Lifestyle Choices

The Cause

Oily skin is the result of overactive sebaceous glands, which usually occurs due to a hormonal imbalance in the body. Occasionally a diet too high in fats and fried foods or refined sugar can contribute to the condition, as can too much stimulation of the sebaceous glands by heat, the sun, or skin-care products containing chemicals such as sulfur, which, although they are designed to dry out the condition, in the long run work in a counterproductive way by removing too much oil and thereby stimulating the glands to produce yet more. Studies show that people on diets slightly deficient in some of the B group of vitamins rapidly develop whiteheads, blackheads, and oily hair and skin.

Prevention and Cure

Treatment for seborrhea is rapidly changing. Dermatologists used to think the way to deal with the condition was literally to dry out the skin. Soaps, lotions, and treatment creams containing sulfur and harsh chemicals specifically designed to degrease the skin were used. Then you were told to wear a heavy, occlusive foundation, which completely covered up the skin and any blemishes, and you hoped for the best. Oily skin was treated roughly.

Dermatologists now realize that oily skin is not the tough and robust stuff they once thought it was. They have found that the use of drying agents in cosmetic products tends in most cases oily to treat the problem temporarily by removing excess oil at the expense of worsening the condition in the long run. For these same drying agents that remove the oil also stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more. Attempts to cover it up and to cover up acne with heavy, drying makeup are generally unsuccessful too. The shine comes through in a few hours and leaves your face a cakey, artificial-looking mess, which, instead of hiding the condition, makes it look worse.

The new approach is different, but it may take time for you to get used to if you are still thinking in the old way. Instead of using harsh, chemical-containing soaps and drying creams on your skin, buy a mild, lotion cleanser without any drying agent (which would degrease the skin) for cleansing and removing makeup. It should be an oil-in-water emulsion, which removes excess oil by emulsifying it in its oily phase while it dissolves other debris in its water phase. Rub it on gently with clean hands, then wipe it off completely with tissues before rinsing with fresh, cool water. It is important to remove it all. You don’t need a tonic or a freshener, but if you want one, make sure it contains no alcohol (alcohol is also a drier).

During the day, wear a water-in-oil moisturizer, which will have the effect of stabilizing the flow of sebum from the glands, since it mixes with the natural fats on the face and doesn’t degrease the skin. Forget the heavy foundation. Instead, as soon as the moisturizer has had a chance to set, powder your face with double the amount of powder you would usually use, dust off the excess, then spray the face with a fine mist of water (preferably spring water from an aerosol, but you can use ordinary water in a spray bottle so long as the spray is very fine). Now blot with a tissue and then powder again. This will keep your skin looking fresh and matt as well as calming the flow of oil from trigger-happy glands. It will also gradually shrink the size of your pores. Then, throughout the day, every three or four hours or whenever necessary, you can repowder, and you’ll never end up with the ugly, cakey mess oily-skinned women usually get.

Also, stay out of the sun. Sunbathing may dry your skin for a while, but when indoors weather comes you will find you’re faced with the results of the same situation: overstimulation of the sebaceous glands by ultraviolet light, which results in all the problems you have been trying to get rid of.

From a nutritional point of view, if your skin is too oily, don’t eat fatty foods or fried foods and do eat plenty of green vegetables raw and B-complex vitamins from whole-grain breads and cereals, liver, or brewer’s yeast supplements. Brewer’s yeast both taken internally (a tablespoon stirred into a glass of fruit or vegetable juice three times a day) and also mixed with yogurt and used as a face mask on freshly cleansed skin is very helpful in calming overeager sebaceous glands. Let it dry for fifteen minutes and then wash it off with warm (not hot) water, splashing with cold to finish. Use the mask three times a week until the condition is well under control, and then once a week.

The B vitamins (particularly Be, niacin, and B₂) in these foods are vital in the treatment of excessively oily skin and the acne that often accompanies it. Vitamin A can also be useful in treating skin that is too oily. It can be taken together with vitamin D as fish liver oil or in higher doses on its own as well. Vitamin C, potassium, and calcium have also been reported helpful. Because vitamin A is an oil-soluble vitamin and excesses tend to remain stored in the body, there is always the danger of taking too much of it. But as most nutritionists who concern themselves with vitamin therapy- point out, one would have to take excessively large amounts of the vitamin—probably 150,000 international units a day over a period of many months—for toxicity to develop. And deficiency of vitamin A disturbs the normal activity and size of sebaceous and sweat glands. High-estrogen brands of the Pill sometimes help excessively oily skin, although some birth-control pills seem to aggravate it.

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