When you have oily skin, you will often try to create a skincare routine that focuses on keeping all the excess oil at bay.

However, as many people are soon to discover, stripping your skin of its natural oils and using drying ingredients can often make your oily skin even more oily.

If you want to start caring for your oily skin better, try following some of our top tips below.

How do I know if I have oily skin?

Normally, oily skin is characterized by having a shiny, or greasy-looking t-zone – which is the area around your forehead, nose and chin.

You may also notice that you have enlarged pores and are more prone to acne and breakouts when you have oily skin.

Tips for dealing with oily skin

 1. Don’t forget about moisturizer

When people have oily skin, they often think they should avoid products that are too hydrating, like moisturizers.

However, this is the completely wrong approach to dealing with your oily skin. When you strip your skin of much-needed moisture, you may be causing it to produce even more oil to make up for what’s lost.

So don’t completely avoid moisturizers, but instead look for ones that are thinner, or gel, consistencies and that are targeted towards people with oily skin.

 2. Try multi-masking to deal with different skin concerns

You’ll often find that just because you’re oily around the t-zone, it doesn’t mean that you’re oily everywhere.

Multi-masking is an effective way to treat multiple skin concerns and involves applying face masks just in the areas you need them.

For example, you may use a detoxifying clay mask around your t-zone to banish blemishes, but choose something more hydrating for your cheeks where your skin isn’t quite so oily and acne-prone.

 4. Always pack your blotting sheets

You may be powdering your face before you step foot out of your front door, but this often isn’t enough to keep the oils at bay all day long.

 Try taking blotting sheets around with you during the day, these are little sheets that you can dab off any excess oil, without disrupting your makeup.

 5. SPF is always an essential

 Finally, SPF is an essential item for any skincare routine. You should be applying SPF to your face every day and, especially if you’re getting oily and blotting your face regularly, you may want to think about applying even more frequently than usual.