When it comes to our beauty regimes, our face is what we pay attention to the most. But we all have different skin and different needs to keep our face happy and healthy. Sometimes, even with a thorough skincare regime, our skin can be left with a shiny coating, which can be a nuisance. So, do you wash your face again? Buy new skincare products? Have a read of our tips to discover how to tackle shiny skin.
Skin Differences Explained
The matte make-up trend is on the decline, and today it’s all about the glow. But it can be difficult to get that glow without looking shiny and oily. Oily skin is caused by your sebaceous glands, which leave a shine over your face. Dewy skin, on the other hand, will still appear hydrated and moisturised but will have that glow in all the right places, without leaving that all-over shine.
Even if you have naturally oily skin, you can still find a way to make the natural shine work for you to leave it glowing.
Is It Natural?
Skin shininess varies from person to person, and it’s totally natural. When you don’t have any shine at all, it’s usually a sign of an unhealthy lifestyle, perhaps caused by lack of sleep, poor diet, and dehydration. However, too much shine and too much oil can often mean that your sebaceous glands are overproducing sebum.
Why Some Have Shiny Skin
Naturally, people can have shiny skin. Your t-zone will appear the shiniest or oiliest – your forehead, nose, chin, and mouth – where sebaceous glands are the most prominent. And it’s due to several reasons.
Firstly, you may simply have oily skin, and this is down to genetics and the number of sebaceous glands you have. But there are other factors that can cause oily and shiny skin:
- Going through puberty and pregnancy can trigger hormones to fluctuate, causing sebaceous glands to flare up
- Medication can interfere with hormones
- Anxiety and stress can trigger oily skin
- Sweat can make the skin look oilier, however, it can also help to give your skin a healthy glow from the inside out, helping to achieve that sought-after dewy look
- Over exfoliating can alter your skin’s natural pH balance, causing your skin to over-produce oil to compensate.
Tips
Even if your skin is naturally oily, there are tips you can take to reduce the shine.
Dry & Shiny
If you notice that your skin is both dry and shiny, use a moisturiser specifically for dry and dehydrated skin. The ceramides in the moisturiser will trick your skin into thinking it has enough oil and will hopefully prevent your glands from overproducing.
Oily and Shiny
If your skin is both oily and shiny, use cleansers with salicylic acid – this will encourage exfoliation and dissolve skin that is clogging your pores and causing the oil.
More helpful tips to reduce shine
- T-zone – Going back to the t-zone mentioned earlier, it’s important not to over moisturise these areas, as they already have enough glands in this area that will naturally keep those skin areas hydrated
- Skincare regime – If your current skincare regime isn’t working, switch it up
- Treatments – If you’re finding that cleansers aren’t reducing shine, you can invest in beauty treatments that can help. Micro-needling is a beauty treatment procedure that uses small needles to treat large pores and generate new skin tissue. There’s radio frequency too, where radio frequency waves aim to shrink sebaceous glands.
How To Eliminate
Despite the numerous ways to reduce shine and oil, it’s important to note that oily skin is a natural skin type, so nothing will eliminate oily skin completely. If you’ve tried various new skincare regimes and are still finding that your skin is too shiny, make-up can help. Here’s how:
- Use a face scrub before you apply make-up. This will get rid of any oil sitting on the surface
- Use a non-greasy moisturiser – consider ones formulated with aloe vera and hyaluronic acid
- Apply a primer – a primer acts as a base for your foundation, creating a smooth surface that the foundation won’t slide off. Primers not only stop shine, but they also blur imperfections, giving a matt finish. Try to target those t-zone areas to bring down the shine
- Use a matte foundation to help control shine and allow your skin to glow through
- Use face powder to set your make-up. Remember, a little goes a long way, so use powder sparingly
- Invest in blotting papers – these are handbag essentials for those with oily skin. They’ll help absorb oily skin without spoiling your make-up.
Conclusion
So, when it comes to skin, it’s clear to see that there isn’t one rule for all. It can be hard to find a treatment or regime that works for you, especially when you have oily skin. But remember, different skin types need caring for in different ways, whether that’s when cleansing and moisturising, applying make-up or trying out a professional beauty procedure.
