A Guide to Face Masks When You Have Oily Skin

By: LaTesha 

In my opinion, the best facial mask for oily skin is one that will gently exfoliate as well as cleanse. Because my skin is already so oily, I find it hard to find a mask that doesn’t over dry or over moisturize. Skin care for oily skin is all about masks with ingredients that balance each other out. If the ingredients are balanced, then the skin will be balanced as well.  

That being said, there are definitely days when I want a specific kind of mask to counteract the way my skin is feeling. Everyone know that there is no one cure-all mask, especially for oily skin, so I just want to share my two favorite face masks for keeping my skin soft and clear. 

For the days that I’ve had a lot of activity, which means a ton of sweat and oil has built up in my pores, I leave it all up to clay to save the day! I really like the Indian Healing Clay Mask from Aztec Secret Health. It’s relatively cheap and one jar lasts for a long time. I prefer to mix the clay powder with apple cider vinegar to balance pH and to keep my acne in check.  

When mixing the mask, the ratio of clay to liquid is totally up to you. I personally like my mixture to have less liquid because it dries in a way that makes it easier to peel off. Overall, the mask is really awesome because it minimizes my pores and tightens my skin without being too over drying.  

When my skin is looking dull and I feel like I could use a good exfoliation, I like sugar scrubs. The best thing about sugar scrubs is that there are so many different ways to make them and you can customize the ingredients to maximize the benefit for your skin. You can learn how to make a basic brown sugar scrub from Wikihow and since I’ve tried so many, I’ll just boost my favorite variation.  

You’ll need brown sugar, olive oil, and honey (optional: vitamin E oil if you want to preserve and store your mask, and vanilla extract if you want the scrub to smell really nice). Brown sugar is really useful for the moisturization and lubrication of the skin; it also removes excess oils deep in the pores. Olive oil is beneficial for unclogging pores and pushing bad oils out. Honey is great for killing germs and removing excess sebum on the surface of the skin.  

There are so many great DIY masks out there for oily skin, and it’s just a matter of trying them out and seeing what works best for your skin.