Oily skin and SK-II - help!
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Thu May 05, 2011 1:26 pm

Hi All,

I've been using SK-II products for my oily skin for about 2 years now and, to be honest, I really don't think they do very much for my skin.

I currently use:
Facial Treatment Cleanser
Facial Treatment Essense
Facial Clear Solution
Advanced Eye Treatment Film

I have almost finished my moisturiser (facial clear solution) and I would really like to try a new moisturiser but am completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of moisturisers for oily skin out there. I honestly don't know where to start!

I think I need some sort of exfoliator too, but, once again, I have no clue where to even start.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good moisturiser - or any other face products - for oily skin?

My skin is slightly congested (little raised bumps in places), I get the occasional spot... the usual oily skin complaints! I'm 30 and my skin is just the same as it was when I was in my teens (although, thankfully, with fewer spots!) and I am Indian - although whether this makes any difference or not to suitable skincare I don't know!!

free skin care · Thu May 05, 2011 10:56 pm

Hi there,

I am totally sympathetic about the oily skin!

Here's what I've tried and liked:
Olay Regenerist serum fragrance-free, a light hydrating moisturizer, but if my forehead is especially oily, I sometimes skip putting any moisturizer there.
Neutrogena Acne Stress Control 3-in-1 hydrating treatment, a 2% BHA for exfoliation, that's also lightly moisturizing.
Topix Replenix CF Serum, a green-tea-rich hydrating serum that's only very lightly moisturizing, and a great AOX serum for under sunscreen.

Speaking of sunscreens, many ZO sunscreens are pretty good at absorbing oil, so you may look into one of the lower SPF Shiseido lotions or a tinted moisturizer with SPF. I recently tried Murad's mattifying SPF 15 with 3 or 4% ZO on my hand at Sephora, and it seemed really nice and matte!

Oh, and powder sunscreen is wonderful for reducing the shine from oil, and easier to match skin tones. For instance, Jane Iredale powders, loose and pressed SPF 20, Laura Mercier (loose) mineral powder SPF 15.

HTH!

Fri May 06, 2011 2:04 pm

Hi!

Thanks so much for your reply and suggestions! I shall try the Olay moisturiser that you mentioned - it sounds good!

Re: the sunscreen. I have been using the Shiseido factor 50 (I know, seriously high) and although it works, it does leave a white film on the skin which looks very grey when you go outside - not a good look! It is also very greasy which doesn't help oily skin. Apparently the SK II SPF is quite good but I am hesitant to spend so much money on it when the other products don't do an amazing job...

Have you tried any Dr Sebagh products? I have seen his antibacterial cream and powder at SpaceNK but haven't tried it - nor, in fact, any of his products yet!

xx

free skin care · Fri May 06, 2011 11:16 pm

You're welcome! You know, Olay and SK-II are both made by Proctor and Gamble, so there's quite a bit of overlap in their product formulations.

Yeah, I imagine the Shiseido would do that. One possibility is to try their Ultra Smooth lotion SPF 38 or 34 or whatever it is now. It's very thin textured and better for oily skin. If you get an SK-II SPF, the Facial Hydrating UV Cream SPF 15 looks better than the other one (menthyl lactate is irritating), and in fact, somewhat similar to the Olay Complete sensitive classic gentle formula SPF 15, which I used for years and loved.

Sorry, no experience with Dr Sebagh--I'm into French brands right now. Smile

Sat May 07, 2011 1:17 am

Aha! I didn't know that re: Olay/SK-II.

I'm trying to find cheaper products that do a great job. Up to now I have always spent a fortune on really expensive skincare and it often doesn't seem worth it. So, the tryout period commences Smile

I couldn't find the Olay moisturiser at my local Boots so I picked up some Nivea daily essentials moisturiser for normal/combination skin. I used it for the first time yesterday and my skin feels really nice and soft - slightly better than after the SK-II facial clear solution already. Fingers crossed! Plus, it was only 4 pounds! Bargain!

free skin care · Sat May 07, 2011 5:46 am

Well, then since you can probably get French stuff easily, I'll recommend a couple of things I like: La Roche-Posay Lipikar Syndet, a gentle foaming cleanser that's great for oily facial skin and billed as a body cleanser, so a bargain. If you're interested in night-time retinoids, which are supposed to reduce oil over the long run, Avene has some of the strongest available OTC, like Triacneal (good for oily) and the Eluage line (more towards normal). And I'm about to test drive a Bioderma sunscreen (the AKN fluide mattifiante SPF 30) that, if it does what I hope it does, you might like too!

BTW, the Neutrogena 2% BHA I mentioned has a slightly different name on this side of the pond (but I'm not having any luck finding it), and BHA is good at normalizing oil production.

Sun May 08, 2011 1:50 pm

Perfect! Thanks for the tip! I've just discovered that I can buy La Roche-Posay products less than a mile away from my home and they are not hideously expensive - double whammy!

Thanks for the information about the active ingredients too. I feel a lot better informed about what I am buying now Smile

free skin care · Tue May 10, 2011 7:37 am

You're welcome! I found the name of the Neutrogena BHA (aka salicylic acid) product in the UK: Visibly clear spot stress control. Smile

Wed May 11, 2011 11:32 pm

I had extremely oily skin, I started using this brand from japan called sassou, the soap is the best,and you can get the toner also is your skin is quite oily, you can buy it online, just google 'freshskin' and 'sassou' , u should find it, good luck!

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