What Causes Oily Skin?

1. Environmental Factors

Heat, abrasions and sudden humidity changes can all cause your skin’s oil production to increase. Environmental stressors can disrupt the skin’s natural balance, so to protect itself, the skin produces more oil to retain moisture or adapt to new conditions.

 

2. Lifestyle Habits

An unhealthy lifestyle, such as smoking, heavy drinking, and poor diet can have a negative impact on the appearance of your skin. These habits an disrupt the body’s natural systems, causing dehydration, inflammation, and hormonal imbalances. In response, the skin can produce more oil to defend itself and maintain balance.

 

3. Genetics

While not always the case, it can happen. If oily skin runs in the family, it could mean you too have inherited shiny skin and impurities. The skin's oil production levels can be controlled by inherited traits such as larger sebaceous glands and hormone sensitivity.

 

4. Overusing Skincare Products

Yes, you can too much of a good thing. A recipe for disaster is cleansing or exfoliating too often, too hard, or using too much product. They result in oily skin reacting with extra aggressive oil production. Washing or exfoliating your face too often can strip too much natural oil from the skin, resulting in excess oil production.

 

5. Skipping Moisturiser

Believe it or not, skipping moisturiser after face cleansing can also cause the skin to produce excess oil. If you uphold applying moisturiser to your skin, your skin will react by producing more oils in an attempt to rehydrate the skin. It’s important to find the right moisturiser for your skin type. Lightweight, non-comedogenic moisturisers can work best for oily skin.

 

6. Stress

Stress isn’t good for anything, and skin is no different. Your body responds to stress by releasing extra androgen hormones, which means more sebum (oil) is pumped to the surface of your skin. Stress can increase cortisol levels, which can stimulate sebaceous glands and lead to an oilier complexion.

 

7. Hormonal Changes

Androgen hormones can also increase due to menstruation, pregnancy, and other hormonal changes. Sebaceous glands are highly responsive to hormones called androgens that stimulate them to produce more oil. When androgen levels fluctuate, so does sebum production. Life stages, such as puberty, menstruation and pregnancy are characterised by hormonal changes, which results in increased in oily skin.

 

8. Medication

Medications, especially those that affect your hormones, can increase oil production. Dehydration from medicine can also cause your skin to overcompensate for lost moisture, resulting in a sallow complexion. Speak with a healthcare provider before making any changes to your medication routine if oily skin is a concern.

Oily skin symptoms are easy to spot, and uncomfortable to live with. They include:

• Shiny skin: Skin appears to have a greasy film, and shines as if it’s always wet.
• Large pores: Excess sebum and dead skin cells can get caught in the pores of skin, expanding them permanently. They often remain quite large and may clog up often.
• Blemishes in the T-zone: Skin impurities on the forehead, nose and chin are more severe and frequently noticeable.
• Sallow complexion: Greasy skin does not have good circulation, so the complexion often looks sallow.
• Frequent breakouts & acne: Constant breakouts, blackheads, clogged pores and general acne problems are almost always found side-by-side with oily skin.

Step 1: Remove Makeup

Begin by removing any excess makeup with a gentle micellar water. Like our NIVEA Derma Skin Clear Micellar Water. Infused with 5% serum, using this product will remove make-up, dirt and impurities while leaving no greasy residue.

 

Step 2: Cleanse

Wash the face with an oily-skin type cleanser, with salicylic acid and niacinamide. Like our NIVEA Skin Clear Wash Gel which works to remove excess oil and effectively fight blemishes.

 

Step 3: Scrub

Those with oily-prone skin may benefit by adding an exfoliating scrub 2-3 times a week. Choose a scrub which won’t dry out the skin, like ourNIVEA Derma Skin Clear Scrub. Enriched with Salicylic Acid, Sea Salt and Niacinamide, it unclogs and refines pores and reduces blackheads and whiteheads without drying out the skin.

 

Step 4: Moisturise

A prevalent misunderstanding is that individuals with oily skin should skip moisturising. However, this step is crucial for repairing the skin barrier. Neglecting to moisturise can lead to increased oil production as your skin compensates. Instead, opt for a lightweight, non-greasy moisturiser.