I have been experiencing oily skin more and more of late (since being a mum) particularly below my throat and above my chest area, also around the T Zone areas on my face which have not really been a problem for many years.
Since I am an at home mum, I feel very guilty about spending the kind of money on trying different products and have outgrown the habit of toning cleansing and moisturising. Really, I usually only put moisturiser on before make up or after a shower/bath but since the problem is slowly getting worse, I tried something about 2 weeks ago and I wish I thought of it before.
I ve been using sanitising hand gel to clean almost everything around the house for about 18 months now (there's another tip). It contains mostly alcohol and kills 99.9% of germs. Having attacked a clogged pore on my nose (same one every time), I felt annoyed with myself and felt if I dabbed a little on the pore (instead of a little perfume to dry it out), it may not appear so bad the next day. Then while I was at it, I thought I may as well dab a little on a couple of other spots and the outbreak of spots above my nose. What could go wrong? I mean, it is mostly alcohol!
The next day, everywhere I had dabbed the gel was clear or dry of oily skin at least. The spots seemed to calm down and the redness was all gone, even the annoying blocked pore looked clear. I have applied this gel to similar areas each day or when I take a trip to the bathroom. Now all the spots on my chest area are almost gone and the ones on my face have been gone for a week. My skin appears to be glowing - it is super clean. But most importantly, the blocked pore remains clean and clear and has not raised since.
I was worried that I might dry my skin out at first, but since I'm only dabbing small amounts here and there to the oily parts, I seem to be balancing my skins ph. At night time after I've showered, I've noticed my skin does not feel dry any more. I would normally apply some moisturiser but now I just wash my face with warm water a little soap then dab a little gel where needed and wake up non blotchy and fresh faced! This makes a nice change.
The gel I buy is Hygenic-Gel Instant Sanitiser 500ml bottle, they can be bought at Homeland for just 89p! or maybe 99p now. Lots of other places seem to have cottoned onto their popularity though so I've noticed have bumped up the price lots on these gels. I'm sure you can even buy in bulk the 100% alcohol gel that hospitals use for a good price, if you wanted that much.
I clean my bathroom floor with the stuff and have just cleaned bright pink Play-doh out of my rug and carpet using a little on a wet tea towel. I wipe down my walls with it, the pushchair, the dinner table everything!
It is so effortless and cheap to use, I use it to clean and wipe down all my kitchen surfaces (glossy white kitchen with 20 kiddy fingers equals mucky looking kitchen). I sound obsessed I know, but this stuff does make cleaning fun and everything looks as good as new after using it. My mum and mother in law have even adopted it now.
Word of warning though, if you leave a wet dishcloth out overnight with a good bit of gel still on it, you may wake up to an unpleasant smell. Just rinse the cloth after use properly with hot water and you won't!
Hope this helps.
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If you have oily skin, you can spend a lot of money applying store-bought products three or four times a day to fight it. Or, you can try some of these natural remedies and tips:
I have tried lemon peel on my skin. OMG, it really works! My skin was soft!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a oily skin and I have acne scars on my face. Please help me out as am going to be engaged in a month or so. I also have a sensitive skin so i just want homemade recipes.
Please answer me in detail about a whole day care for it and also how much required for applying for my skin type. Will be anxiously waiting.I too had very oily skin as a young woman but our old family doctor said to never put soap on my face, just to use a soft wash-rag (that is for a babies skin) on my face with warm water. Then after doing that I was to apply some liquid "MILK of MAGNESIA" onto my face, let it dry (it dries out to be a chalkie white clinging like film/powder to your skin) and then after it was dry I was to go to bed to sleep for the night. By the next morning my body had absorbed the white chalkie Milk of Magnesia so there wasn't much of it left on my skin in the morning for me to remove again with only plain warm water and the baby soft rag.
That is all that I did and it cleared up my face within about 6 months.
I still use it on my skin IF it breaks out to this day BUT it very rarely breaks out anymore AS NOW because of doing this my skin isn't oily anymore! It is like it changed the chemistry of my skin.
Good Luck to you...I hope that they sell Milk of Magnesia over there...it is something that is purchased and used here in the United States for people who are constipated.
I hope this helps and good luck with your pending engagement and marriage!
Regarding the milk of magnesia thing, will using that hurt the skin in the future? I heard that those with oily skin won't get wrinkles that easily.
I have heard of this for a long time, but have never tried it myself, and I don't know how long it takes to work, but it's supposed to work miracles:
take plain honey, smooth it on your face for ten minutes. Do this twice per day.
Supposedly, the skin is soft and any scarring disappears.
If you do find something that works, however, I'd love for you to post it!
Good luck and best wishes on your engagement!
Smoochie
I have scars on my face too, but I used the 3 step acne treatment. It works for me. I hope it works for you too(:
I have acne scars on my face and the scars are very little, but I think it doesn't look good. Please can anyone help me? Does honey is suitable for oily skin to put on scars? Does it work?
