Winter Skin Series: Oily Skin & Acne
Oily skin can be a blessing and a curse. It provides a beautiful protective layer to the skin, known as the acid mantle, which slows down the aging process by keeping skin soft and supple, plus the added protection from environmental factors thanks to that awesome acid mantle. But there is also a downside, excessive oil can lead to more breakouts, and no one likes that.
In this blog, I really want to address key triggers for acne in oily skin, and really any skin type, but I also understand that adjusting skincare for oily skin when the weather changes can get tricky, so I added my suggestions here. Hopefully, by the time you finish reading this, you will be an acne detective and know what products to swap out to keep your skin balanced all year long.
We've all had one, the inevitable pimple. Everyone gets their zits in different places, your jaw, center of your chin during "that time of the month", the center of your forehead, one right in the middle of your chest that no shirt or necklace can hide.
So why do we get these little buggers? Is there a way to foresee and prevent them?! The short answer, we get them when there’s a perfect storm, and not really.
For the long answer, I am going to break down the contributors to acne, and hopefully, that will also answer the second question. There are four main contributors to most acne problems:
1. Oil production in your skin & skin cells
2. STRESS!!!!
3. Hormonal fluctuations or changes
4. Friction (as in our face rubbing against cell phones, hats, workout equipment, pillowcases)
Up first, let's figure out how oil production works and how it contributes to acne.
So remember how I mentioned oily skin is a blessing and a curse? The blessing part is because oilier skin has more oil production (duh) they actually have a better and more protective lipid barrier (acid mantle) on their skin protecting them from environmental damage and slowing down aging. Congrats oily skin! You may have quite a shine but you will age gracefully!
The curse side of it is that a lot of people with oilier skin tend to have more frequent breakouts (already mentioned), larger pore size which can lead to more blackheads, and can even in extreme cases lead to the oil combining with sweat and stinging your eyes!
Oil Production & Your Skin Cells:
Bacteria that live in your follicles love to eat one portion of your oil, the triglycerides. These are sweet and candy-like to bacteria. They love it! This means more bacteria leaving behind fatty acids from the oil, which can irritate the follicle giving you a painful little red bump.
This irritation can lead to a pimple with that ugly little white spot on top. To treat the little red guys, try the ice cube trick. This will bring down redness and help with the swelling. Once it turns white though, we have another matter and need to treat it with awesome ingredients like sulfur, salicylic acid, or benzoyl peroxide (BPO). For this stage, I recommend using a spot treatment like Skin Script’s Blemish Spot Treat or a treatment mask to help get the bacteria under control and also proper exfoliation (no St. Ives Apricot Scrub please, scrubs will spread bacteria) to help keep the extra skin cells from causing more breakout.
2. Stress!
STRESS! Something we all deal with too often in our lives, that overwhelming feeling when an unpaid bill comes in or a coworker seems to have it out for you. So why is it that stress can lead to skin issues and acne?
Well, there is a lot that goes on inside your body and throughout your body systems that can create reactions on your skin. When you are burdened with stress and that panic sets it, your adrenal gland kicks into high gear releasing high levels of testosterone into your system.
The reason it does this is that the body senses that you need extra support and more endurance. However, because you're reacting to something not life-threatening and then sitting down as opposed to jumping into flight or fight mode, this testosterone goes through a chemical reaction, and long story short one of the side effects is that your oil in your skin becomes stickier and thicker.
Bacteria love this! Your skin cells also can't release (fall off) from the surface of your skin because this thick, sticky oil is trapping them there, which can clog a follicle creating an impaction or pimple. So you have extra sweet oil, more of it, and skin cells stuck to it like flypaper. All because of stress, now if we could just not stress out, then this process won’t happen and our skin can balance the f$%# out.
It sounds easy right? just don't stress out! I think that sentence just stressed me out a little.....
3. Hormonal Fluctuations:
Hormonal Fluctuations is a little tricky because everyone is so different and there is no general answer for why or how you got have the hormone levels you do. However, when your hormones go through changes, just like with stress, this causes a lot of imbalances in your body systems, which can cause reactions on your skin.
Birth control, pregnancy, medications, food/diet, and (the most common and fan-favorite) our menstrual cycle, can trigger hormonal changes which can be linked to breakout.
“Acne located beneath the cheekbones and along the jawline is often more likely to be related to hormonal issues than acne across the forehead or the bridge of the nose. Pimples around the mouth are said in some traditions of facial reading to be connected to the reproductive system, and I’ve had many clients with PCOS who get tiny pimples just below their lower lip at the time of ovulation.”
As you can see, the odds are stacked against us! Last on our list of culprits is friction, now don't laugh when you read this it is a serious concern!
4. Friction
Think about what touches your face on a daily basis; cell phones (dirty) your hands resting on your face when bored at work (dirty) your pillow when you sleep at night (how often are you changing that out? dirty) your hair (filled with product and oils) maybe a hat (collects dirt and whatnot).
The list can go on and on, but the fact of the matter is that friction can rub dirt and debris plus dead skin cells into your follicle openings causing them to clog, and the dirt and debris carry little germs with them. Think of your prized shoes that you can only sit in because the friction on your heel causes a callus, your skin on your face doesn’t callus but breaks out.
The best way to combat friction issues is to become aware of what could be the cause and either minimizing your usage (i.e changing pillowcases every three days, cleaning cell phone before using, etc.) or even stopping it altogether.
Understanding how oil production plays into acne is one thing, but how do you adjust your skincare products during seasonal changes? Well, I can’t speak to every specific person as we are each unique, beautiful creatures, but I do have some general rules of thumb that should help:
Swap out your moisturizer for a slightly, very slightly, heavier version. This could look like going from a gel-like the Light Aloe Moisturizer to the Cacteen Balancing Moisturizer
Use a hydrating sheet mask once a week, you can also use multiple masks at once - a hydrating mask on your cheeks and outer perimeter of the face, clay mask on your T-zone
Do not exfoliate more! This is a misconception, more on that in my blog “Throw It Out Thursday: Mythbusting Exfoliation”
Keep an air humidifier going by your bed at night, this will help your skin from drying out while you sleep due to artificial heat
Questions or concerns about your breakout or oily skin? Schedule a Virtual Skin Consultation with me and I will do my best to help you!
Till next time, be good to your skin and even better to yourself,
xx eri