Why Your Skin Needs Oil and The Key to Keeping It Balanced
Oil seems to get a bad reputation in the skincare industry. However, oil also known as sebum is vital for the skin to function correctly.
Balance, as with most things is key when it comes to oil/sebum. Stripping the skin and trying to rid the skin of all natural oils will damage the skins natural pH balance and effect the performance of the skin barrier. Excess oil can cause breakouts or greasy/shiny skin. But the balance between the two is key to achieving healthy functioning skin.
Why Does Our Skin Need Oil?
Our skin acts has our defence mechanism against contaminants like bacteria and viruses. This comes in the form of our acid mantle, which is sometimes referred to as the lipid barrier. Our acid mantle is a physical and chemical barrier which is made up of a variety of things; especially key is our skin’s natural oils and moisture.
Sebum is composed of cholesterol, wax esters, squalene, fatty acids, triglycerides and diglycerides. Evidence suggests that sebum helps to lubricate the skin and hair, aids in the skin’s barrier function and provides antioxidant and antibacterial properties (Journal of Lipid Research).
Without sebum our acid mantle can become impaired. This then leads to moisture loss and dry, brittle skin.
In addition, without the right balance of sebum our body will naturally signal our sebaceous glands to release more sebum. This is especially relevant for an oil/acneic skin types, as stripping away too much sebum from the skin will only produce more sebum in return. Management and balance is key.
Every Skin Is Different
While everyone has some level of natural oil content on their skin, certain skin types can be oilier than others. People with very oily skin types may notice that their skin tends to appear shiny all over, whereas those with combination skin tend to be oily in the T-zone and dry in the other areas of the face.
Sebum production is mainly determined by genetics and hormonal fluctuations within the body.
How to manage Oily Skin
Finding the right balance is going to be key and getting that balance right may take some experimenting. Always, starting slowly is going to be the best approach and taking time for your skin to adjust to the new changes before swapping and making new additions is vital.
With oily skins, we recommend a consultation with a member of our team to look at how to begin and putting together a programme to help achieve balance.
Going to fast too soon, can do more damage than good, so let us help you find that right balance with oil. Keeping in mind that oil is important to skin health and optimally functioning. Rather than doing everything you can to get rid of it; making a few skincare steps to help manage and care for oily skin.