I am just 15 years old, but my face is full of pimples and my skin is oily. Please suggest something to get rid of the pimples and oily skin.
By Saija
Oh honey, I do feel for you. There's just nothing worse than acne for a teenager. My son is 13 and is just going through it. We found a product made by Neutragena (sp). It comes in an orange tube and works really well. It's not real expensive, about 4 dollars a tube. You can also try the ProActive.
I am 45 and I get pimples every time I eat too much sugar. I bet diet is a very important factor in getting rid of acne. I suggest you do a search on the internet. www.mercola.com has a great article on the subject.
I use Witch Hazel on my skin and it works great. Witch Hazel is the main ingredient in Pro-active, but you can buy it at a dollar store for a lot less. While you're there, buy a package of "cotton rounds".
Watch your nutrition and start using benzoyl peroxide type cleaner on your face.
Try cleaning before bed with cotton swabs and white vinegar. I'm 47 and have always had acne. It will sting anywhere there is an open zit. I've been using for about 6 weeks now and my skin is calm and clear for the first time ever.
When I was young there was this girl that had literally beautiful skin. Of course everyone with acne and pimples asked her what she used and she said the doctor told her to wash her face 3 times a day, for 3 minutes each time with soap, and rinse thoroughly for 3 minutes. My grandson has developed acne, not the worse case, but bad for a teenage person wanting to look their best. So I told him what the Dr. had told this young woman and he has tried it and it is clearing his face up. It has now been about two weeks and you can barely see any bumps at all.
I have a oily skin. I want to be beautiful and have normal skin. Can someone advise me on some tips for remedies that I can do at home?
By NazQuraishe
Astringent. Keep it very clean. And be glad you have oily skin, because if you are young your face will not wrinkle as badly as you age.
Back in the day, I too had oily skin. I found using a light moisturizer seem to cut down on some of the oil and that products and soaps to reduce the oil just seemed to make it worse. Thriftyvicki is right; as you age, your skin will stay more wrinkle free. Remember that smoking causes wrinkles. Eating a healthy diet will help too.
Lemon juice is good for oily skin as a facial. My friend is from India and she makes a mask of lemon cucumber and other stuff, but the lemon juice of a real lemon is for the oily skin.
My face has always been oily. When I was pregnant, it got so bad that it would literally drip oil off my chin! The best thing I found was to wipe my face with a cotton ball soaked in isopropyl alcohol. In my 20s, during the summer & when I was pregnant, I wiped it several times a day.
From my 30's on, I only did it a couple of times a day. My bedtime routine is to use a water dampened wash cloth with just a bit of alcohol on it, to wipe my face down-you'd be amazed at the dirt that comes off!
Oily skin is a pain, but it will keep you looking younger as you age & it does get better. I can tell you by experience, you don't want dry skin! I had 2 surgeries in 2 months & the anesthesia gave me dry skin & hair for a couple of months & it was torture-very uncomfortable!
My skin is oily and I have lots of pimples. What can I do?
By suhani
I know this sounds sick! But it works! Every day, drink a glass of water with one tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon molasses. Do this for at leas a month. After a week you should tell a difference!
Obviously it's necessary to keep your skin clean, however, "scrubbing" or over washing can actually cause more breakouts. Too much overstimulates and actually fools the skin into thinking it needs more oil. Don't overdo! You need to be sure to treat the "root" of the problem. Use a topical treatment that will actually kill the fungus under the skin otherwise it will continue to come back. A little tip that will help; change your pillow case every night. In retrospect you clean your face thoroughly then go to bed and rub it around on something that has been exposed repeatedly to hair products and all kinds of elements that now have 8 hours to set into your skin! Good luck!
The best thing I've ever seen for pimples is Colloidal Silver. I use the Silver Biotics brand. You just dab it on with a cotton ball or cue-tip. If you put it on at the first "feel" of a pimple coming on, it will never develop. If you already have pimples it will take a bit longer to clear them up but if you are consistent it will work. Apply it 2 - 3 times per day until your pimples are gone. Good luck!
Also, my neice has oily skin and she uses witch hazel as a daily astringent to keep the oil down. If she ever feels a pimple comin on, she'll use the silver biotic.
I have oily skin and I don't like it. Please tell me how to protect my skin from oil.
By Gaurav sharma from India
If you scroll down below the comments here you will find lots of archived comments that should be helpful for you. :-)
Unfortunately, you cannot protect your skin from oil--your skin makes oil to protect itself from the environment. Some have more active oil producing glands then others. On the bright side, you will end up with fewer wrinkles when you get older!
You need to be mindful of what you eat. Good skin starts from the inside out. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and steer clear of strong sauces, garlic, curries, etc because these can come out in your skin. Get regular exercise and wash your face every couple of days with a paste of bicarb soda and water. It will act like a mild scrub and clear out your pores. On alternate days, use a mild cream cleanser. Cetaphil, or sorbolene creame are good. Remember to also drink lots of water to flush out your system from toxins.
