Prevent Oily Skin: Causes, Foods & Drinks, Home Remedies, Face Masks

Having clear and glowing skin is everyone’s dream. Earlier, we discussed how to get rid of pimples and foods for acne free skin. Oily skin is the cause of any type of skin trouble, say if it is acne, pimples, blackheads, or blemishes.

Oily skin is a reason for all kinds of skin issues, especially in your teenage years. So the main question arises: how to prevent oily skin?

Nobody likes oily and greasy skin. It makes your face look dull and more mature as compared to your age. Oily skin is usually rough and hard with huge visible pores.

What Are The Causes Of Oily Skin?

If you have oily skin, then sometimes it’s because of your diet and lifestyle, or sometimes this is how your skin is. Below are some of the causes that are responsible for your oily skin.

Stress

Stress is the primary cause of all skin problems. Your stress levels can directly influence your skin quality. Stress makes your body release the stress hormone Cortisol. This hormone triggers Sebaceous Glands, which in turn promotes the production of oil.

So try to avoid stress at all times. Not only your skin, but stress can also influence the functioning of other body parts and organs too.

Genetics

Sometimes it’s genetics, and there is nothing you can do about it. Maybe your parents have this problem or your grandparents. In this situation, your skin is oily, even if you are not doing anything that makes it do so.

The methods discussed in this article can help you control oil production in skin even if it’s your genetic problem.

As it is genetic, it can’t be cured for sure. But can be controlled until it naturally stops after a particular age.

Medications

Sometimes your medicines can cause oily skin problems. Drugs that usually impact your body’s hormonal levels like anti-depressants, birth control pills, etc. can cause it.

Some medicines cause dehydration, which makes your skin produce more oil to keep it hydrated and compensate for the loss of moisturization.

Lack of Skin Moisturization

Dehydrated skin produces excessive oil to keep it hydrated. This is usually a case during winters. If you forget to apply moisturizer on your skin, then it starts to look dark and greasy after a while.

Your body cannot see your skin gets damaged by dryness. As a result, it starts producing oil.

Overuse of Skincare Products

In the hunt for perfect skin, sometimes we hurt it by our own hands. The most excellent example is washing your face frequently with face washes or scrubbing the face by applying too much pressure.

This damages your skin, takes out all of its natural moisturization, and makes it dry.

Seasonal Change

Seasonal changes are also responsible most of the time. Temperature variations can stimulate the Sebaceous Glands to produce Sebum.

In the summers, due to excessive heat, your skin starts to look oily. Even in winters, if you don’t keep your skin hydrated, then it will start releasing oil to do the job for you.

Now that was all about the causes of oily skin. Let’s discuss some of the home remedies to keep your skin oil-free.

Home Remedies To Prevent Oily Skin

If you are one of those with that greasy looking skin and looking for a solution, then you are in the right spot. Oily skin is not attractive at all, and he below given methods should help you get rid of oily skin or at least control it.

Keep Your Face Clean

Your skin is susceptible to dirt and dust. As soon as these dust particles touch your skin’s surface, your skin starts producing all to create a protective covering against germs.

The situation gets even worse when your these dirt particles clog the skin pores, and skin is secreting oil. This results in the formation of acne and blackheads.

So it’s advised to keep your skin clean. Below are some ways to do so:

• Wrap your face with a scarf or some clothes to keep it safe from dust and pollution.
• Wash your face twice a day.
• Wash your face immediately after reaching home from outside to remove all the dirt.
• Apply moisturizer after washing your face.

Simplify Your Makeup Routine

Applying certain makeup items can aggravate the skin’s oiling condition. Makeup can block pores and make your skin dry, which further results in oil production.

Always use the makeup products that are best suited for the oily skin type, especially if you wear makeup regularly. Cut off the makeup items that make your skin look more oily.

Also, never leave the makeup on your face overnight. Wash your face by gently massaging your skin to remove all the chemicals. Put some moisturizer on the skin afterward.

Facial Steam

Sometimes bacterias cause excessive oil production. Bacterias enter your skin through pores and infect the sebaceous glands.

The steam of boiling water with tea tree oil mixed can kill all such bacterias. For this home therapy, follow the instructions:

1. Boil a pot of fresh and clean water. Then pour it into a container or a large shallow basin
2. Add 3-4 drops of tea tree essential oil to this boiling water, and a few fresh basil leaves too
3. Lean over the steam
4. Breathe in the steam for about 10 minutes
5. Rinse your skin

Note: Keep your head about 12 inches away from the steaming water, so you don’t burn yourself.

