19 replies to this topic

[amy91]

My skin is really oily,so I wash it 3-4 times a day. It helps to control the oiliness a lil bit, but in the morning my face is nasty again. That stupid oiliness causes whiteheads which turn to cysts. PLEASE, I need an advice: what washes, cleansers or soaps do you use in order to manage your oily skin??? The soap PanOxyl which was working really good for me, is discontinued now,I need some alternative product which would be as strong as BP based products.

[MarijaGre]

Please, don't wash your skin so often. You get so super oily skin, because you wash your face often, it gets irritated and so it produces more oil. Try to wash two times a day and use daily cream for problem and/or oily skin.

I've read a lot of nice rewievs about Sebamed Clear face antibacterial cleansing foam. So I decided to buy it. It dries a little bit, but after washing you feel like your skin is softier, and calmer.

Edited by MarijaGre, 08 October 2011 - 02:24 AM.

[jennifer36]

Before I went on accutane I used The Soap Works brand "creamy clay" soap. It's bentonite clay and it really helped my skin to be less oily, matte the whole day, which said a lot. My nose would be so oily it would soak through my makeup and be super shiny by lunch before I started using it. I don't use it anymore because accutane has left me with super sensitive skin and it's too drying now to use on a regular basis. (I use korres white tea fluid gel cleanser). Plus the soap is super cheap, so if it doesn't work for you you're only out about $2. It also makes your skin feel so soft!

Edited by jennifer36, 08 October 2011 - 06:18 PM.

[whatthekell]

clean and clear foaming facial cleanser! then use neutrogena combination skin oil free moisturizer. it will control oily areas and moisturize dry areas. i also use those clean and clear oil wipe things! they're great for blotting the oil during the day

[GoHorns]

I use peppermint soap found at my local grocery health isle it has worked really good for me so far and also use a peppermint organic shampoo.

[AmaraG]

dont overwash it just makes your skin produce more oil...twice a day unless you get very sweaty or filthy, is fine.
Id say dont use any soap with acne ingredients if youre also using treatment with the same ingredient(bp or salicylic acid). use something mild, non comedogenic and gentle.Everyone is different but a lot of people do well with organic glycerine washes or plain old cetaphil.

Have you tried any clay masques once or twice a week? I find it really helps with teh oil. Queen Helene Mint Julep is good or Botanics Sea Mud is great they make your skin feel very clean for the day you use them.

ps I agree oil blotting sheets are your friend. If you run oil just use a tissue.

[bryan]

AmaraG, on 11 October 2011 - 08:05 PM, said:

dont overwash it just makes your skin produce more oil...

Overwashing has no effect on the amount of oil your skin produces. The first time that idea was soundly disproved was more than 50 years ago.

[AmaraG]

bryan, on 11 October 2011 - 10:33 PM, said:

AmaraG, on 11 October 2011 - 08:05 PM, said:

dont overwash it just makes your skin produce more oil...

Overwashing has no effect on the amount of oil your skin produces. The first time that idea was soundly disproved was more than 50 years ago.

I disagree, from personal experience. Dont you agree overwashing dries your skin's barrier? Like if you do dishes all day in hot water, your hands are going to be in a sorry state. Same thing with your face.

[bryan]

AmaraG, on 12 October 2011 - 07:50 AM, said:

I disagree, from personal experience. Dont you agree overwashing dries your skin's barrier?

It might do that, but "drying one's skin barrier" and affecting how much sebum your skin makes are two entirely different things. Overwashing (or underwashing, for that matter) doesn't affect how much sebum your skin makes.

[AmaraG]

bryan, on 12 October 2011 - 11:42 AM, said:

AmaraG, on 12 October 2011 - 07:50 AM, said:

I disagree, from personal experience. Dont you agree overwashing dries your skin's barrier?

It might do that, but "drying one's skin barrier" and affecting how much sebum your skin makes are two entirely different things. Overwashing (or underwashing, for that matter) doesn't affect how much sebum your skin makes.

I think I understand what you mean.

