TIPS FOR OILY SKIN !

Cleansing

Use any cleanser designed for oily skin that is in a gel or foam base and contains Salicylic Acid.  Stay away from cream cleansers - these can clog pores and add an oily film to your skin.  One of the hyped-up cleansers for oily skin is Cetaphil, which is far too creamy of a cleanser to effectively clean oily skin.  Sebum that settles into your pores needs a strong cleanser containing Salicylic Acid to actually dissolve oil. Some of the best cleansers to try are: Biore Ice Cleanser,  Proactive Renewing Cleanser, and Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Wash.When you cleanse your face, always splash with warm water first, then apply the cleanser in circular motions all around your face for about 1 minute. This allows the cleanser to work into your pores and dissolve oil.  Extremely oily skin types might find it helpful to allow the face wash to sit on the skin for an additional minute.  Rinse with very warm water and then dry vigorously with a fluffy towel.  Wash morning and night, or up to three times a day - but not more often.  Washing too much can aggravate and dehydrate skin, causing it to produce extra oil.  

Moisturizing

Contrary to popular belief, oily skin needs moisture to balance itself and slow oil production.  Skin that is stripped of its natural oil from harsh cleansers will often produce even MORE oil to compensate. Don't let that happen to you! For people with severely oily skin, Proactive Skin Care provides an excellent line of products that are suited toward oily and/or acne prone skin. Their Benzoyl Peroxide based Repairing Lotion is excellent for keeping breakouts at bay while providing just enough light-weight moisture.  They also make a product called Daily Oil Control which balances skin, helps prevent clogged pores, and prevents makeup from streaking.  For those of you who would prefer a moisturizer without acne fighting ingredients, consider one of these: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing GEL (Make sure you get the gel, not the lotion) and Clarins Ultra Matte Rebalancing Lotion.  Another great moisturizer for oily skin is MUAC's Aloe & Lavender Jelly. These are some of the best light-weight moisturizers for oily skin that work to balance the oil levels and PH of your skin.  

Foundation

always select an oil-free foundation makeup that states it is specifically suited for oily skin.  This is one area where you should not hesitate to splurge on a high quality brand.  It is very difficult to find a drug-store brand that is up to the task of absorbing facial oil. As a result, most are sticky or thick formulas that will "melt" off you skin within a matter of hours. If you must choose a drugstore brand, go with L'Oreal Infallible Liquid Foundation.  It stays on for around 6-8 hours and provides a reasonable amount of even coverage. One of the very best high-end brands of makeup for oily skin is Estee Lauder Double Wear Maximum Cover Camouflage Makeup.  A pea-sized drop is enough for your entire face, and it stays flawless for an amazing 10-12 hours.   This foundation is so light-weight, it feels like you aren't even wearing makeup! The high pigmentation in the formula allows for superior coverage of flaws - most of the time you will not need to wear concealer on freckles, acne spots, or dark circles.  Simply apply with finger tips or a makeup sponge, for a flawlessly matte complexion.

Of course, don't forget to use Mattify! Loose Powder for Oily Skin as well.  This powder is designed especially for oily skin, to soak up oil all day long. Its ingredients absorb the oil to prevent your face from becoming shiny and sticky.  It can be applied both before and after foundation, or alone.  When used as a primer before foundation, it helps the makeup glide over pores for an air-brushed look, and adheres makeup to your face for longer wear, without clogging pores.Excessively oily skin may need touch-ups during the day.  Mattify Loose Powder can be applied several times without any cakey heavy feeling.  It disappears into the skin and silently absorbs oil without disturbing the rest of your makeup.

Setting Spray

To set your makeup in place for all day water-resistant wear, use a makeup setting spray.  Some of the best on the market are: Model in a Bottle, Colortration Setting Spray, and Ben Nye Setting Spray. These can only be purchased online, but are a very worthwhile investment. After all of your makeup is in place, simply hold the spray bottle about 8 inches away and spritz the center of your face a couple of times.  This forms an invisible barrier to prevent makeup from sliding off of oily skin.  Touchups can be done over the top of the setting spray throughout the day.  

Avoid these products at all costs if you have oily skin:

Silicone based gel primers

  Although many cosmetic websites and "beauty experts" may say these are suited to oily skin, they ARE NOT! This gel-like substance forms a thick slick greasy texture, and will cause foundation to adhere improperly to skin. The result is an shiny sticky mess and foundation that will streak and smear. The silicone gel also has a tendency to clog pores, as it settles inside of each pore and prevents them from getting oxygen; thereby trapping dirt and oil inside.

Setting powders, foundations & blushes that contain mica or pearl

  These ingredients are in many mineral makeups and setting powders, but their iridescent properties cause skin to look super shiny.  If you already have oily skin, this is definitely not your desired effect!  Save products containing these shimmery ingredients for your best features that you actually WANT to shine - your eyes and lips. 

Mineral Makeup Containing Mica, Bismuth or Pearl Powder.

Many beauty experts will tell you that mineral foundation is excellent for oily skin.  I'm not sure who came up with this theory, because Mineral Foundations are typically a nightmare for oily skin.  They have very little staying power, and only cake up as skin gets oilier throughout the day. This leads to irritation (not to mention a frighteningly blotchy face!) and the Bismuth in the product will cause your skin to itch.  This effect is slightly lessened when you apply Mattify! Loose Powder before the Minerals, but even then, your makeup will only last about 4-6 hours before becoming cakey. Mattify Cosmetics has recently created a Mineral Makeup without Bismuth, Mica and Pearl. It provides light coverage for blemishes, has a matte finish, and does not contain any irritating ingreditnes.

Heavy lotions or cosmetics that contain silicone gel, oil, or wax-based products. Lotions and primers which contain these ingredients will only make your oiliness worse, and lead to clogged pores.  Wax bases can be found in several cream eye shadow and blush formulas.  If you use these, you will most likely feel like your eye-lids and cheeks remain sticky all day long.  Oily skin is much better suited to powder eye shadow and blush.