Persistent Oily Skin

I've got consistently oily skin. It's better or worse, varying by the day, but in general, if I run my hand over my forehead or nose at any given time, it comes off pretty greasy.

My skincare regimen is this: in the shower, I wash my face with Neutrogena Acne Free Facewash (which has a small amount of salycilic acid in it), and then shave after the shower. I finish the shave with some Old Spice Aftershave balm (sensitive skin), and then a light application of the Clean & Clear Oil-Free Moisturizer. I treat the occasional pimple with Clean & Clear Persagel (10% salycilic acid), which dries it up pretty quickly.

Everything I do is based around trying to retain/replace the good oils that my skin produces, and cleaning away the extra. But I still have problems with my skin! Any suggestions from you fellow wetshavers?

So,

Like you, I deal with oily skin. Actually, I have no idea if it is like you or not. I think that I would describe my skin as moderately oily. However, since I've taken up this hobby (or been stricken with this illness?) I haven't had nearly as many problems (with acne).

I use the following products:
- PanOxyl face wash (in the shower, before my shave). This face wash has Benzoyl Peroxide (5%), which is far more effective at fighting acne causing microbes as compared with salycilic acid. However, if you use this stuff a little goes a long way (in 4 months I've used just a little more than half of a 175mL bottle, and I use it every day). Also, BP (in any concentration) can/will stain/discolour fabrics.
- Neutrogena (or any other) scrub. I use a fairly "heavy duty" scrub about once per week. However, for the last week or so I've been using an Anthony Sport scrub every day (it is a fairly "light" scrub).
- Neutrogena "Fresh Foaming Cleanser". I use this to wash my face at night and to wash after I shave if I happen to use an oil (preshave, T&C, etc) while shaving.
- Thayers WH. I use this as an astringent after I shave as well as using it once or twice throughout the day to "freshen up" (ie, to get rid of the shine) and at night as a toner. Before falling in love with Thayers I used Neutrogena Alcohol-free Toner.
- Neutrogena "Moisture" Oil-free sensitive skin moisturizer. I use this after I shave and before I sleep. I have tried only a few other facial moisturizers (a Nivea for men one and an Anthony Sport one) and have found that I like the Neutrogena one the best (so far).

Other than the above I use a mud mask about once every 3 or 4 weeks (whenever I think of it)... I don't know if this does anything, but it is sort of fun.

Hope this helps.

My face was oily until I stopped using the drying drugstore bar soap and specialty face soaps. I didn't actually believe that soaps could actually strip away too much of your face's oils, making you pump out more oil in the long run, until I got a transparent bar of glycerin vegetable soap. I just shower with that now, and my face has gotten far less oily while my body is more moisturized.

You might want to try less product on your face rather than more, just to see. A lot of people on these two shaving forums have found that their face clears up best when they use no soap on their face at all! I wouldn't go that far, but I have found less is more. I can save some money now to buy more shaving cream.

There is a bit of a difference between areas one shaves and areas one doesn't. I can get away with little soap on my bearded areas because the various shaving products do a good job of conditioning my skin.

These past few weeks my face has been real oily too in the nose and forehead areas. I had been just using the NB mild facial cleanser and nothing else but clearly some additional product is needed. Lots of acne spots that I didn't get in the winter with the same products.

The BP staining thing explains why one of my face towels is stained. I've been trying to figure out that one for a while!

TAsunder,

I too suffer from persistently oily skin. What works for me is to use a mask once a week ( neutrogena deep clean invigorating cleanser/mask). i also use witch hazel 2-3x a week at night time.

otherwise, I don't use much else- if u strip your skin too much, it will compensate by producing much more oil thanm usual. too many products strip further than they need to and add to the vicious cycle.


Marty

I only use soap now on my T-zone, and apply witch hazel before my aftershave balm on weekends. Seems to work well for me. I still get pimples on my forehead but that is from the gel in my hair losing hold as the day progresses, and my bangs falling down touching my head. Next time, I am trying some Clubman pomade.

My 't-zone' is still oily at the end of the day, but nowhere near as bad as it used to be when I was using drying soaps.

I can vouch for many of the the products recommended by NMMB.

The Thayers is great stuff, as is the Neutrogena toner - both will cut down on the shine/greasy feeling if used with a cotton ball or pad.

I also use various Neutrogena moisturizers - with good results.

The nice thing about the Neutrogena and Thayers products is that they are reasonably easy to find and reasonably priced.

The Evian line of products is also good - their moisturizer with SPF 15 is quite lite.

what does a toner do and what does witch hazel do?

Toners came into being because cleansers at the time were not water soluble. You needed a toner to remove the last traces of the cleanser from your face. In addition, if a cleanser isn't ph balanced, the toner is used to bring the ph of the skin back into balance. Witch hazel is considered an astringent. Astringents work by causing a slight swelling around the pore openings, helping to tighten the skin and minimize the APPEARANCE of the pore opening. It can also have a soothing effect. Toner products for oily skin are sometimes referred to as astringents. In my opinion, the word "toner" is a bit of a misnomer, simply b/c you can't expect a mixture of water, alcohol, and /or astringent agents to permanently firm or recondition our skin. It's simply a temporary effect. Just as using harsh cleansing ingredients can strip away oils and cause your skin to produce more oil, excessive use of stripping toners will have the same effect. My best advice to control oil is to use a face wash (ph balanced) with gentle cleansing ingredients that also incorporates oil controlling oils. In addition, use a moisturizer that incorporates "oil controlling oils" w/c sit on your skin all day to do the job effectively. Don't towel dry completely before applying your moisturizer and you can skip the toner altogether. Hope that helps.