Tea tree oil has antibacterial properties that kill bacterias and can also prevent your oily skin from breaking out. It also balances your skin’s moisturization by removing excess oil.

Tie Your Hair Back

This preventive method is highly underrated. Your hair constantly touching your hair can stimulate sebum production. Your scalp also produces greasy material which gets transferred to your face by constant contact.

So if your face, forehead, neck, or upper back is oily, then it’s recommended that you tie your hair and don’t let them come in contact with the greasy surface.

Keep Your Pillow Clean

Always remember to wash your pillow cover at least once a week. Your pillow’s surface is the home to all kinds of germs and bacterias. Even it absorbs all the oil your skin produces. This builds up for the entire week.

So if you keep your skin in contact with your dirty pillow overnight, then it will stimulate your skin condition even more.

You should also wash your bedsheet once a week if your upper back is oily.

Face Masks For Oily Skin

Lemon Face Mask

A lemon mask can do wonders in curing your oily skin without you even realizing it. It not only keeps the skin clear, fair, and brighter but also instantly sucks in the oil from your skin. That makes your skin look smooth and radiant.

You can use the lemon mask in the following ways:

• Apply plain lemon juice directly to your skin
• Or add 2 teaspoons of Multani Mitti (Fuller’s earth) to 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and little rose water to make a thick paste.

Apply the face pack all over your face evenly. Rinse off with cold water once it dries. Apply this once or twice a week for best results.

Honey Face Mask

Honey is one of nature’s most effective skin remedies. It has natural antibacterial and antiseptic abilities. Not only oily skin, but it may also benefit the acne-prone skin too.

Honey is also a natural humectant. That means it keeps your skin moisturized without making it look oily. Now you must be wondering how it is possible? Humectants draw moisture from the skin itself, instead of replacing it.

Here’s how to use honey to treat acne and oily skin:

• Spread a thin layer of raw honey onto your face
• Let it dry for about 10 minutes
• Rinse thoroughly with warm water

Cosmetic Clay Face Mask

Cosmetic clays have a natural property of absorbing excess oil from the skin. They are also helpful in treating many skin conditions. That’s the reason why they are also called healing clays.

French green clay is the most effective among all the other types of clays in treating oily skin. It’s highly absorbent and comes in powder form.

Here’s how to make a French green clay mask:

• Add rose water to about a teaspoon of clay to form a pudding-like consistency
• Apply the mixture to your face and leave it on until it dries
• Remove the clay with warm water

Almond Face Mask

Almonds work to exfoliate your skin naturally. Apart from that, Almonds remove the excess oils and impurities from your skin.

Here’s how to use an almond face scrub:

• Finely grind raw almonds to fill 3 teaspoons
• Add 2 tablespoons of raw honey to it and form a paste
• Apply to your face gently, in circular motions
• Rinse the face mask with warm water

There is no harm if some of the almond mask paste goes into your mouth since almond is the best protein-rich food for vegetarians to build muscles naturally.

Oatmeal Face Mask

Oatmeal makes your skin smooth and absorbs excess oil. It also exfoliates your skin to remove dead cells.

Oatmeal is a dry item, so it acts as a ground in the facial masks. It can be used in the combination of any of the following: yogurt, honey, or mashed fruit such as bananas, apples, or papaya.

Here’s how to use an oatmeal mask on your face:

• Add hot water to 1/2 cup ground oats to form a paste
• Now add 1 tablespoon honey to this paste
• Massage this oatmeal mixture on your face for about 3 minutes
• Rinse with warm water

Egg White + Lemon Face Mask

Egg whites, when combined with lemons, form an excellent skin treatment. Both ingredients are proven to have pore-tightening properties.

The citric acid in lemons helps absorb oil from your skin. Lemons also have antibacterial properties that kill the bacterias responsible for excessive oil secretion from sebaceous glands.

Here’s how to make an egg white and lemon face mask:

• Add 1 egg white to 1 teaspoon of freshly-squeezed lemon juice and form a paste
• Apply the paste to your face and leave it on until the mask dries
• Rinse with warm water

Tomato Face Mask

Tomatoes are rich in salicylic acid, which is a common acne home remedy. The acids in tomatoes help in absorbing excess skin oils and unclog pores.

Here’s how to make an exfoliating tomato face mask:

• Add 1 teaspoon sugar to the pulp of 1 tomato and mix it properly
• Apply this mixture to the skin in a circular motion
• Leave the mask on for 5 minutes
• Rinse thoroughly with warm water

Aloe Vera Face Mask

Aloe vera is known for relieving skin inflammation and other skin conditions. It’s also proven to cure flaky skin caused by oily patches.