[bryan]

Back in the 1930's and 1940's, even the medical profession had been jumping to the conclusion that the sebaceous glands adjust how much sebum the skin makes, depending on levels of oil that are already on the surface of the skin, and then washed away. That theory was first challenged in 1958 by the legendary dermatologist Albert M. Kligman MD, PhD, who (along with his colleague Walter B. Shelley, MD, PhD) did an exhaustive and thorough series of experiments, to test it to the max. The skin was found to have no such effect. Ever since then, other tests and studies have supported those 1958 findings. Some people to this very day continue to talk about how washing the skin supposedly makes it produce more sebum, although doctors now generally know better than to say that.

[californiaEstie]

Use Peter Thomas Roth Anti-aging gel cleanser. If you want me to list the awesome reasons why say so.
Over washing your face in general is just a bad idea. It creates multiple issues. You'd be much better off blotting.

[amy91]

My skin is TOO oily. I mean it. I cannot wash it just twice a day. Here is my regimen:
In the morning, when I wake up my skin is really oily, so the first wash is on 7:30
When I get home from college my skin is already oily and nasty. Another wash 1:30 or 3:40
During the day my face is still oily, but I don't wash it with foaming wash, I'm just splashing my face with water
Before bed I HAVE TO wash my face, because during the night my sebaceous glands produce a huge amoung of oil.

I used to wash my face twice a day, but my skin was really oily and I was getting more whiteheads. And actually I never overdry my skin, it's never flaky, I just try to control the oil production from inside out ( Spiro and topicals).

[tritonxiv]

bryan, on 12 October 2011 - 09:49 PM, said:

Back in the 1930's and 1940's, even the medical profession had been jumping to the conclusion that the sebaceous glands adjust how much sebum the skin makes, depending on levels of oil that are already on the surface of the skin, and then washed away. That theory was first challenged in 1958 by the legendary dermatologist Albert M. Kligman MD, PhD, who (along with his colleague Walter B. Shelley, MD, PhD) did an exhaustive and thorough series of experiments, to test it to the max. The skin was found to have no such effect. Ever since then, other tests and studies have supported those 1958 findings. Some people to this very day continue to talk about how washing the skin supposedly makes it produce more sebum, although doctors now generally know better than to say that.

While I agree that stripping or adding oil does not in and of itself cause a change in sebum production, the friction and irritation caused by washing or soothed by lotions can have an immediate affect on sebum production. (Sebum production reacts to heat, and quite possibly other external factors such as physical pressure and pain)

[bryan]

tritonxiv, on 15 October 2011 - 11:03 AM, said:

While I agree that stripping or adding oil does not in and of itself cause a change in sebum production, the friction and irritation caused by washing or soothed by lotions can have an immediate affect on sebum production. (Sebum production reacts to heat, and quite possibly other external factors such as physical pressure and pain)

1) While sebum can definitely react to heat (there are a couple of studies on that issue, including one by Kligman), I don't know that its actual production is altered by heat. The speed with which it's delivered to the surface of the skin is what is altered, I believe. If you know differently, I'll be happy to read any studies to the contrary of that.

2) The same goes for "physical pressure". Kligman and Shelley looked at that possibility in their 1958 study, and were unable to find any alteration in sebum just from that. Indeed, they pointed out that sebum is released, even in the presence of sebaceous cysts. If sebaceous cysts can't even suppress the formation of sebum, one wonders how it's suppressed under any remotely similar circumstance!

3) I did a test of my own, here on the pages of acne.org just a few years ago. First I completely avoided washing or wiping the skin of my face for several consectutive days, then I measured the sebum production in that area with the use of Sebutape Skin Indicators. Then I washed my skin very thoroughly several times a day for several consecutive days, to the extent that it actually became quite painful as a result. Measuring the sebum production again with Sebutape Skin Indicators, I could tell no difference at all in how much oil was being produced!

Edited by bryan, 15 October 2011 - 01:17 PM.

[tritonxiv]

I am unfamiliar with Klingman's studies on heat, (curious to know if they covered body temperature or enviromental temperature)

The type of pressure I am referring to is akin to a deep tissue massage, something I am currently experimenting with. I have read that sebum is excreted when individual sebaceous glands 'burst', effectively rupturing their cell membrane and releasing the oil. The theory is that the sebaceous glands could under certain conditions be pre-maturely ruptured, offering a time period of lowered sebum production while the individual cells regenerate.

