Oily skin can sometimes be extremely challenging to care for. Not only do you have to work on reducing the excess shine that your face always seems to be sporting, but you also need to deal with the pimples that constantly emerge.

That said, once you know how to properly look after oily skin, those issues will soon become a thing of the past. Read on as Vivo Per Lei explains what you need to do to de-matte your complexion while reducing the appearance of breakouts.

Cleanse Your Skin Twice a Day

Breakouts form when excess sebum delves into the pores and mixes with bacteria, resulting in inflammation and pimples. So, it goes without saying that keeping your skin clear of excess sebum as much as possible will go a long way in preventing the appearance of breakouts.

There are a few ways in which you can keep your complexion grease-free, with twice-daily cleansing being the most important. Cleanse your face once in the evening to remove the sebum, dirt, and other impurities that have built up on your skin throughout the day. Then, cleanse again when you wake up in the morning to eradicate the sebum that has been released onto your skin’s surface overnight.

Even if your skin feels super greasy by midday, don’t be tempted to add in an extra cleanse. Over-cleansing will only encourage your skin to start producing even more sebum, which you definitely don’t want. 

The same thing will happen if you use a cleanser that completely strips your skin dry. Ideally, you want to find a formula that strikes the perfect balance between being able to remove excess sebum without taking away every last drop. 

That’s where the Vivo Per Lei Collagen Foaming Cleanser comes into play. Foaming cleansers are fantastic for oily skin, and this one is no exception. Its collagen- and vitamin-infused formula will leave your skin feeling revitalized yet moisturized once the lather has dissolved away your excess sebum. 

Make Sure That Your Skin Remains Fully Hydrated

Your skin cells, along with all of the other cells in your body, need water in order to function properly. If your skin cells don’t have access to enough water, they’ll be stimulated into increasing their sebum production. Even though oil and water are very different, this is your skin’s way of trying to compensate for its dehydration.

This makes it so important to keep your oily skin fully hydrated. The best way to do this is by adding a hydrating serum to your skincare routine and then following this up with a hydrating face cream. So long as you pick lightweight, non-comedogenic formulas, you’ll be able to give your skin the hydration that it needs without clogging up your pores and triggering new breakouts.

One super hydrating serum to try is the Vivo Per Lei Aloe Soothing Facial Serum. It contains aloe leaf extract and sodium hyaluronate, both of which are fantastic lightweight humectants. This means that they bind moisture to the skin without weighing the skin down. Aloe also feels incredibly soothing when applied topically. It can calm the feeling of inflammation to prevent the visibility of new pimples.

Try layering the Vivo Per Lei Marine Sensitive Facial Hydro-Gel over the top. It’s an incredibly lightweight moisturizer – it’s a gel rather than a cream. However, it will still do a great job of locking in all of the hydrating humectants that you’ve applied through your serum. Better yet, with bamboo shoot extract, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, and beta-glucan, it contains many of its own hydrating ingredients to elevate your skin’s moisture levels even further.

Exfoliate a Few Times a Week

While cleansing is great for clearing away excess sebum on the surface of the skin, it isn’t able to pull sebum and impurities out from pore openings. This is where exfoliation comes in. 

Exfoliation provides a deeper cleanse. It’s great for removing pore blockages, which are the precursor to acne breakouts. Regularly exfoliating your skin will also help with reducing the visibility of dark spots, wrinkles, and uneven skin texture.

How often should oily skin be exfoliated?

Usually, two to three times a week. However, this also depends on the exfoliant you’re using. Some aren’t safe to be used more than once a week. Oily skin needs more than this, so find a formula that’s designed for use multiple times a week, just like the Vivo Per Lei Facial Peeling in The Skin Care Set. This exfoliant will gently slough away the dead skin cells and sebum that have lodged themselves into your pore openings. At the same time, it will brighten your overall complexion while leaving your skin feeling so much smoother.

Remove Excess Sebum With Charcoal

Charcoal is an ingredient that’s well worth adding to your skincare routine if you have oily skin. Studies show that activated charcoal, when used as a face mask, is able to remove a greater depth of dirt, oil, and impurities than formulas without charcoal.