You can apply a thin layer of aloe vera gel to your face before bedtime and leave it on until morning.

It’s seen that Aloe Vera causes an allergic reaction on sensitive skin. So to make sure if it affects your skin or not, test a small amount on your forearm.

Jojoba Oil Mask

It may sound weird that we are suggesting to apply oil on your face to prevent oil. But Jojoba oil is a proven remedy to treat oily skin, acne, and other skin problems.

There is no scientific evidence on how it cures your oily skin. It’s assumed that jojoba oil mimics sebum on the skin and tricks sebaceous glands into producing less sebum. This helps in keeping the oil levels balanced.

The quantity of jojoba oil also matters. It can prevent oily skin if used in moderate amounts. Using too much may worsen oily skin.

Try massaging a few drops on clean skin for a few days a week to see how it reacts. If you like the results, apply daily to prevent oily skin.

Foods & Drinks To Prevent Oily Skin

Now we are going to discuss some foods and drinks, including vegetable and fruit juices that prove highly effective in controlling oil production on your skin.

Water

Water is the cure to all kinds of skin problems. Drinking plenty of water keeps your body hydrated. It also clears all the harmful toxins and wastes from your blood.

Water is directly responsible for the regulation of oil production in your skin. The less water you drink, the more dehydrated your skin gets, and the more oil it produces.

Drink between 2 to 3 litres of water every day to maintain proper body hydration levels.

Cucumber

Cucumber is rich in Vitamin A & E that bear the cleansing properties for your skin. Cucumber is mostly water, so its consumption helps your body to stay hydrated.

Cucumber has antioxidants too that prevent skin oxidation and oil production. Plus, cucumber has cooling properties, so it keeps your body cool from the inside.

You can add cucumber to your salad or put some slices in the juicer to get a fresh cup of cucumber juice to prevent oily skin.

Oranges

Citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons are rich in vitamin C as well as other detoxifying components that can flush out the extra oil from your skin.

Apart from oil-controlling properties, Oranges make your skin tone lighter and also clear out facial scars. Most of the Oranges is water, so it keeps your skin hydrated.

You can eat orange slices directly or put some slices in the juices to get a fresh glass full of orange juice to prevent oily skin.

Coconut Water

The key to fix oily skin is by keeping it hydrated both internally and externally. Coconuts contain a massive amount of Vitamin C, which can provide the body and your skin with a lot of health benefits.

Coconut water not only keeps your skin clear and nourished, but it also prevents acne breakouts and pigmentation.

Drink a glass of coconut water daily in the morning to keep your skin hydrated all day long and prevent sebum production.

Avocados

Avocado contains vitamins A, B, C, E, natural fatty acids, and antioxidants that fight acne, reduce blemishes and softens skin. Vitamin C is the best cure for oily skin, and Avocados are rich in it.

Avocados can be used both externally and internally. You can eat it or simply make a paste and put it in the form of a mask on your oily surface. It prevents the oil secretions and acts as an effective moisturizer for your skin.

Dark Chocolate

This one is a delicious cure for your oily skin. Dark chocolate is a huge source of flavonols, which are antioxidants that prevent skin damage by blocking skin inflammation.

Dark Chocolate also helps in controlling sebum production and prevents premature skin aging.

Banana

Banana is an excellent source of phosphates, vitamin D, and potassium. It acts as a fantastic skin detoxifier. Banana helps to shrink skin pore size.

This prevents excessive oil secretion and clogging of pores with dirt that causes acne.

Whole Grains

Whole grains are rich in dietary fibers that help your digestion and keep your stomach clean by preventing constipation. These include brown rice, barley, corns, oats, and millets.

Including these fiber-rich foods in your daily diet can keep your skin oil-free.

Broccoli

Broccoli is again a rich source of vitamin A and C. Broccoli has properties that are known to reduce the sebum production on the skin. This, in turn, helps in keeping the skin healthy and nourished.

Include broccoli in your salad or eat boiled Broccoli as an evening snack.

Foods & Drinks To Avoid To Prevent Oily Skin

Unlike the foods and drinks mentioned above, there are some other stuff that can cause oil production if consumed. Below are some of them that you should always avoid to keep your skin oil-free:

Dairy Foods

If you are highly conscious about your skin, then this fact is especially for you. Dairy products are often considered as a significant source of nutrition in some countries like India. But only a few know that the consumption of milk and other fermented dairy products like yogurt result in some hormonal imbalances. In males, it causes testosterone imbalance.

