My face is too oily!

The truth. You try to remove facial oils, and you wind up getting more oily than before. It's not your imagination; you're skin has been removed of its lipids. [1]

The key? pH 4.5-5.5 gel cleanser with little to no natural oils. Waxes are also out of the question. They contain synthetic lipid agents. These are the evil annoyances that aggravate the oily skin.

Scared of dry skin? So you've used the cleanser, but now your skin is too dry! Natural toning lotions are a must for hydrating dry, oily skin. Your gel cleanser should have a light moisturizer too. Most cleansers use hydroxy acids. These acids are used as chemical peels in a doctor's office. Low concentrations of hydroxy acids are a must.

But how do you really make a difference? Use a cheap clay masque containing bentonite clay twice a week. A small amount of the ingredient also found in Clearasil will absorb ugh oil and impurities in the skin.

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub

Do it yourself! Try this facial scrub from Alison Kontur at BathBodySupply.com.

Bentonite Clay Facial Masque (Oily Skin)

• 2 oz bentonite clay
• 1 oz powdered chamomile flowers
• 1/2 oz rose hip oil
• 3 oz distilled water
• 10 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 5 drops geranium rose compound
• 3 drops orange essential oil
  

Mix the first two ingredients to form the dry clay facial blend. Store clay blend in a 4 oz jar. Mix remaining ingredients to form the "wetting agent." Store in a separate 4 oz jar. To use, add about 1/2 oz of the clay blend to a small bowl, and mix with just enough wetting agent to make a paste.

Masque Instructions: Apply masque to the skin in a gentle circular motion. Relax until until dry, about 15-20 minutes. Wash off with warm water. If the skin feels tight, a light oil such as rose hip or jojoba can be applied afterwards.

1. "The goal of treating oily skin is to remove excess surface sebum without complete removal of skin lipids.^[1] Severe degreasing treatment can foster an actual worsening of sebum secretion, which defeats the aim of the cleansing." Health-cares.net [Wikipedia]

2. Halaas YP: Medium depth peels. Facial Plas Surg Clin North Am 2004 Aug; 12(3):297-303

3. Bentonite clay...can also be used as a therapeutic face pack for the treatment of acne/oily skin. Clearasil, an acne cream, uses bentonite as an agent to absorb excess sebum, clearing pores. [Wikipedia]