Combating Oily Skin the Inexpensive Way

Do you suffer from over productive sebaceous glands, also known as oily skin? Although oily skin will show less signs of aging such as fine lines and wrinkles, the downside to oily skin is a shiny appearance, large pores, pimples, blackheads or both.

Genetics and hormones play a part in the amount of oil your skin secrets. Environmental factors and free radicals may also play havoc on the skin too. A free radical is pollution. For instance, if you were standing on a corner and a diesel bus passed you by billowing fumes of gas, then chances are you have been exposed to more exhaust pollution in that single minute than your great grandparents may have experienced in a lifetime. These free radicals are placed in the air by smoke, airplanes, and industrial and agriculture processes. The free radicals (dirt and pollution) clog the pores, thus stimulating the skin to produce more oil.

The most important thing you can do to combat oily skin is to keep the face clean and protected. However, combating oily skin with e harsh cleaners is defeating the purpose. The more drying ingredients you place on your face the more your skin will work to replace the oil you are trying to remove.

Oily skin care needs the same skin routine as all skin types, they are: cleanse, tone and moisturize. Additionally, occasional peels and masks can work wonders to absorb excess oil and freshen the skin. Below are a couple of mask recipes especially for oil skin:

Fuller Earth Mask - Commonly called a mud mask
2 teaspoons of Fuller's Earth
4 to 5 rose water to make a paste
Vitamin E capsule if desired
Mix all ingredients to form a mask and apply to face. Leave on 10 minutes and rinse with warm water. Follow with a toner and an oil-free moisturizer

Cucumber Mask for Oil Skin
1/2 Cucumber
1 Egg white
1 T Lemon juice
1 tsp mint
Puree everything together and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Apply the mixture to your face and leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse with warm, then cool water. Follow with toner and an oil-free moisturizer.

In addition to the mask recipes above, there are toners, exfoliation treatments, and moisturizers you can make for oily skin. Herbs and essential oils can offer so many benefits in your skin care program. Herbs used in toners for oily skin should be: Chamomile-especially good for antiseptic values, fennel, lemon balm, parsley, rosemary, and peppermint and sage, which is also good for its antiseptic values. Essential oils such as Carrot seed, Jasmine, and Neroli oils are known to help reduce the appearance of scarring.

However, herbs and essential oils are potent, so be sure to study the properties of each herb or essential oil. For instance, the essential oil of Rosemary is known to stimulate the uterus, therefore it is not something you would not use if pregnant.

To read about the properties of essential oils, read my article Properties of Essential Oils and Herbs on Yahoo Shine

For more information about skin care, how to videos and skin care recipes for all skin types, visit Complete Skin Care Therapy