This can stimulate the excessive production of oil by the sebaceous glands. This can lead to more clogged pores, breakouts, and acne.

You don’t need to worry about calcium intake. Opt for fortified alternatives like soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk to prevent oily skin. Green leafy vegetables, nuts like almonds, and oranges are some other excellent sources of calcium to fulfill your body’s needs.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol affects your body’s overall metabolism that can influence acne development. Your immune system keeps bacterias and germs under control, but alcohol temporarily weakens your immunity, which causes bacterias to infect your skin pores. That results in more inflammation and acne breakouts.

Not only that, Alcohol dehydrates your skin, which hinders the body’s ability to excrete inflammatory toxins, and this can lead to acne and oily skin.

It can be difficult to quit your drinking habit if you drink regularly. To fix this, go for low-sugar cocktails or plain water instead of alcohol to get rid of oily skin. If it’s too difficult for you to quit the habit entirely, then drink in moderation. Make sure that you don’t drink neat and drink a glass of water between each alcoholic drink to keep your body hydrated.

Refined Carbohydrates

Refining of grains food items like white bread, white pasta, and white rice removes all the fiber and other vital nutrients when they are processed. Due to that, these food items impact your blood sugar levels directly, which leads to an increase in your skin’s oil production.

Swap these food items with wholemeal bread, brown rice, wholemeal pasta, quinoa, and oats. These foods are much less processed and have higher levels of fiber, too. Less processed carbohydrates keep your blood sugar levels more stable, which means your energy levels are steadier.

Saturated & Trans Fats

Saturated and trans fats cause skin inflammation, which results in increased oil production and blocked pores. Such fats are found in meats such as beef, lamb, sausages, and bacon. Trans fats are very unhealthy, especially for your skin and found in most processed foods.

Before buying packed food items, check the labels, and avoid the products that list hydrogenated vegetable oil as an ingredient. Oil and fat present in these foods can make your skin very unhealthy. They sometimes boost the production of some hormones, which can trigger acne and pimples.

Cakes, pizzas, pastries, pies, butter, cream, and cheese are also rich in trans fats. Cook in healthy and digestible fats like olive oil. Instead of frying, which requires oil, of course, try baking, broiling, grilling, and poaching your food to prevent oily skin.

Spicy Foods

Consuming excess spices can cause inflammation in your stomach. This causes a rise in overall body temperature, followed by sweating. This excessive sweat production triggers oils to be released into the skin.

In the worst scenario, these oils trap the dirt and bacteria, which cause acne afterward. Increased oil production clogs the pores as well and results in a breakout.

Salty Snacks

Studies have shown that excess iodine in the diet can promote the formation of acne. Iodine is an essential mineral for the body, so don’t cut down iodine completely to prevent oily skin. Instead, reduce the intake of salt.

Salt has sodium as the main ingredient. Sodium rich diet is always responsible for increasing the amount of oil on the face, which in turn could increase acne production. Also, too much consumption of salt increases water retention, which can dehydrate your skin.

Some of the examples of salty foods are chips, crackers, table sauces, salad dressings, pickles, salted nuts, and bacon. Before consuming these food items, make sure to check their sodium content.

Sweets & Sugary Drinks

High intake of sugar increases inflammation, which damages collagen and elastin fibers of the skin. It also creates an imbalance in your body’s insulin production, as well.

So control your intake of the beverages and foods items that are high in added sugars. Avoiding carbonated cold drinks and packaged juices are useful to prevent oily skin. Fruit smoothies, sparkling water, and beverages with lemon as the main ingredient are healthy alternatives to soft drinks.

Avoid sugary food items such as candies, cakes, cookies, and pastries. Go for naturally sweet fiber sources such as berries, yams, mangoes, and apples.

Quick Fix: Blotting Papers

This one is a no-brainer and doesn’t need any addition or alteration to your diet. Even though you start applying the face masks or start eating the food items that are mentioned above, it’s not possible to see the actual results in a day or two.

This is where blotting papers come to rescue. If you are at a party or wedding ceremony or spending your holidays with your girlfriend and see that glossy coat all over your face, which is not a sexy thing, trust us, then blotting papers are your instant solution.

Blotting papers are thin, highly absorbent, pocket-sized sheets that comfortably fit into your bag and are compact to carry around. These thin paper sheets help in removing excess oil from the skin by absorbing it. That saves you from the embarrassment of rushing to the washroom frequently to clean your face. It keeps the skin dry and hydrated for several hours.