Skin looks bright after cleansing but gets red, oily fast
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Tue Aug 31, 2010 2:00 pm

Hi everyone. I'm a 22 yo guy from Finland:) I have inherited my dad's incredibly oily skin. Right now I'm using Epiduo (prescription acne medication gel) twice a day, and it's working awesome. My skin has zero breakouts and almost zero blackheads. So my pores are pretty clean.
But I have terrible problem with oiliness.
My skin seems to get oily only during the day when I'm active, sounds weird? When I wake up in the morning my face looks really good, and relatively oil free. Then I take a shower and wash my face with either Lactoline (pH 4,5) or Lactacyd (pH 3,5)They are lactid acid based cleansers sold in Finland. Both work awesome at removing oiliness without drying out the skin. After cleansing my skin is looks very happy. Then I apply very thin layer of Epiduo and let that dry. It's not very sunny in Finland but I still try to use a moisturizer with spf. Currently I'm using Sun Sense's oil free spf 50+. I think it's very nice, but I try to use a very small amount, otherwise it feels quite thick. Now the skin looks very good for maybe 2 hours maximum, then it starts to get oily,and the oil seems to irritate my skin. Weird, ha? Skin starts to look "darker", redder, oilier and blotchier. Just a very dirty look. Pores become visible as they are oozing sebum (literally) No more bright skin, blotting with paper helps a little, but soon the skin is covered with oil again. Vicious cycle.
I have tried several mattifiers from Clinique and then the clearing mattifier from Dermalogica. The latter one is awesome, but even it doesn't stop my skin getting oily during the day. I think Epiduo controls the oil the best, but not enough clearly.
When I wash my face at night with Lactacyd/Lactoline the skin gets it's healthy bright look right back. And pores look instantly smaller. I wonder why the oil irritates my skin:0 Anyways, I follow with Epiduo. No moisturizer for the night, sometimes I use AHA (Alpha Hydrox's oil free gel or the mousse in jar) in stead of Epiduo. I don't feel like my skin is so dry that I need a nightcream. It seems to make things worse and I want to let Epiduo do it's magic on its own.
I have been on Accutane several times. Quite low dose. 20mg-40mg. Then my face was bright and even all the time, not just after washing. I wish I could be on that medication for ever! Smile

The oil is my enemy. I've tried regulating the sebum with jojoba oil which really didn't do anything other than moisturize the skin.

I'm just wondering if you have any ideas. I would be very thankful. I've even tried Milk of Magnesia. I'm so desperate. My dad is 51 and he still has very oily skin. So I guess I'm cursed... at least he has very few wrinkles. but i want to look fresh, not like I don't wash my face, although I do... Sad

I hope you feel my pain.

Tue Aug 31, 2010 10:52 pm

First of all, if your skin does not look/feel oily in the morning, you don't have to use face wash, wash with water is good enough. If you clean your face too much, you might get oily easily.

And also if you're not exposed under the sun a lot, you really don't need that high of the SPF in the day. The higher the SPF, the heavier for your skin. It might be another reason why your skin gets oily in the day.

free skin care · Thu Sep 02, 2010 9:39 am

Hi Pharma88, have you heard of OCM, The Oil Cleansing Method?

There is a giant thread about it on the DIY forum here. But don't give up after a few pages, because people experience initial breakous, keep on reading. It seems to work wonders for oily skin.
Here's a helpful website:

http://www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/

It sounds very counterintuitive at first but it seems to work for most people, once they're over the initial breakout (which does not necessarily happen to everybody, but quite often).

free skin care · Thu Sep 02, 2010 10:01 am

Yep OCM works great for oily skin, the more you strip oil from your skin the more it produces to compensate. Oil cleanses oil! Smile

free skin care · Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:56 am

Does your skin feel tight after cleansing? Maybe your skin is over producing oil because it is being stripped of its natural balance or over cleaned. If this is the case, a gentle cleanser, toner to tighten the pores and moisturiser would be a good idea. Cold water helps to tighten pores, as does a good quality witch hazel. Is you moisturiser too heavy for warmer weather? People generally get more oily when the weather is hotter.

I feel your pain! Genetics is genetics.

I hated the OCM when I first did it because I cleaned the oil off with REALLY hot water which made the skin too clean and made my skin worse. I have since returned to the OCM and use just warmer than luke warm water to wipe off the oil, followed by a gentle cleanser with my Clarisonic brush. Most people say you don't have to do that but I personally need to.

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