Oily skin - Friend or foe?

To my oily skin comrades out there! 

I am often told by people that I am lucky to have an oily skin as oily skin tends to age much much later than the dry ones. Apparently, wrinkles don’t form that quick on a skin that’s oily. So, I could not help but wonder, is oily skin really a blessing? These people clearly do not understand the hardships that we oily skin people face on a daily basis. I so wish I had dry skin because all I would have to do is keep applying a moisturiser unlike oily skin where we have to keep washing them, wiping them, re-apply makeup. But I am sure, the grass is always greener the other side and therefore, dry skin people face equal amount of hardships on other matters. This blog is my search to figure out if oily skin is our friend or foe!

This is my first blog for all the people out there with oily skin. I thought it’s high time I share my experiences with a few of the trillion experiments I have done on my skin since I first saw my pimple breakout. Now these may or may not benefit everyone with oily skin. But I would be more than happy if 1 from 1000-s find this working for their skin. I will first describe my skin condition before I move to the list of treatments I have done.

I believe I have the world's oiliest skin out there (I so wish no one has it worse than me). I have a dusky skin tone. Some call it wheatish, but since I don’t know what that means, I’ll stick to dusky. So with a skin tone like mine, oil stands out more. It is fine if it’s just oil but it’s not fine when it moves to stage 2, PIMPLES! I love my skin tone, hence I am not looking for a fairer skin but I am definitely looking for a flawless one! It was flawless until I was 22. Nightmares became a reality post that age. My first try was covering it up with cosmetics; concealers, foundations, compact. And trust me I have tried SO MANY brands and well, like everyone else, made it worse. Now followed the disaster management. Tried every single face pack that was advertised on TV. Again, BIG mistake! Situation got worse with really wide pores, blemishes, black spots and flaky skin. Expensive chemical peeling was the last I did. 2 days of leave from office and quite a lot of money got wasted with no result. By the time I turned 25, I was matured enough to understand nothing works better than homemade face packs. Learnt the hard way to get to the point where I am now. So, here is the list of some face packs I have tried and how it worked for my skin.

Treatment for: Oily skin, Blemishes, Acne, Tan & Large Pores

1. Gram flour and Turmeric – Allergic to turmeric. Pimple breakouts got worse

2. Fullers Earth/Multani Mitti & Rose water – Helped in suction of the oil but no even toned skin was achieved nor the glow.

3. Tomato Paste – Helped with the glow but left face greasy

4. Oatmeal & Curd – Helped with the glow but left face greasy

5. Lemon – Definitely helped with my tan!

I am not the kind of person who is willing to go through tremendous amount of work to make a face mask. Hence, I rely on simple and quick methods and therefore, I continued using treatment 2. I was more than happy as long as I could keep the oil out of my face with no pimple breakouts. Even tone was managed with some last minute makeup techniques. Recently I came across a few websites where it mentioned potato juice works wonders for a glowing skin. Researched more and figured maybe I should give it a shot. So, I combined the 3 items that actually worked for my skin. Potato juice, Lemon & Multani Mitti and boy did it do wonders! It was the best face pack for my skin. My skin is regaining its flawless look. So here is how I make it.

Mixture: 1 tsp of potato juice, 1 tsp Lemon and multani mitti.

Application: Cleanse your face thoroughly with a face wash/cleanser that’s best suited for your skin. Pat dry and apply the mask. Wait until 20 minutes or till the mask completely dries. Wash it off with slow circular motions. Using ice cold water helps close the pores but I don’t use the same because it leads to sneezing and cold/sinus for me. Pat dry after rinsing, apply a toner followed by a moisturiser of your skin’s choice. Application of lacto calamine after this is perfect for mine!

Result: Potato juice definitely brings the glow, lemon removes the tan, multani mitti sucks the oil and voilà! My skin looks brand new!

Frequency: I do this every 3^rd day. I would not suggest doing this every day because it will dry out all the natural oil from your skin. Let it breathe for a day or two. Once a week is a must!

Note: Please don’t stick to my measurements because for some people it may be too much and for some, too less. The amount I make fills me up until right above my chest. And there is absolutely no guarantee that this might work for you. So keep browsing for more and hopefully, you will find your perfect match! 

So, here’s my conclusion to my question. My skin is definitely my friend and my blessing. I am looking forward to age slowly and gracefully keeping my dusky tone alive! 

Would love to hear your thoughts! 

P.S: Drinking water, the exact amount that your body needs, is the foundation to having a flawless skin. All the rest is just a support factor.