I have been experiencing oily skin more and more of late (since being a mum) particularly below my throat and above my chest area, also around the T Zone areas on my face which have not really been a problem for many years.
Since I am an at home mum, I feel very guilty about spending the kind of money on trying different products and have outgrown the habit of toning cleansing and moisturising. Really, I usually only put moisturiser on before make up or after a shower/bath but since the problem is slowly getting worse, I tried something about 2 weeks ago and I wish I thought of it before.
I ve been using sanitising hand gel to clean almost everything around the house for about 18 months now (there's another tip). It contains mostly alcohol and kills 99.9% of germs. Having attacked a clogged pore on my nose (same one every time), I felt annoyed with myself and felt if I dabbed a little on the pore (instead of a little perfume to dry it out), it may not appear so bad the next day. Then while I was at it, I thought I may as well dab a little on a couple of other spots and the outbreak of spots above my nose. What could go wrong? I mean, it is mostly alcohol!
The next day, everywhere I had dabbed the gel was clear or dry of oily skin at least. The spots seemed to calm down and the redness was all gone, even the annoying blocked pore looked clear. I have applied this gel to similar areas each day or when I take a trip to the bathroom. Now all the spots on my chest area are almost gone and the ones on my face have been gone for a week. My skin appears to be glowing - it is super clean. But most importantly, the blocked pore remains clean and clear and has not raised since.
I was worried that I might dry my skin out at first, but since I'm only dabbing small amounts here and there to the oily parts, I seem to be balancing my skins ph. At night time after I've showered, I've noticed my skin does not feel dry any more. I would normally apply some moisturiser but now I just wash my face with warm water a little soap then dab a little gel where needed and wake up non blotchy and fresh faced! This makes a nice change.
The gel I buy is Hygenic-Gel Instant Sanitiser 500ml bottle, they can be bought at Homeland for just 89p! or maybe 99p now. Lots of other places seem to have cottoned onto their popularity though so I've noticed have bumped up the price lots on these gels. I'm sure you can even buy in bulk the 100% alcohol gel that hospitals use for a good price, if you wanted that much.
I clean my bathroom floor with the stuff and have just cleaned bright pink Play-doh out of my rug and carpet using a little on a wet tea towel. I wipe down my walls with it, the pushchair, the dinner table everything!
It is so effortless and cheap to use, I use it to clean and wipe down all my kitchen surfaces (glossy white kitchen with 20 kiddy fingers equals mucky looking kitchen). I sound obsessed I know, but this stuff does make cleaning fun and everything looks as good as new after using it. My mum and mother in law have even adopted it now.
Word of warning though, if you leave a wet dishcloth out overnight with a good bit of gel still on it, you may wake up to an unpleasant smell. Just rinse the cloth after use properly with hot water and you won't!
Hope this helps.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have a oily skin and I have acne scars on my face. Please help me out as am going to be engaged in a month or so. I also have a sensitive skin so i just want homemade recipes.
Please answer me in detail about a whole day care for it and also how much required for applying for my skin type. Will be anxiously waiting.I too had very oily skin as a young woman but our old family doctor said to never put soap on my face, just to use a soft wash-rag (that is for a babies skin) on my face with warm water. Then after doing that I was to apply some liquid "MILK of MAGNESIA" onto my face, let it dry (it dries out to be a chalkie white clinging like film/powder to your skin) and then after it was dry I was to go to bed to sleep for the night. By the next morning my body had absorbed the white chalkie Milk of Magnesia so there wasn't much of it left on my skin in the morning for me to remove again with only plain warm water and the baby soft rag.
That is all that I did and it cleared up my face within about 6 months.
I still use it on my skin IF it breaks out to this day BUT it very rarely breaks out anymore AS NOW because of doing this my skin isn't oily anymore! It is like it changed the chemistry of my skin.
Good Luck to you...I hope that they sell Milk of Magnesia over there...it is something that is purchased and used here in the United States for people who are constipated.
