash your face with warm water. This is to wash away some of the oil on your skin. Then wait for 30 or 40 minutes. (Or you can choose to skip this step if you do the following step first thing in the morning)
2. Grab a Kleenex and wipe your face, especially the areas around your nose and forehead
3. If the tissue has traces of oil on it, it means you have oily skin. Otherwise, you are one lucky person.
Now that you have done the test and that you are sure that you have oily skin, it’s time to look at how to take care of it.
There’s no one product that fits everyone. So you’ll have to try some of the products out there until you find one that works well for your skin. With that said, below are some basic rules that you can follow to take care of your oily skin:
1. Wash your face two or three times a day and not more than that. It’s important that you wash your face to keep it clean but doing it too often will backfire because it will make the skin dry and trigger a reaction known as reactive seborrhea, where the sebaceous glands become overactive to compensate for the loss oil.
2. As I said above, you’ll have to find a cleanser or soap that works well for your skin. Avoid using cleansers that tend to make your skin overly dry. And use warm water to wet your face, cleanse and then rinse with cold water. You can use astringent after cleansing but make sure it’s not alcohol based.
3. If your skin feels overly dry after you wash, you can choose to apply moisturizer. Use moisturizers that are non-comedogenic, meaning not tending to clog pores.
4. Use facial care products that are meant for oily skin and try to stay out of the sun because heat can stimulate sebaceous glands.
If your condition doesn’t improve after following the above rules, consult your dermatologist. There are some drugs that are able to reduce the size of oil glands and the oil production.
Oily skin care is actually not too difficult.
Causes of Oily Skin
Sebum, an assortment of fats produced by sebaceous glands plays an important role in lubricating the skin and protecting it from dehydration. Though oily skin has advantages, it's often thought as liability because it brings skin problems such as acne and blackheads. If you have oily skin and are suffering from acne and blackheads like I am, you might want to understand the causes of oily skin and seek the right treatment.
There are a number of factors that contribute to oily skin. The major factor is overactive sebaceous glands which are normally caused by the hormonal shifts of adolescence. The increased amount of sebum oozed out of sebaceous glands will result in more acne breakouts due to increased clogged pores. Clogged pores is the cause of acne and not the oil itself which is a common misunderstanding. That explains why teenagers are the most common age group to suffer from acne.
Another cause of oily skin is cosmetics. Some cosmetic products contain alcohol and when they are applied on oily skin, the alcohol will strip the skin of oil. This sounds like a perfectly logical thing to do. But the human body works in a very amazing way. When the skin senses loss of oil, the skin quickly accelerates oil production to replace the loss oil, leaving your skin oilier than before. So pick your beauty products wisely or they’ll do more harm than good to your skin.
Some people develop oily skin as a result of stress. I would categorize myself under this group. I generally don’t have oily skin but ever since I started working, I’ve had that shine on the T-zone. I never really thought it was due to stress and blamed it on getting up at the early hour and whatnot until I went on a two week vacation last year. After that vacation, I realized my skin had become less oily. It doesn’t have to be mental stress. Physical stress such as cold, menstruation and allergies can also be contributing factors to oily skin.
There are other causes for oily skin but those I have mentioned here are the common causes of oily skin. Understanding the causes of oily skin is the key to the right solution.
There are a number of factors that contribute to oily skin. The major factor is overactive sebaceous glands which are normally caused by the hormonal shifts of adolescence. The increased amount of sebum oozed out of sebaceous glands will result in more acne breakouts due to increased clogged pores. Clogged pores is the cause of acne and not the oil itself which is a common misunderstanding. That explains why teenagers are the most common age group to suffer from acne.
Another cause of oily skin is cosmetics. Some cosmetic products contain alcohol and when they are applied on oily skin, the alcohol will strip the skin of oil. This sounds like a perfectly logical thing to do. But the human body works in a very amazing way. When the skin senses loss of oil, the skin quickly accelerates oil production to replace the loss oil, leaving your skin oilier than before. So pick your beauty products wisely or they’ll do more harm than good to your skin.
Some people develop oily skin as a result of stress. I would categorize myself under this group. I generally don’t have oily skin but ever since I started working, I’ve had that shine on the T-zone. I never really thought it was due to stress and blamed it on getting up at the early hour and whatnot until I went on a two week vacation last year. After that vacation, I realized my skin had become less oily. It doesn’t have to be mental stress. Physical stress such as cold, menstruation and allergies can also be contributing factors to oily skin.
There are other causes for oily skin but those I have mentioned here are the common causes of oily skin. Understanding the causes of oily skin is the key to the right solution.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
