Finally on to skin care for normal/combination skin!
i've had viewers ask me to help them with their skin care routine to combat normal/combination skin because their T zones are usually too oily for their liking. their common complaint is a greasy mess by noon even though they washed their face in the morning and using oil free products for hydration.
after making one simple change, they return to tell me their T zone became less oily! read on ti find out what it is exactly!
i've already written about the extremes: possible causes of dry skin, suggested skin care routine for dry skin, possible causes of oily skin, and suggested skin care routine for oily skin. normal/combination and dry/oily skin is a mixture of both, so the routine is actually a blend of the two, albeit confined to specific regions.
the simple outline of the steps are as follows:
PM routine:
1. wash your face with a cleanser
2. hydrate with light/nourishing lotion all over
3. target treatment (nourishing moisturizer on oily areas and/or dry areas)
AM routine:
1. wash face with water
2. hydrate with light lotion all over
3. oil control product (if you wear makeup) and/or moisturizer for dry areas
chances are, the combination of normal and slightly oilier T zone is natural. i've talked about this before in my previous entry where i briefly described the different skin types. do carry out the simple test outlined in that entry to determine your own skin type!
normal/combination skin is pretty much the optimal condition in my opinion, hence, i would actually try to maintain my skin at this stage as there's nothing that really needs to be corrected.
there's a little trick to tailor the skin care routine to your skin type - target treatment. it just doesn't make sense to use only one product for the entire face when there are clearly different properties on different parts of your face. even thought it translates to an additional step, but that's just a little price to pay to maintain good skin.
often, this means to spot treat oiliness or dryness. hydration is the general treatment that's suitable for the different kinds of skin, therefore it can be used over the entire face. however, oily and dry skin need a little something more since they deviate from normalcy.
general treatment: i'd still choose the soap free gentle cleansers as opposed to harsher face wash because i wouldn't want to tilt the balance in my skin. using it all over your face is perfectly fine.
targeted treatment: if you have a slightly oilier T zone (or other areas which are oilier), follow up with a foaming face wash on your T zone to get rid of the extra grime (at least in the beginning before your skin adjust to the changes). you can let the foam stay on your face for a while so that it can remove more sebum.
if you're in a humid climate, a gel moisturizer should suffice. adjust your product to the environment accordingly. the gel/cream should be used all over your face.
targeted treatment for oily areas:
i suggest using two different products for day and night.
PM
after washing and moisturizing your face at night, follow up with a heavier cream on the T zone only IF you want to reduce oiliness in those area. as our skin will release more oils in an attempt to combat dehydration, we greatly reduce the chance of an overly oily T zone by locking in moisture with a cream that contains some oils.
if you're willing to try facial oils, that'd even be a better choice as they are easily absorbed into the face, returning your face to the optimum water and oil balance. opt for light natural oils like rosehip oil, grape seed oil, and argan oil. do experiment to find out which oil works best for you! in fact, you can use facial oils not just as a spot treatment, but also all over your face! your skin will love it and gladly drink it up. if you're still against facial oils, please allow me to elaborate on it in a separate entry. also, people usually suffer break outs not because of the oiliness. it is in fact an allergic reaction to certain ingredients.
AM
in the day time, you may want to use a oil control cream on the T zone for those of you who will wear makeup. although i'm pretty sure your face will be well conditioned if you followed my suggestion to use a heavier cream on our T zone at night, such that your T zone will stop producing so much oils over time!
targeted treatment for dry skin:
nourishing cream for surface dryness.
ceramide creams for cellular insufficiency.
an addition of an occlusive such as vaseline or a salve made from natural oils and waxes to combat environmental dryness.
you can refer to the entry on dry skin for more details on the creams i suggest according to your needs.
