I don't know. I wouldn't recommend washing your face that much. You might be causing even more oiliness.

I found that when I washed only once or zero times my oiliness decreases completely.

This might be stupid but...what happens to the oil on my face if I don't wash it off? ...It stays there no?

Isn't washing off the bad oil off my face and replacing it with an oil free moisturizer better than keeping the oil on my face?

washing excessively causes your face to produce more oil because in actually the oil is a protection to your skin. Your stripping your skin of it's natural balanced PH by washing excessively. It will need to produce three times as hard once you wash it away. I'd wash it twice a day morning and night with cleanser then rinse with water in between...That's what I would do.

Do you put on any creams on your face after you wash, like prescription, or anything like that? That always helped me, knowing I have medication on my face and wouldn't want to waste it, ha.

I mean it depends, after work I go to the gym or take a long run, I wash my make up off with a cleanser. I make sure I work out during the end of the day, so I can just take a shower and do my night time routine, without washing my face a million times. And I have such an oily face as well! It SUCKS.

This is a great question, in regards to replacing oil with moisturizer. When i was washing my face with cleansers and using topicals, my face would always appear to be very oily and shiny after an hour or so like you said. When you do this your skin is going to overproduce oil in response. For the past few months i have been only washing my face with water once a day, and by washing i simply mean letting the water from the shower run over my face. I don't rub or anything. Water is severely under rated. I don't ever have any oiliness which used to plague my face. I've also been taking cod liver oil cause of the vit A and D, as well as eliminating dairy and sugar. I'm also taking calcium and vit C. When people initially get acne they freak out and start purchasing harsh chemicals to try to stop it. That's what i did, and i wish i would have realized the problem was internal and could be dealt with by eating right, and taking some supplements. (and only using water). Your skin has a natural defense called the acid mantle, and when this is damaged or stripped away, your skin becomes very vulnerable to bacteria. I just wanted to share my experience with you and i really hope this helps

I'm just a bit reluctant to reduce the number of times I wash my face because my acne has slightly gotten better. Are you suggesting that I stop using any products and simply wash my face once or twice a day with water? I'm afraid that I will have further breakouts if I take that path.

Also, what about Accutane? Does that reduce the amount of oil that my face will produce?

Wash only once or twice a day. Blot the other times. Blotting papers work great.

The skin does not sense the amount of oil on it and the sebaceous glands do not change production of sebum EXCEPT when medications change the rate.

Every person has unique skin so what works for one isn't necessarily going to work for another. It's basically a case of trial and error. Over the years I have built up a pretty good understanding of what causes my face to break out so I try and avoid those things. Washing your face 5 times a day is probably excessive and could be damaging your skin in the long run.

You're young, you will probably out grow this oil issue eventually. Unfortunately, I tried too hard to fix my skin when I was 16/17 and my face is now dependant on topicals.

what melie87 and wynne said

and i also used to be overwasher, would wash 5 n more times per day, not good thing to do indeed, u just may break out more n be even oilier, just wash once or if absolutely necessary twice. id go even many days without washing at all, just gently cleanse with homemade herbal tea cleanser and that helped reduce that oilness as well. maybe first days when your skin get adjusted to new regimen it may be oily but then it should normalise after some time

Honestly, I have noticed that if I wash my face more, I get oilier faster. Now I just wash my face in the morning, another time in the evening or afternoon without a cleanser, and then at night is enough to keep your skin healthy. 5+ isn't really recommended.

Honestly, I have noticed that if I wash my face more, I get oilier faster. Now I just wash my face in the morning, another time in the evening or afternoon without a cleanser, and then at night is enough to keep your skin healthy. 5+ isn't really recommended.

Does your face produce a normal amount of oil now? And if so, has your acne reduced along with the oil reduction?

Have you tried just switching to different products? There's some stuff out on the market that is suppose to help control oil, whether it works or not I don't know. But it could easily be what you're using. Some products for me have my face feeling oily again sooner then others.

I've been using clinique 3 step for several months and it does seem to help control oil for a little longer then most products. It's the only skincare system I'll use at the moment (and I've tried lots), so I'd recommend that. Stick to 2x a day with it if you do try it.

It also just depends on what you're doing during the day, if i'm at home all day my skin stays far less oily, while if I'm out and about and exposed to the fresh pollution filled air it gets oily faster.

Wash only once or twice a day. Blot the other times. Blotting papers work great.

 

The skin does not sense the amount of oil on it and the sebaceous glands do not change production of sebum EXCEPT when medications change the rate.

This is a good point, but you should clarify.

You're suggesting that the skin does not recognize whether you have added or applied any topical products that contain oil, and or if you have previous layers of oil still in place.

So for instance, if you wash, and then put a layer of oil/moisturizer such as Jojoba oil, the skin will react (or not react) in the exact same way as if you had washed and not put anything on you skin afterwards. Thus the sebum production is completely internal and not affected by anything unnatural.

But even if true, allowing oil build up on the skin can lead to clogged pores which is never good.

The question then becomes whether using moisturizers(such as Jojoba oil) should be done or not, and if so, how much? Should you wash and leave your face to dry out a bit before applying oils, or do it right away?

It also just depends on what you're doing during the day, if i'm at home all day my skin stays far less oily, while if I'm out and about and exposed to the fresh pollution filled air it gets oily faster.

That's odd. One under rated factor in acne treatment is sunlight. For various reasons it helps to heal, cleanse and purify the skin. You often find people who stay indoors too much, have worse acne. Which is a vicious cycle because some of them stay inside due to their acne and social rejection

I totally agree with everyone else - washing 5 times a day is probably increasing your oil production! If this is an option for you (your profile doesn't say if you're male/female) the birth control pill may help decrease the oiliness of your skin, as well as clear your skin. Another option is to go to a dermatologist and get a prescription of something such as Dalacin T, which kills the bacteria which feed on your sebum to create pimples.

Use Cetaphil gentle cleanser twice a day. You'll be better off.

washing with a wash/cleanser twice is right.after u get and before u got to bed at night.

but how about splashing the face with just room temperature water twice or thrice in the middle?

say once in the afternoon,once,in the evening - please note that where i live is hot and HUMID.

thanks.

"Washing face 5+ times a day

I have extremely oily skin and I don't know why."

Well there you go!

This is just your hormones changing and your body adapting. It can just be a matter of patience through this period.