If you are reading magazines, you only see women with perfect skin and a perfect figure. In real life, very few women can reach that ideal unless they make a lot of effort or even suffer for it.
As it comes to skin, very few of us have that creamy and blemish-free skin that you see in the magazines. One of the problems that occurs a lot is the oily skin. It is produced by the sebaceous glands, which are deeply located within the second layer of skin (or ‘dermis’) and are most plentiful in your face, neck, chest and back. In normal skin, the oil produced by the glands hydrates but in some cases these glands work too much and produce greasy or even dirty hair and skin.
It’s a mistake to think that this will only occur in your puberty. For many people, it will last a lifetime. Heredity can play a role here; if your mother had an oily skin, you’re likely to get one too.
This doesn’t mean that you can’t take care of your skin. Let’s start with the easy solutions. First of all, you can better drink a lot of water. A minimum of eight glasses a day is necessary to hydrate the skin.
Be careful of what you eat. The consumption of fats or oily ingredients doesn’t help to get away with the oily skin or acne!
Watch out for the sun. You may think that it will dry out your skin, but on the contrary, it stimulates the production of oil.
Avoid using make-up all the time. Especially foundation crème is not recommended when you have oily skin.
You may also try to steam your face several times a week. Perhaps you can add some aroma to the steam (chamomile, lavender, for instance) to give more fragrance.
If you want to spend some money, you can supplement your diet with vitamins (ask your pharmacist for the ones that will best suit your needs), or do a facial scrub. It can get rid of excessive oils, especially from your face.
Lastly, you can try and make your own face pack. This is a combination of natural ingredients that will improve the texture of your skin, or will remedy a specific skin problem. You will leave the pack on your face for about ten to fifteen minutes. Afterwards, rinse your face with warm water and use a moisturizer afterwards.
Some examples:
- Cucumber mask: take the juice of half a cucumber and add some mint leaves. Blend these with some limejuice, a teaspoon of milk powder and a little egg. Chill the mix in the fridge before applying.
- Yeast mask: blend a teaspoon of baker’s yeast with fresh yoghurt and a little sugar until it gets frothy.
- Earth mask: take two teaspoons of Fuller’s Earth and add five spoons of rose water to make a paste.
- Fruit mask: blend cubes of fresh papaya, pineapple or strawberries with a little egg white.
