Exfoliating Oily Skin

Exfoliation is essential for healthy skin. This process of removing the outer layer of damaged skin is necessary for every skin type, but different skin types benefit from different skin products. Here's the 4-1-1 for exfoliating oily skin.

Oily skin typically has clogged pores. The sebum in clogged pores can oxidize when it is exposed to the air to from blackheads and blemishes.

Ordinarily, sebum is a naturally soft wax that is released from pores to form an invisible thin barrier of protection across the skin. But when skin is oily, it produces too much sebum, so there is a tendency for the sebum that normally would just slough off to clog up pores. In oily skin, pores that should be releasing sebum every day instead trap it inside.

Cosmetics makers would have you believe that if a little is good, a lot is better. But the fact is, overwashing is the enemy of oily skin. There are masks, toners, peels, sponges, brushes, and washcloths all designed to exfoliate oily skin. But remember:

Washcloths and brushes do a good job of exfoliating oily skin, but they are almost impossible to keep clean.

Abrasive loofah sponges are just too irritating to use from the neck up.

Scrubs contain abrasive fragments. Scrub too vigorously and you will break the skin.

Masks are great for exfoliating, but you need to exfoliate every day, and a mask is something you should use just occasionally. Masks contain other clays or silicones or vegetable juices that lift dead skin cells, but they usually contain chemicals that irritate the skin.

Alcohol, eucalyptus, mint, peppermint, and wintergreen feel tingly when you put them on, but can cause burning and itching later.

And, finally, use exfoliating products that contain BHAs (beta-hydroxy acids) rather than AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids). BHAs are soluble in oil, while AHAs are soluble in water. BHAs can dissolve the oil that clogs pores. AHAs just wash off oily skin. People with oily skin should exfoliate with BHAs like salicylic acid ratter than AHAs like citric, glycolic, lactic, malic, or tartaric acids.