I’ve always been at odds with my oily skin.
It’s tricky, persistent, and with it comes a stack of secondary issues: large pores, blackheads, whiteheads — the whole nine yards.
It was only after I read an interview with Victoria Beckham that I realised having oily skin isn't a bad thing.
The designer and former Spice Girl explained how she learnt to love her oily, shiny skin, because it meant in the long run, she would 'age slower'.
What she meant was that oily skin is less likely to show signs of ageing like fine lines and wrinkles because oil keeps the skin moisturised...
... Either way, now I’m inching towards 30, this sentiment really resonates.
So nowadays, instead of worrying about how to get rid of oily skin, I've found ways to manage those aforementioned oily skin skin concerns.
And in the process, learnt that many of the oily skin “rules” you read about online telling you what you can/can't do are blasphemy.
So in the spirit of sharing, I’ve compiled all the oily skin rules to follow (and rules to break) right here.
But first let’s cover off some basics.
What Is Oily Skin?
Simply put, oily skin is a skin ‘type’ where the sebaceous glands are overactive, resulting in shiny or greasy-looking skin, large pores and congestion (fun).
We're all born with a skin type, which is mostly determined by genetic factors.
Not sure if you have oily skin? An unscientific but also useful test is to press a tissue across your t-zone around midday.
If it sticks, there’s a good chance you’re oily.
Like all skin types, oily skin has its positives. Like Posh said, oily skin creases less, meaning things like fine lines, wrinkles and skin laxity are less of a concern in the long run.
A silver lining if there ever was one.
You can learn more about how to work out your skin type in this YouTube video below.
