Oily face, it's like an olive press!

I have had an extremely oily face since I was about 17 years old (now 31). I thought that over time this would slowly diminish, but it has not. I wash my face 2-3 times a day with a salicylic acid face wash, and apply a benzoyl peroxide scrub every other day. this has helped stop the blemishes (mostly) but my skin is oily and slick like an olive press within a few hours after being washed with soap. The rest of my body has what I would call "normal" skin, it's just my face that is oily. I don't have health insurance (thanks, Republicans) so please don't tell me to see a dermatologist as I cant afford it. Can anyone help me out with some decent advice? Thanks.

-Greasy Mongrel  

One thing you could try is to adopt a diet lower in starch and sugars. There have been a lot of theories about excess oil in the diet leading to excess oil on the skin but another one is the role of insulin in the process.

I'll run it by you.... see what you think. A diet high in sugars and refined starches requires the body to produce a lot of insulin. Having a lot of insulin in the blood-stream means the body has more 'androgens' in operation... male hormones. High levels of this hormone results in excess sebum (oil) being present in the skin. By adopting the type of diet that a diabetic might choose (Low GI for example) and reducing the production of insulin the amount of sebum, in turn, reduces. Even if it didn't help your skin, it's still a very healthy way to eat.

My next suggestion is to see your doctor rather than a dermatologist. There are medications that can 'dry up' oil production in the skin but they're only available on prescription. Save up for an appointment?

Meh...oily skin=less wrinkles!

I've always had really oily facial skin too, but I notice I've got less wrinkles than some women that are around my age (32). So, always a silver lining in the cloud :)

I have this problem too but you should be careful about using too harsh substances on your skin as it will over compensate for having all it's oils stripped away by making more oils!

You could try this: http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

I haven't tried it yet but have heard really good things about it. Also do see your doctor as there are different things he can prescribe for bad skin

 

Original Post by misscherryjane:

I have this problem too but you should be careful about using too harsh substances on your skin as it will over compensate for having all it's oils stripped away by making more oils!

 

Agreed.

Had the same problem when I was young and I found that the more times I scrubbed my face the more oily it became. 

I second about the skin rebound. I found that out back when I used to use Noxema, my face would feel great at first then it would be even more oily than it was to start with.

One product that I've had good luck with is Thylox soap by Grandpa's.  Its not very expensive (usally around $2-3 per bar). It shoud be available at most health food stores, or some larger big box stores. You can also find it online (pm me, if you like I work for a company that carries it).

It takes awhile for it to work.

also make sure you get enough omega 3's and look for moisturizer (yes that's correct) specifically for oily skin.

 

Thanks everyone, you've all been very helpful.

I did some research about the oil cleansing method (washing skin with oil instead of regular soap). There are several websites that describe the method in detail as well as what oils to use in what ratio. Basically the science behind it makes a lot of sense to me. I have taken a lot of chemistry in college, so it was easy to understand that castor oil (being a non-polar compound) will be able to dissolve in other oils (my face) and pull out the crap that is in my pores. 

Like some of you have mentioned, the more I wash with soap like noxema, the more oily it gets.I am going to throw out my harsh chemical soaps/scrubs and try the oil method for at least a few months to see what happens, since I doubt it could make it any worse.

As far as my diet goes, I have changed it quite a bit over the past 4 months. I eat as few refined carbs as possible. I once read somewhere that native tribes people do not have any acne, the theory was that their diet contained zero refined carbs. I have also been taking fish oil capsules twice a day and getting plenty of omega 3's. I will post again in a couple of months to tell you how it worked out.

Thanks again for the advice! 

Join the swimteam. I'm not even kidding. I used to swim competitively 2-3 hours practices every day (plus morning practices). And the chlorine really dries out your skin. I don't think I've ever seen a competitive swimmer with an oily face. 

Plus you burn a bajillion calories :)

From what I've read you've gotten good advice, but I didn't read everything...so sorry if this is a repeat.

Try a non-soap cleanser (something like cetafil), or even use oil (grapeseed works well) to cleanse your skin. Stay away from salicylic acid or anything that will dry your face out and cause it to produce more oil.

...and don't overwash your face! Twice a day is usually the recommended max.

Thanks, everyone. Here is what I've been doing for the past month:

I wash my face with castile soap in the morning and apply a tiny amount of grape seed oil to keep it from getting too dry. Before going to bed I clean my face using the oil method (50% castor oil, 50% grape seed). I was worried that this would end up making my face even more oily, but it has actually has the opposite effect. My skin looks and feels better and is no longer slick and shiny at the end of the day. I have only had two blemishes in the past month which is about average for me anyway.

My pores are still kind of gigantic, but it has only been a month (less actually). Hopefully after a few more months I will notice more improvement. So far I am very pleased.

You shouldn't need medications! Lemon juice, salt baths and sunshine will clear it all up naturally! Use bi-carb soda as a natural scrub to unclog pores.

Just a forewarning.. it may get worse before it gets better.

I have the same problem! I have to dab the excess oil off with toilet paper a few times each day!! So did you use a facial product or just mixed castor and grape seed oil?

I just mixed the two 50-50. once it got better though, I adjusted the ratio to 30% castor, 70% grape seed.