Fashion and Beauty 16th March 2016 by Victoria Stokes

4 Possible Reasons Your Skin Is So God Damn Oily

Argh! It's one of our biggest beauty bugbears. We're finding out what's making our skin so shiny-shiny.

Dry Skin

There’s a fine line between dewy and oily and if your skin falls into the latter category you’ll know that it’s both super annoying (Seriously, what could be more frustrating than having our perfectly applied make-up slide off before noon?!) and pretty darn hard to fix. That’s why we thought it best to get to the root of the problem and find out what’s actually causing all that extra shine in the first place. After all, prevention is better than a cure, right?

Stress

Whether it’s work-based woes, boyfriend trouble or something a little more serious, if you’re feeling the pressure emotionally then that can often show on your skin. The science bit? It’s all down to the stress hormone cortisol which kicks the skin’s oil production into high-drive. Noticing extra flare-ups around that looming deadline? Then stress could certainly be to blame. Soz.

Your cosmetics

Mattifying bases aren’t necessarily an oily-skinned gal’s best friend. In fact, they tend to be thicker, creamier formulas which can more easily get stuck in your pores. They can also cause excessive dryness, and you know what that means. Yep, even more oil. Lotions and moisturisers can wreck havoc on your skin’s oil production too. Products that contain coconut oil, cocoa butter and lanolin are among the worst offenders.

Your birth control

Ah, hormones, they seem to be the root cause of most of our problems and our skin is no exception. While the contraception pill is known for it’s skin improving benefits, being on the wrong one can have the opposite effect. In particular, experts say the progesterone-only pill can actually make oily skin and acne worse so book in with your GP if you reckon your pill could be the culprit.

Diet

You are what you eat, and that goes for your skin too. In fact, your diet plays a major role in how your skin regulates oil. Limit foods that have a high glycemic index and tend to cause inflammation (think sweets, breads and grains) and scoff more healthy fats like eggs, nuts and seeds if you want skin that’s glowy, not oily.

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