Spanish Girl, you gave some really great advice about fruits and vegetables, exercise and facial cleansing but I have to tell you that you made me giggle about steering clear of garlic and curries because those are fairly standard for Indian dishes ;-)
What really causes excess production of oil on the face? Is it the sugar, wheat, oil we eat. What causes excessive activity in our sebaceous glands?
I think it is just heredity. Some people have oily skin, some normal, some dry. I bet most people have combination skin.
It's a hormonal problem usually caused by an imbalance in the adrenal glands.
Our dematologist has told me that oily skin is hereditary. When he examined my teenaged kids, he looked at my face to see if I had large pores.
Oils in the skin are effected by hormones. Females will often break out around the time of their menses. Both males and females will have oilier skin during their teens because of increased hormone production.
Dont dispair. People with oily skin fair much better with age.. imho. I have fewer wrinkles and lines than others with dry skin.
Nah, oily skin is not heredity nor hormone induced. Yes, you'll break out more when the menstral cycle stops by to make our life miserable for five days, but this happens to everyone regardless of their skin type.
I have extremely oily skin and my Mom has extremely dry. My oldest daughter has oily skin and my two other children have dry skin. You just get what you get as far as that goes. I can help you with your oily skin woes, though. (Be grateful you have oily skin as we "oilies" age much nicer than dry skinned people). After you wash and astringent your face, put on a VERY LIGHT face cream that states for oily skin on the bottle. A preconceived notion oily skinned people seem to have is to not put cream on their face. However if you don't replenish your face with moisturizer after cleansing, you will actually produce MORE oil. And if you wear base make-up, wear an extremely light textured cream specifically formulated for oily skin.
Good luck!
Help please! My skin is oily with blackheads (my nose, cheeks, chin mostly have it). What is a budget friendly cleanser that works great for this? I'm hoping to pay for a cleanser that is $10 or less because I'm a very tight on money.
I've read of people with your type of skin having success with washing their face with the suds from the shampoo when they wash their hair.
Other people use 50% diluted white vinegar.
Baking soda makes a great facial cleanser scrub. Also try Honey, lemon & sugar in a scrub. There are many recipes for facial cleansers on the web using common things found in your kitchen.
Noxema skin care cream. It will make the problem worse for a bit as it draws out all the old yucky stuff in your skin, but stick with it. It will work!
I'm having oily skin and it's very difficult to maintain. For days now I have stopped using makeup. Can someone please suggest some good tips including which type of soap is suitable for oily skin and how to maintain/care for oily skin?
Believe it or not, cleaning with hot oil treatment can be great for oily skin. This is where you put coconut oil on your skin, then use a steamer or boiled water in a pot and a towel to steam your oily face. Then you clean it off.
Here are some links with more ideas coconutsandkettlebells.com/
I have lots of pimples, as well as marks, on my entire face. I want to remove them all within a week it's urgent. I want to make an oxygen pad on my own as a home remedy for oily skin. How do I make oxygen bleach home remedies?
By Ria from India
I think I've tried just about everything for oily skin and the only thing that finally worked for me was a product sold at Target called AcneFree. I bought the little trial box that had the facial cleaner, repair lotion (you can wear under make-up) and a tube of terminator 10 for spot treatment. I use it everyday and it sure does the job! They have different kinds for your problems, be careful of the strongest (packaged in orange) it can be too strong and make your face red.
I really feel for you. I, too, have had problem skin and always wanted soemthing that would heal the breakouts & fade the marks as soon as possible.
While that may be very difficult for an at-home treatment to accomplish, I can only give you advice from this point on.
When washing your face, use a product with at least 2% Salicylic Acid (Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Cream or Scrub Cleanser is wonderful). Benzoil Peroxide can bleach hair, fabrics, etc...
Wet your face with warm (not hot!) water, apply in a circular motion, and most importantly; let it sit on your face for a few minutes, so the *very gentle* acid has time to do it's "job". You can brush your teeth, etc. while waiting.
Then rinse well with warm water (again, not hot) and blot dry.
Do this faithfully in the morning and at night & you should start to see results in a very short amount of time.
To help things along a little faster, you may want to consider the whole line of whatever wash you use. The line I mentioned (from Neutrogena) has a liquid toner & a face lotion that all work together to give you the best possible results. You really only need to use the toner at night to get a deep-down clean (moisten a small cotton pad/ball & wipe until nothing more comes out of your pores & onto the pad/ball), but should use the lotion in the AM & PM.
I hope some of this information helps you in your quest for clearer skin!
Best of luck!
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I have really oily skin and all related problems like opened pores and pimples. No matter how many times I wash my face I can't keep it from being oily.
