How do we Control Oil During the Summer? Plus my very first ever book review.
Who doesn’t love laying out under a tree shaded from the
beautiful summer sun reading a good summer book? Surrounded by flowers, enveloped by warm
breezes, listening to kids playing in the park with their dads. Spending an afternoon like this with a bottle
of ice tea? Pure. Bliss.
Most of the past few summers I’ve been focusing my reading on
catching up with classics I missed in high school because I was such a poor
student (undiagnosed ADHD). Or, others I
just never got a chance to read. Last
summer it was Jane Austen. The summer
before that, every Sherlock Holmes story Conan Doyle ever wrote. Other forays have included Kurt Vonnegut,
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Joyce Carroll Oates and Tom Robbins. I even plowed through Samuel Johnson’s
History of Rasselas: Prince of Abissinia (unbelievably difficult book due to
old language, but LOVED it).
Normally, contemporary romances are not my thing.
One has caught my eye recently. Self published (love that), "Accidental Happiness" is a love story
of high school sweethearts entangled in tragedy, thrown about by time (that’s
supposed to be a hint) and all the questioning, soul searching and mind-twists many of us go through at that young age.
A testament to the writing skill of the author, Meredith Rachek, is the fact that I found the novel gripping, despite the fact that I
didn’t go to a public high school, where the story of this young couple begins,
nor did I attend any college or University, where their story unfolds. I literally (ha ha, get it?) didn't relate to a single
character in the book. lol! It’s
possible to say this isn’t really a book review, more like an endorsement. But a very hearty endorsement - I highly
recommend this book, it's fantastic !
Which, of course brings me to the burning question of this
bright sunny day:
How do I keep my greasy
self comfortable and breakout-free
given the need for sunscreen??
A reluctance to using a sunscreen at all is understandable,
given that so many of them feel heavy and gross, making you feel like they just
contribute to your breakouts. However,
in clearing acne, SPF is indeed very important.
On a sunny day in which you’re out shopping, walking or laying out, it
needs to be reapplied about every 2-3 hours. Previous blog posts talk about sunscreen
advantages, as well as whether high SPF numbers allow you to not have to
reapply.
The problem with many sunscreen brands causing breakouts is
not only the fats often used, like coconut oil and shea butter, both of which
clog pores like crazy, but certain ingredients designed to replace oils,
made out of oils fused with alcohols, also clog pores like crazy. Thing is, even sunscreens that aren’t
pore clogging too often don’t hydrate the skin, which leaves dehydrated skin
thirsty for water that would now have to come from an additional lotion or serum. A hydrating sunscreen, however, allows you to
only have to apply one lotion. Beautiful
!
We’re also seeing a lot out on the interwebs touting coconut
oil alone being used as sunscreen. This
is not only a great way to break yourself out, but very foolish as well - there
is no scientific evidence that coconut oil alone can effectively be used as a
sunscreen. There are better ways to keep your skin clear
and healthy.
As I explained last week, it’s really easy to matte your face
out and cool yourself off after applying a hydrating sunscreen, just by dusting
on some cornstarch with a large makeup brush.
You can also mix a bit of mineral powder into some SPF to make your own
BB Cream.
Cornstarch can also be taken with you in a convenient Shaker Jar using a push-up Dome Brush, both of which fit perfectly in your purse or
beach bag. The molecules of cornstarch are too big to
clog pores, it mattes you out completely, and even cools you off ! Way better than costly blotting papers and
not acne-inducing like pressed powder can be.
Don't have any cornstarch handy? This video shows a quick and easy way to deal with oil any time of the day or night. I kept my oil under control every summer in my 30s this way, when I was a whole lot more oily than I am now at 49 (yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!).
Another important way to control oil happens to also help heal your breakouts and exfoliate the skin, as well as help draw out impactions; the use of clay mask 1-3 times a week depending on your oil level, sensitivity issues and type of acne you have.
And finally, using the
right cleanser is crucial - cleansers that are too drying strip oils from your
skin making it vulnerable to breakage and prompting water loss. But they also provoke excess oil production by
throwing the pH of your skin off so that it has to overproduce oil in order to
balance itself.
If your cleanser rinses easily, i.e. within 3-4 splashes, and doesn’t leave your skin tight or dry or slippery
like a film has been left behind, then you have the right cleanser. Toner also keeps oil and water levels to what
they should be. I have seen hundreds of
clients experience less oil over time as their skin clears because hydration
has allowed their pores to finally flow freely as they should.
As for body acne, in the issue oiliness
from sunscreen and feeling comfortable, there are three things to make sure of
before you leave the house :
- You can either incur the expense and use a non-clogging and hydrating face SPF if you're very broken out and want to be safe, or use a heavier non-clogging SPF lotion such as CeraVe or Vanicream.
- I’ve been using straight cornstarch as body powder since I was a teenager. As long as you don’t apply a lot, and wipe off white spots with a dry towel, you’ll be amazed how long its cooling and oil absorbing effects last. Much better than baby powder, which contains pore clogging Talc.
- Ditch the dryer sheets and fabric softeners in your dryer, since they each leave a pore clogging film on your clothes and bedding. The last thing you want is to sit out under that huge tree reading all day and end up with your clothes breaking your back or butt out. Use rubber dryer balls or tennis balls instead.
What do you do to control
oil during the summer? Please comment
below !
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