Beauty: How to Properly Care for Oily Skin

I've dealt with acne for the past three years. It seemed I'd tried everything to get my skin to clear up. I'd tried the cream washes, the gel washes, the foam washes, the scrubs, Proactive, Neutrogena, Clarasil, Clean & Clear, and even just plain bar soap but nothing seemed to work. I recently discovered that I'd been doing it all wrong. My first mistake was thinking that since my skin was incredibly oily, that moisturizer was a don't. Wrong. It turns out that even ioly skin should be moisturized with a lotion style moisturize that's oil free so that it reduces the need for you skin to produce extra oil and moisturizer should be applied when the skin is damp and clean to lock in extra moisture. My second mistake was washing my face too often. As it turns out, washing too often increases the need for your skin to produce oil, making the condition even worse. My third mistake was using hot water. I assumed it would open the pores up for a deep cleaning, but all that really does is irritate the skin. My final mistake was using scrub too often. Once again, using any sort of removal product whether it be dirt and oil, or skin cell, increases the need for your skin to feel like it has to produce oil. So to recap on how to wash your face the right way, even though it seems that it should be obvious:

1. Wash your hands
2. Wet face with lukewarm water
3. Apply a gentle cleanser and massage thoroughly.
4. Rinse with lukewarm water.
5. Pat partially dry, but not fully.
6. Apply moisturizer to damp skin
7. Use and kind of spot treatment.

Side Notes:

• Only exfoliate once or twice a week
• Use no more than 3 different products, because the skin can absorb no more than that at a time.
• If you wear liquid foundation, wear finishing powder over it to absorb oil and keep makeup looking fresh all day.
• Wash face no more than twice daily unless there is a lot of dirt and sweat,
• If using soap can be avoided and it is possible to use just water, do so.
• If you wear any kind of makeup, be sure to always wash it off at the end of the day.