I hope this helps and good luck with your pending engagement and marriage!
Regarding the milk of magnesia thing, will using that hurt the skin in the future? I heard that those with oily skin won't get wrinkles that easily.
I have heard of this for a long time, but have never tried it myself, and I don't know how long it takes to work, but it's supposed to work miracles:
take plain honey, smooth it on your face for ten minutes. Do this twice per day.
Supposedly, the skin is soft and any scarring disappears.
If you do find something that works, however, I'd love for you to post it!
Good luck and best wishes on your engagement!
Smoochie
I have scars on my face too, but I used the 3 step acne treatment. It works for me. I hope it works for you too(:
I have acne scars on my face and the scars are very little, but I think it doesn't look good. Please can anyone help me? Does honey is suitable for oily skin to put on scars? Does it work?
I am just 15 years old, but my face is full of pimples and my skin is oily. Please suggest something to get rid of the pimples and oily skin.
By Saija
I have a oily skin. I want to be beautiful and have normal skin. Can someone advise me on some tips for remedies that I can do at home?
By NazQuraishe
My skin is oily and I have lots of pimples. What can I do?
By suhani
I have oily skin and I don't like it. Please tell me how to protect my skin from oil.
By Gaurav sharma from India
If you scroll down below the comments here you will find lots of archived comments that should be helpful for you. :-)
Unfortunately, you cannot protect your skin from oil--your skin makes oil to protect itself from the environment. Some have more active oil producing glands then others.
You need to be mindful of what you eat. Good skin starts from the inside out. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables and steer clear of strong sauces, garlic, curries, etc because these can come out in your skin. Get regular exercise and wash your face every couple of days with a paste of bicarb soda and water. It will act like a mild scrub and clear out your pores. On alternate days, use a mild cream cleanser. Cetaphil, or sorbolene creame are good. Remember to also drink lots of water to flush out your system from toxins.
Spanish Girl, you gave some really great advice about fruits and vegetables, exercise and facial cleansing but I have to tell you that you made me giggle about steering clear of garlic and curries because those are fairly standard for Indian dishes ;-)
What really causes excess production of oil on the face? Is it the sugar, wheat, oil we eat. What causes excessive activity in our sebaceous glands?
I think it is just heredity. Some people have oily skin, some normal, some dry. I bet most people have combination skin.
It's a hormonal problem usually caused by an imbalance in the adrenal glands.
Our dematologist has told me that oily skin is hereditary. When he examined my teenaged kids, he looked at my face to see if I had large pores.
Oils in the skin are effected by hormones. Females will often break out around the time of their menses. Both males and females will have oilier skin during their teens because of increased hormone production.
Dont dispair. People with oily skin fair much better with age.. imho. I have fewer wrinkles and lines than others with dry skin.
Nah, oily skin is not heredity nor hormone induced. Yes, you'll break out more when the menstral cycle stops by to make our life miserable for five days, but this happens to everyone regardless of their skin type.
I have extremely oily skin and my Mom has extremely dry. My oldest daughter has oily skin and my two other children have dry skin. You just get what you get as far as that goes. I can help you with your oily skin woes, though. (Be grateful you have oily skin as we "oilies" age much nicer than dry skinned people).
Help please! My skin is oily with blackheads (my nose, cheeks, chin mostly have it). What is a budget friendly cleanser that works great for this? I'm hoping to pay for a cleanser that is $10 or less because I'm a very tight on money.
I'm having oily skin and it's very difficult to maintain. For days now I have stopped using makeup. Can someone please suggest some good tips including which type of soap is suitable for oily skin and how to maintain/care for oily skin?
I have lots of pimples, as well as marks, on my entire face. I want to remove them all within a week it's urgent. I want to make an oxygen pad on my own as a home remedy for oily skin. How do I make oxygen bleach home remedies?
By Ria from India