When applied to oily skin, it will attract and bind to any excess sebum. Rinse the charcoal off and all of that sebum will go with it, leaving you with a beautifully matte complexion.

Research also shows that charcoal has a brightening effect on the look of the skin. It gives the complexion a radiant glow, which is always a bonus!

With that said, keep in mind that not any type of charcoal will do. It needs to be activated charcoal. This is charcoal that has been processed in a particular way to give it a smaller molecular size, meaning that it can be better absorbed by the skin.

You’ll find the ingredient in the Vivo Per Lei Activated Charcoal Facial Mask. It combines activated charcoal with a number of antioxidant-rich botanical extracts and vitamins. Use this mask on your skin once a week and your face will soon start to look clearer and brighter.

Make the Most of Clay Masks

Charcoal isn’t the only ingredient to look out for when shopping for face masks. Clay is another one that can be extremely beneficial for oily skin. 

Clay is loved for how it binds to excess sebum on the skin while also drawing this out of the pores. It has an incredibly detoxifying effect on the complexion, leaving the skin looking deeply purified.

One clay mask that many people with oily skin can’t get enough of is the Vivo Per Lei Fresh Eucalyptus Facial Mask. It’s formulated with kaolin clay, which is known for being one of the best skincare clays out there. It also contains sea mud, aka Canada glacier mud. Not only is this ingredient rich in numerous minerals but it, like clay, has a sebum-absorbing and detoxifying effect on the appearance.

As you can tell from its name, this mask also contains eucalyptus oil. This plant oil is high in natural tannins, which are compounds that have astringent effects. They’re capable of reducing the look of excess oiliness, leaving the complexion grease-free. Of course, eucalyptus oil also has a gorgeous scent that makes using this mask feel even more indulgent!

Keep Oily Skin Protected From the Sun

Did you know that UV rays can cause the skin to produce even more sebum? There are studies that confirm this, with other research linking UV exposure to certain forms of acne.

If you want to keep breakouts to a minimum, then this means giving it what it requires to not feel the need to produce quite so much oil. And in this case, that’s sunscreen.

Keeping your skin protected from the sun can help to slow down sebum production. As a result, your pores won’t end up quite so clogged, meaning that pimples won’t need to form.

Of course, you’ll need to make sure that the sunscreen you choose is non-comedogenic. Many sunscreen formulas out there contain pore-clogging ingredients, which could make things even worse for your oily skin.

Go for a broad-spectrum formula with a minimum SPF of 30. Coat any exposed skin with a generous layer of the product and keep it topped up, reapplying it every two to three hours. Make sure that you’re just as diligent about wearing sunscreen in the winter as you are in the summer. After all, UV rays are damaging year-round. It may not feel hot outside, but those rays are still there, wreaking havoc on your skin.

Stop Touching Your Face Throughout the Day

Many people unintentionally cause new breakouts while worsening existing pimples by constantly touching their face. Whether it be while you’re working at your desk, sprawled out watching your favorite Netflix show, or at any other point during the day, touching your face is a big no-no, especially if you have oily skin.

Why?

Well, think about the many different surfaces that your hands have come into contact with since the last time you washed them. Each time it touches a different surface, it picks up a whole host of bacteria, oil, and other impurities. Then, when you touch your face, all of these particles end up transferring from your hands to your delicate facial skin. Once there, they dive into your pores, mixing in with your natural sebum to kickstart a new set of pimples.

This can all be avoided if you resist the urge to unnecessarily touch your face. If you do need to touch your face for whatever reason, make sure that your hands are clean first. Don’t have access to water or a cleanser? Keep some of the Vivo Per Lei IntroLift Vitamin C Facial Wipes nearby. You’ll be able to easily cleanse your hands, or anywhere else, while on the go. 

Summary

When it comes down to it, there’s so much that you can do to cut back on how shiny and oily your face looks and feels. With that said, following just one of the tips above is unlikely to make a noticeable difference if your skin is severely oily. Instead, you’ll need the power of a combination of our methods to really cut through your greasy complexion and give your skin a matte and clear finish that you can truly be proud of.

Click here to shop for more bestselling skincare products for oily skin from Vivo Per Lei.