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]

Serotonin: Light Up My Life

How do you get your "fix"? Caffeine, carbs, smokes, booze? Wouldn't you like to get your "get-up-and-go" in a more natural, more permanent way? I certainly would. Bright light is one of the ways you can naturally and permanently achieve boosted serotonin levels.

In Scandinavia they have what you call light cafes, where they have learned that light not only boosts vitamin D, but serotonin levels. The movement has become so popular it has moved to the UK and other areas of Europe. Perhaps we will be seeing them in the US soon as well.

According to a study of healthy women with acute tryptophan depletion, bright light of 3000 lux can completely block the effects of lowered serotonin levels. Of course, establishing such a level of light in your home would be severely expensive. But positive results have also been show in exposing elderly women to 1000 lux of light for 1 hour a day in their homes. Participants reported several positive affects associated with higher serotonin levels after just a few days of exposure: improved mood, self-confidence, motivation, alertness, and sleeping habits.

Source: How to increase serotonin in the human brain without drugs, Effects of moderately bright light on subjective evaluations in healthy elderly women