IN A NUTSHELL
i suggest using an oilier product at night as the air is usually cleaner at home. you reduce the risk of clogging up your pores that way!
while this method worked for some of my viewers, it may not work for everyone because this treatment aims to solve the underlying problem of dehydrated skin. if your skin is oozing oil due to other reasons, this skincare routine may be insufficient to solve your problems.
to answer the question i've laid out at the beginning of this entry, the only change they made was to use a nourishing cream at night - one they've avoided for the longest of time because they're afraid it'll make them oilier.
if one step can make such a difference within days, i wonder what the entire skin care routine can do!
it's definitely worth a try if you've avoided oily creams for a while! do let me know if you've decided to try this out!
title photo credit: fine gardening
there's a little trick to tailor the skin care routine to your skin type - target treatment. it just doesn't make sense to use only one product for the entire face when there are clearly different properties on different parts of your face. even thought it translates to an additional step, but that's just a little price to pay to maintain good skin.
often, this means to spot treat oiliness or dryness. hydration is the general treatment that's suitable for the different kinds of skin, therefore it can be used over the entire face. however, oily and dry skin need a little something more since they deviate from normalcy.
WASHING YOUR FACE:
if you don't already know, i only wash my face with water in the morning, so the face wash step is only in my evening skin care routine. i feel that it's redundant to wash away my precious sebum that my skin has secreted overnight to protect my skin, also to keep it pliable and moisturized. my viewers also told me that after they made changes to their routine, they wake up to lesser oils - oils are still secreted, but not greasy like usual.general treatment: i'd still choose the soap free gentle cleansers as opposed to harsher face wash because i wouldn't want to tilt the balance in my skin. using it all over your face is perfectly fine.
targeted treatment: if you have a slightly oilier T zone (or other areas which are oilier), follow up with a foaming face wash on your T zone to get rid of the extra grime (at least in the beginning before your skin adjust to the changes). you can let the foam stay on your face for a while so that it can remove more sebum.
MOISTURIZING:
general treatment: since hydration is well loved by skin all over, use a hydrating toner to return your skin to the normal pH before using any moisturizer you like.if you're in a humid climate, a gel moisturizer should suffice. adjust your product to the environment accordingly. the gel/cream should be used all over your face.
targeted treatment for oily areas:
i suggest using two different products for day and night.
PM
after washing and moisturizing your face at night, follow up with a heavier cream on the T zone only IF you want to reduce oiliness in those area. as our skin will release more oils in an attempt to combat dehydration, we greatly reduce the chance of an overly oily T zone by locking in moisture with a cream that contains some oils.
if you're willing to try facial oils, that'd even be a better choice as they are easily absorbed into the face, returning your face to the optimum water and oil balance. opt for light natural oils like rosehip oil, grape seed oil, and argan oil. do experiment to find out which oil works best for you! in fact, you can use facial oils not just as a spot treatment, but also all over your face! your skin will love it and gladly drink it up. if you're still against facial oils, please allow me to elaborate on it in a separate entry. also, people usually suffer break outs not because of the oiliness. it is in fact an allergic reaction to certain ingredients.
AM
in the day time, you may want to use a oil control cream on the T zone for those of you who will wear makeup. although i'm pretty sure your face will be well conditioned if you followed my suggestion to use a heavier cream on our T zone at night, such that your T zone will stop producing so much oils over time!
targeted treatment for dry skin:
nourishing cream for surface dryness.
ceramide creams for cellular insufficiency.
an addition of an occlusive such as vaseline or a salve made from natural oils and waxes to combat environmental dryness.
you can refer to the entry on dry skin for more details on the creams i suggest according to your needs.
IN A NUTSHELL
i suggest using an oilier product at night as the air is usually cleaner at home. you reduce the risk of clogging up your pores that way!
while this method worked for some of my viewers, it may not work for everyone because this treatment aims to solve the underlying problem of dehydrated skin. if your skin is oozing oil due to other reasons, this skincare routine may be insufficient to solve your problems.
to answer the question i've laid out at the beginning of this entry, the only change they made was to use a nourishing cream at night - one they've avoided for the longest of time because they're afraid it'll make them oilier.
if one step can make such a difference within days, i wonder what the entire skin care routine can do!
it's definitely worth a try if you've avoided oily creams for a while! do let me know if you've decided to try this out!
title photo credit: fine gardening
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