How to Care for Dry/Oily Skin

Skin care tips
How to Care for Dry/Oily Skin


How to Care for Dry/Oily Skin

Taking care of your skin is complicated. Not only is there a bustling industry of skincare cosmetics that can present conflicting information to consumers, but there are several skin types that require their own special treatments. For those new to skincare, this gets complicated fast.



Skin that often gets described as dry on the surface with an oily under layer may not be down to your skin type but actually a sign of dehydration, since having both dry and oily skin at once is an oxymoron.
Whether you have dry, oily, combination, or dehydrated skin, we’ve taken the most important skincare information available and condensed them into a few short tips, allowing you to find the answers you want and follow the ones that apply to you, with minimal reading.

Cleanse With Care

Being the foundation of any skincare routine, you need to be careful with what cleansers you use. Using the wrong cleanser won’t only have negative effects on your skin but, since your entire skincare routine is built on top of cleansing, it can stop the other skincare products you use from having their intended effect.
Grab the right cleansers for your skin type but try to avoid ingredients like
  • sodium lauryl, 
  • sulfate, 
  • and either ammonium laureth sulfate or sodium Laureth sulfate. 
skincare tips
Use the right cleanser for your skin type

These are surfactants, meaning they cleanse oil from the skin. 
These are usually favored by those who suffer from oily skin, obviously, but they’re also incompatible with the pH levels of your skin. The effect of this is that the product draws water from your skin, dehydrating it.
You don’t want the cleansers you use to dehydrate your skin, since you’ll then have to spend the rest of your skincare routine making up for it, and the overall quality of your skin will deteriorate. 
Try and get cleansers that advertise themselves as sulfate-free. These will tend to be safer and keep liquids under your skin where they belong.

Get The Right Oils

Those who suffer from dry and/or oily skin can have trouble with skincare products like moisturizers. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t wear moisturizer, of course, more on that in a section below, but there are ways you can fight this oily dryness by getting the right oils another way.


skincare routine
Get the right oils for your skincare routine

We’re talking about your diet. You are what you eat, so getting your fill of healthy oils can and will fight against poor, dehydrated skin. Fish oils are great for this, with the ever-healthy omega-3 fatty acids being a choice option.

Your fish oils should contain: 

There’s also ALA, or alpha-linolenic acid, which is prevalent in plant sources. This is another great option if you’re already taking plant source supplements or can’t/won’t take fish oils.

Split Your Moisturizer

If you do have combination skin, then you should be careful of which moisturizer you use and where. 
How do you find your skin type? 
Wash your face and leave it completely undisturbed for twenty or thirty minutes. Your skin should now be in its most untreated, basest state. If your skin is a combination of oily and dry, this will usually manifest as an oily T-zone with dry cheeks and upper forehead.
If you’re fortunate enough to have such clearly demarcated areas where the skin type changes, then it’s useful to apply different moisturizers to the appropriate area. This can be more expensive, of course, but it’s the best course of action. Use lighter, oily skin-friendly moisturizer on your T-zone and other oily-skinned areas and heavier, more powerful moisturizer on those drier parts of the face that need the extra love.

Never Go Bare

After you’ve cleansed your skin, usually after showering or bathing, you’ll want to quickly add some product onto your skin. 
beauty tips
After showering, add some product onto your skin.

Skin starts to dehydrate after sixty seconds when bare, so use that time to reach for a complimentary skincare product. This can be your moisturizer but, if you prefer the best possible outcome, you can also use toner or serums alongside your favorite moisturizing product.
Apply them in quick succession, leaving the last product you applied still damp on your skin when you apply the next. 
This means that the moisturizer, or the serum and moisturizer combo that you’re using, will lock in the toner’s hydrating benefits.

Moisturize At Night

There’s a misconception that using a moisturizer or other cleansing products before going to bed will clog up your pores, meaning your skin won’t breathe and it’ll be more prone to blemishes and dehydration. This isn’t something to worry about since moisturizer won’t cause breakouts. If you have had breakouts after applying moisturizer for the night, it’s likely it was caused by something else.
Also, and perhaps more glaringly, your skin doesn’t even breathe! We get the point, that keeping your skin exposed to the air without any layers in between will keep your skin fresher, but that’s not the case and anything that could be called your skin “breathing” won’t be stopped by a layer of moisturizer.
People with oily skin should still use a moisturizer that delivers water to their skin since balanced skin hydration keeps breakouts at bay, which you’re more prone to if you have oily skin. If you have dry skin, then you obviously want a compatible moisturizer that hydrates and provides oil for your skin.
Missing out on moisturization will cause your skin to feel both oily and dry, since dehydrated skin actually facilitates the production of even more oil, exacerbating your natural skin’s problems and giving you the worst of both worlds.

Use Serum With Your Moisturizer

With the above in mind, know that you can actually add some more product between your skin and your moisturizing layer without it becoming troublesome.
Use a water-based serum that’s very fine and light. It’s easy to apply and won’t over-layer your skin, whilst acting as an effective hydrator that can help with tightness in the face, a common complaint of those whose skin is dried out. 

We urge you to always continue to learn Ways To Take Care of Your Skin.



Jenny McHenry
Author: Jenny McHenry I started writing at Gotham Skincare because I have a passion for health and diet. Science shows that there is a direct correlation between healthy skin and lifestyles. What you do and what you eat matters and this became a passion of mine. I decided to start reviewing products and documenting my findings so I hope this saves you some time.


Inveigle Magazine

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