What is oily skin?

You need a certain amount of natural oil in your skin to keep it healthy. Sebaceous glands secrete an oily substance called sebum which lubricates your skin to keep it balanced, moisturized and to remove dead skin cells and irritants from your pores.

Oily skin occurs when the sebaceous glands produce too much oil. This creates a shiny or greasy appearance and often leads to enlarged pores, thick or rough looking skin, clogged pores, blackheads and acne.

What determines oily skin can be a combination of genetics, hormone levels, the environment and lifestyle factors. The key is to normalize sebum production and maintain your skin’s natural moisture. We’re here to help you achieve a clear, balanced and glowing complexion!

Before we dive into the products, let’s talk about the importance and impact of a targeted and consistent skincare routine.

Consistency is KEY

A skincare regimen consistently carried out over a few weeks gives your skin time to balance oil production, bring moisture back into your cells, and keep your complexion in happy equilibrium.

Remember, it takes time for products to work their magic. Jumping from one product to another can confuse your skin and lead to a ton of frustration, and you may never figure out what actually works.

You should also tailor your routine according to the season. Just like how we dress light in the summer and layer clothes to keep warm in the winter we should take a similar approach with our skincare!

Our clean beauty recommendations:

FOR THE MORNING

Cleanser: Rosewater Advanced Micellar Water
You may be tempted to over-cleanse an oily complexion, but that can actually send your oil production into overdrive and exacerbate the issue. Using a light, micellar toner removes overnight grime without stripping your skin. Moss’s all-in-one cleanser and toner is derived from apples and combined with calming rose hydrosol for superhero powers. The gentle, non-irritating formula swiftly dissolves dirt, sweat and light makeup to refresh skin, no rinsing needed.

Toner: Laurel Skin Hydrating Elixir II
Created with anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredients like curcumin and azulene, along with B vitamins, enzymes, natural salicylic acid, polyphenols, and humectant complexes for balanced hydration. Rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, it cools and calms while balancing skin’s microflora for a clear complexion. Delivers immediate hydration and soothing relief to reactive, irritated, inflamed skin.

Serum: Graydon Skincare Phyto Clear
Soothing gel-like serum made with two retinol-like botanicals. The perfect choice if you’re looking to get the benefits of conventional retinol, without the possible harsh side effects. Bakuchiol and moth bean extract help balance skin and minimize fine lines while chlorella and broccoli seed oil protect from free radical/environmental damage.

Moisturizer: Wabi-Sabi Botanicals Balancing Act Face Serum
This lightweight, fast-absorbing oil feeds skin with 40x (!!) more nourishing fatty acids than Argan oil and is infused with vitamin D-rich Shiitake Mushroom to calm and restore skin balance. It makes the perfect lightweight daily moisturizer by infusing oily and acne-prone with the fatty acids they’ve been shown to lack.

FOR THE EVENING

Cleanser: Laurel Skin Support Cleanser Cool Relief
This creamy, gel-like cleanser removes daily pollutants, excess oil, makeup and sunscreen while effectively detoxifying congested/breakout-prone skin. The soothing formula provides instant cooling relief, making it ideal for inflamed, acneic skin as well as sun damaged and/or reactive complexions.

Toner: Laurel Skin Hydrating Elixir II

Moisturizer: OKOKO Cosmetiques L’Élixir de Manuka – Clarifying Serum for Problematic Skin
High-performance, clarifying and blemish-fighting face serum. Formulated with Manuka honey concentrate to visibly diminish blemishes and reduce the appearance of oiliness. Research-backed bakuchiol (a natural alternative to retinol) is blended with ceramides, helichrysm extract and targeted oils to help prevent new breakouts. The soothing formula helps reduce redness and uneven skin tone, leaving your complexion clarified and refreshed.

Balm: Earthwise Beauty Tigress Face Balm
A fast-absorbing vegan face balm that melts instantly and is acne friendly (really!). Earthwise Beauty’s first-ever balm deeply penetrates to protect from moisture loss, invigorate skin tissue, heal acne breakouts, reduce acne and blackhead tendencies, balance excessive oil production, and provide long term firming benefits. Heavier than a facial oil, but lighter than your typical balm.

TARGETED TREATMENTS

Targeting fine lines: Live Botanical Earthbound Therapy Mask
This essential oil-free, restorative mask is made from ancient clay with broad-spectrum vital macro & trace minerals to remove impurities, deeply clean and rebalance the skin. It also includes a generous harvest of vitamin-rich strawberries, blackcurrants, camu camu and reishi mushroom to immediately brighten the skin. Hydrating rose petals, roots, and grains promote repairing to restore softness.

Exfoliate: Leahlani Honey Love Exfoliator
Honey Love is a potent blend of superfood maqui berry, tonifying hibiscus, anti-inflammatory noni fruit, stimulating clays, sweet Hawaiian nectars and microdermabrasion crystals. The antimicrobial properties in Hawaiian raw honey thoroughly cleanse, dissolve bacteria and help heal acne. Founder Leah Klasovsky created this product for her own cystic acne; “it exfoliates, fights bacteria, nourishes, moisturizes, and soothes the complexion”.

Spot Treatment Option 1: Laurel Skin Blemish Treatment Deep Relief
This effective treatment is designed to address cystic acne and breakouts in two different ways: first, by healing and treating the breakout and second, by aromatically reducing stress, a primary cause of inflammation and skin flare ups. Anti-inflammatory Black Cumin Seed Oil combats acne bacteria, Helichrysum reduces swelling and inflammation, and Thyme essential oil restores balance to acneic skin.

Spot Treatment Option 2: Wabi-Sabi Botanicals Blemish Correct Soothing Serum and Spot Treatment
If you are sensitive to essential oils, try essential oil-free Blemish Correct. This serum is infused with skin-clearing Green Tea, inflammation-soothing Javanese Turmeric, natural terpene-rich Copaiba Resin to support skin’s natural ability to heal.

You are beautiful

Finally? Look into your mirror and think about how your skin supports you throughout various activities during the day as you perform your daily skincare ritual and remind yourself  of how beautiful you are. Next step – blissful sleep!

Note: Because every complexion is different, keeping a log of skin reactions can help you to figure out what ingredients are problematic for you. You should always perform a patch test of any new skincare product on a small part of your face or body before introducing it into your routine.