Is It Good To Use Face Wash For Oily Skin?

Oily skin is very suitable for washing the face with facial cleanser, and use a facial cleanser to wash the face at least 2 times a day, and the number of oily skin that produces more oil can be increased to 3 times.

Do you use facial cleanser or water to wash your face with oily skin?

Gentle half-naked woman wrapped in towel washing her face with foaming cleanser isolated over orange background

For oily skin, it is best to wash your face with facial cleanser instead of water.

Oily skin produces more sebum than other skin types. Sebum is an oily liquid that stays on the face for a long time and will absorb harmful substances such as particles, dirt, bacteria, sweat, and dead cells in the environment.

The role of facial cleanser is to wash off the sebum and harmful substances on your face. If these harmful substances are not cleaned, they will not only damage the skin cells, but also clog the pores, making them enlarged, resulting in blackheads, whiteheads and acne.

The cleansing ability of clean water is limited, no matter how much clean water is used, the oil and dirt on the face cannot be completely cleaned, which will only make the oily skin face worse and worse.

The main reason facial cleansers are able to remove oil is because they contain surfactants. There are many types of surfactants, such as facial cleansers, washing powder, dish soap, and shower gel, which play a cleaning role are all surfactants.

When we wash dishes, we find that water and oil are not compatible. If you don’t wash the dishes with dish soap, the grease that sticks to the dishes will be difficult to remove.

The red circle represents water molecules, the blue circle represents oil molecules

Sebum is an oil-soluble liquid, and water is a water-soluble liquid.

A surfactant contains both an oil-soluble component and a water-soluble component.

The molecular structure of surfactants. The red circle represents the water-soluble hydrophilic group, and the blue curve represents the oil-soluble lipophilic group.

Assume that water is a red ball and oil is a blue ball, and they are immiscible with each other.

Surfactant is equivalent to a chain, connecting water molecules and oil molecules, making the surface of water molecules and oil molecules active. Water molecules and oil molecules can be linked together, so that the oil will easily leave the face with the water flow.

Water molecules and oil molecules are linked together

If you only wash your face with water, you have to rub your face vigorously to wash off some of the oil on your face, which is more likely to cause damage to the skin.

The facial cleanser can quickly clean off the oil on the face. As long as you choose a gentle facial cleanser and use gentle facial cleansing techniques, the damage to the skin can be minimized.

It is recommended that oily skin is best to use a facial cleanser to wash your face.

What kind of facial cleanser is suitable for oily skin?

Gentle facial cleanser

Cropped shot of young woman smiling, holding a bottle of gentle foam facial cleanser isolated over beige background

Whether it is oily skin, mixed skin, normal skin, or dry skin, it is recommended to use a gentle amino acid facial cleanser instead of an oil-free facial cleanser with super cleansing ability.

Amino acid facial cleanser has three advantages:

Gentle cleansing ability: Amino acid facial cleanser has mild surfactants, which will not strip the skin’s natural oils like oil-free facial cleansers, and can effectively cleanse the skin without drying or damaging the skin while washing the face.

Moisturizing effect: Amino acid facial cleanser usually contains moisturizing ingredients such as hyaluronic acid and glycerin, which can protect the moisture of the skin. After washing your face, you won’t feel tightness on your skin and it feels very comfortable.

Maintain the acid-base balance of the skin: The sebum film on the surface of the skin is an acidic protective film. Under normal circumstances, its pH value is about 4.5-6.0, and the skin is at its best in a weakly acidic environment. Amino acid facial cleanser is a mildly acidic facial cleanser that helps maintain the acid-base balance of the skin. An acid-base imbalance can lead to excess sebum production and acne.

If a facial cleanser is labeled gentle, or suitable for dry skin, or the surfactant in the ingredient list is an amino acid surfactant, then it is most likely an amino acid facial cleanser.

No matter what type of skin you have, even if you have oily skin, it is recommended that you use amino acid facial cleansers.

Oil-free facial cleanser

Oil-free facial cleansers are not recommended, and oil-free facial cleansers usually contain soap-based surfactants. Soap-based facial cleanser contains a high concentration of alkaline substances. For oily skin, using soap-based facial cleanser may have the following adverse effects:

Over-cleansing: oil-free facial cleansers often have strong oil-removing powers, stripping the surface of the skin of its natural oils. The specific feeling is that you will feel tight skin after washing your face. Long-term use may lead to problems such as dry skin, scaling and allergies.

Destroy the acid-base balance of the skin: the soap-based facial cleanser is highly alkaline, which may destroy the acidic environment on the skin’s surface, resulting in an acid-base imbalance of the skin. This imbalance can exacerbate skin problems, disrupt the skin barrier, produce excess sebum and acne, and increase skin inflammation.

Irritation: The alkaline ingredients in soap-based facial cleansers can be irritating to the skin, especially those with sensitive skin. Long-term use of strong irritating facial cleansers may cause damage to the skin barrier, making the skin more susceptible to external irritation and infection.

If a face wash is labeled oil-free, or for oily and combination skin, it is most likely a soap-based face wash.

How many times should you wash your face if you have oily skin?

The number of times oily skin washes its face in a day is not static.

It is usually recommended to wash once in the morning and evening, that is, 2 times a day. This effectively removes excess oil, dirt, and dead skin cells from the skin’s surface while avoiding the dryness and tightness that can result from over-cleaning. But in some cases, you can increase the number of washes in a day by 3 times.

Washing your face with facial cleanser in the morning can remove the oil secreted during sleep. There is less oil after waking up in the morning, because there is not much oil secreted during sleep, and the oil on the face will be adsorbed to the pillow and quilt.

Washing your face at night with a facial cleanser is especially important for oily skin, as it helps remove dirt, oil, and makeup residue that builds up throughout the day. Making sure your skin is thoroughly cleansed can prevent problems like clogged pores and acne.

Mornings and evenings are the necessary 2 times, but in some cases, you may need to increase the number of times you wash your face depending on your personal needs and environmental factors. The following are common scenarios for increasing the number of face washes:

A woman couldn't stand the heat and covered her ears as the temperature reached 40 degrees Celsius that day.

Very hot weather. The hotter the weather, the more sebum production. Assuming that today is a hot summer, you wash your face at 8:00 in the morning, you may have some oil on your face by 12:00 noon, and by 16:00 in the afternoon, your face is covered with a lot of oil. At this point, there are still several hours before your evening wash and your face looks dull and your face feels uncomfortable. At this time, a large amount of sebum on your face has also been oxidized, and the sebum film is more harmful to the skin than beneficial to the skin. You can wash your face at this time and apply moisturizing products suitable for oily skin.

Staying in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment for a long time, or doing high-intensity exercise, the sweat, oil and bacteria on the skin tend to accumulate, which may lead to clogged pores, acne, skin inflammation and other problems. At this point, you can take an extra wash to remove sweat and bacteria from your skin. In addition, try to avoid staying in a high-temperature and high-humidity environment for a long time. If possible, you can choose to rest or exercise in an air-conditioned room.

People with oily skin should wash their face twice a day on the basis of morning and evening, and adjust it according to personal conditions and environmental factors in due course. At the same time, choose a gentle facial cleanser and a suitable moisturizer.

Hope these tips help you take better care of oily skin for beautiful and healthy skin.