Edited by tritonxiv, 16 October 2011 - 10:09 AM.

[bryan]

tritonxiv, on 16 October 2011 - 10:09 AM, said:

I am unfamiliar with Klingman's studies on heat, (curious to know if they covered body temperature or enviromental temperature)

Both refer to environmental temperature. Here are both the studies I have on this subject: "Seasonal Modulation of Sebum Excretion", C. Piérard-Franchimont, G.E. Piérard, A. Kligman. Dermatologica 1990; 181:21-22. Abstract. It is currently agreed that ambient temperature influences the sebum excretion rate. By using the Sebutape technique we have confirmed this concept, which is related to an increased delivery of sebum to the surface of the skin without an increment in the number of active sebaceous follicles.

And here's the other study: "The Effect of Local Temperature Variations on the Sebum Excretion Rate", W. J. Cunliffe, J. L. Burton, and Sam Shuster. Br J Derm (1970) 83, 650. (I won't bother to type the abstract, which is quite similar to the one above from Kligman; in fact, it was cited directly by the Kligman study. They both say that the changes in delivery of sebum to the surface of the skin with temperature are due to changes in the viscosity of sebum.)

tritonxiv, on 16 October 2011 - 10:09 AM, said:

The type of pressure I am referring to is akin to a deep tissue massage, something I am currently experimenting with. I have read that sebum is excreted when individual sebaceous glands 'burst', effectively rupturing their cell membrane and releasing the oil. The theory is that the sebaceous glands could under certain conditions be pre-maturely ruptured, offering a time period of lowered sebum production while the individual cells regenerate.

An interesting theory, but one I find difficult to believe. Let me know if you ever find any evidence to support it!

[PeytonG]

try MD Forte face wash

[tleighbaker]

Overwashing your face strips the oils from your skin and then your body tries to overcompensate for it's oil loss and then the oil comes back thicker.
Using something crazy like rubbing alcohol will give you the same result as overwashing. All skin requires some amount of oil, although there is a point where there can be too much, it's idiotic to try to remove all oil from your face because you won't achieve anything. There will be more oil.

As a licensed esthetician, I highly recommend that you don't use any detergent based cleansers like a soap. It will not only strip your skin of it's necessary oils (here comes that overcompensation again) but it will leave a residue on your skin, which will mix with all the debris in the air and the naturally occurring bacteria and cause more acne. The best type of cleanser to use for oily skin is a foaming or a gel-based cleanser. Based on your affordability I will post a few recommendations after my message.
Since youre over-washing your face I'm inclined to think that you aren't using a moisturizer or a toner. You will not achieve any sort of skin health if you only wash the dickens out of your face. It will dry it out and make it age faster. I understand why some people would think that if you use a moisturizer it will make your skin oilier- which is true if you use the wrong moisturizer for your skin type. If you truly have oily skin you will want to use a lighter moisturizer and not a cream.


if you are not looking to spend a ton of money:
http://www.cetaphil....acial-cleanser/ which you can buy at almost any drug store like walgreens or target

http://www.cerave.co...acial-cleanser/ you can buy this at those same locations

Try to stay away from nutrogena, clean and clear, noxema, things like that.

http://www.thebodysh...g-cleanser.aspx
http://www.thebodysh...acial-wash.aspx

For a higher priced product:

http://www.sephora.c...ldPaginate=true
http://www.sephora.c...ldPaginate=true
http://www.sephora.c...ldPaginate=true

On another note, as far as over-stripping your skin of its oils being a bogus theory, I feel that also your "proof" from the 1930 and 40s is kind of unreliable. Technology and skin care knowledge has advanced quite a bit in the last 80 years or so. My 92 year old grandma isn't even on my list for the last person I would ever ask for skincare advice! lol

is yours?

[bryan]

tleighbaker, on 27 October 2011 - 01:40 PM, said:

Overwashing your face strips the oils from your skin and then your body tries to overcompensate for it's oil loss and then the oil comes back thicker.

It just never ends, does it?