What Can Cause Your Skin To Overproduce Oil

Dealing with a shiny complexion that—despite your best efforts—seems to persist no matter what you do? It’s possible that your sebaceous glands have kicked into high gear and are over-producing oil. What exactly can cause that to happen? Well, it’s hard to tell. There are many factors that can be to blame for your excessively shiny T-Zone. We break down a few potential culprits, below. 

5 Potential Causes for Your Oily Skin

So, no matter how much you wash your face, it appears oily with an unwanted sheen. What gives? Consider the potential causes below to help you understand what could be going on behind the scenes. The better you understand your complexion, the easier it can be to find a solution for your finicky skin. 

1. Stress

Has work been crazy busy? Or maybe you’re planning a wedding or going through a breakup. Whatever the case may be, that stress might be rearing its ugly head on your face. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, when you’re stressed your body releases cortisol, a stress hormone, which can cause your skin to produce more oil. To help counteract your stress light a candle, toss a bath bomb in the tub and settle in to calm your nerves and mellow out after a long day. If baths are not your thing, book a class at a yoga studio or meditate cross-legged on your living room floor to clear your mind and release the tension you’ve been feeling. It could pay off in a big way in the look of your skin!

2. You Aren’t Hydrating Enough

This one is two-fold. You can hydrate by drinking the recommended amount of water per day, as well as moisturizing daily. If you don’t provide your body with enough hydration, then it will be triggered to think that it needs to compensate for that moisture loss by upping the oil ante. Yikes! To avoid tricking your skin into oil overdrive, be sure to drink plenty of water and use a hydrating cream, like the L’Oréal Paris Hydra Genius Daily Liquid Care, to quench your skin’s thirst. 

3. You’re Using the Wrong Skin Care Products

Sure, there are tons of skin care products on the market that promise awesome results, but the trick to truly achieving those skin goals is to choose products formulated specifically for your skin type. For oily skin this means you want to look for products that, for starters, are oil-free and, if blemishes are a concern, non-comedogenic. It’s also a good idea to look at formula thickness too. The oilier your skin is, the lighter your products you can use; conversely, the drier your skin, the heavier your products should be. 

4. You’re Washing Your Face Too Often

Here’s the scenario: You wash your face morning and night, but then you notice oil creeping onto your complexion before the clock even strikes noon, so you want to wash again ASAP. Stop in your tracks. As much as you might want to wash your face in hopes of ridding your complexion of that unwanted shine, when you over-wash your face you can actually trick your skin back into oil overdrive. If you’re constantly washing away your skin’s natural oils then it will think it needs to produce even more, thus continuing the cycle. Stick to one quality cleanser formulated for oily skin, and use it morning and night.

Now, we know we told you to wash your face no more than twice a day, but the exception to the rule is if you work out. Swipe a micellar-soaked cotton pad across your face to remove any sweat and dirt that could’ve mixed with your day’s makeup post-workout. When you get home you can continue with your regularly nightly cleanse.

5. You’re Not Using the Right Moisturizer

Many people incorrectly think that if their skin is oily, the last thing they should do is layer it with a hydrating product. As you learned above, that is absolutely not the case. Without proper moisturizing habits, you can actually trick your skin into producing even more oil. For that reason, it’s incredibly important to find a quality moisturizer for your skin type. Instead of grabbing any old product, be sure to look for a lightweight, oil-free moisturizer that will hydrate without adding to your sheen. We especially love the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat Mattifying Moisturizer. The oil-free, non-comedogenic mattifying facial moisturizer targets excess oil by mattifying the look of skin and refining the appearance of enlarged pores.  

If after reading and executing these techniques your skin is still shiny as can be, then you might be among those whose oily skin is actually hereditary, meaning it’s just in your genes. While you can’t change your genetics, you can still follow the rules of thumb above to help combat  some of your oily effects for a more mattified visage. If that doesn’t seem to work, consult your dermatologist for additional solutions.