The Best K-beauty Routine for Oily Skin

When I was young and naïve, I didn’t use moisturizer on my face. Can you even believe it? I know, I know, I can’t believe it myself. I have combination, oily, and acne prone skin, and for the longest time, I believed that the more I “dried” out my skin, the less oily it would be. Harsh cleansers, astringent toners, and NO moisturizer were my skincare routine. Needless to say, my skin was awful.

I have now learned the error of my ways, and I can proudly say that my once oily, acne prone skin is balanced, clear, and bright. How? Let me show you the light.

I follow a very basic skincare routine both morning and night to help balance my oily skin. The keyword here is balance. Instead of stripping your skin of essential moisture by using harsh and caustic products, you want to work to hydrate with lightweight products and balance the skin with some good ol’ chemical exfoliation.

Step One – Cleanser

My biggest tip for selecting a cleanser is making sure it is pH balanced. Anything with a pH of above 5.5 will dry out and cause damage to the outer layer of skin. The LJH Tea Tree 30 Cleanser is pH balanced, and has the added benefit of 30% tea tree extract for a cleanse that is deeply refreshing, but won’t strip the skin.

Step Two – Hydrating toner

I no longer believe in astringent toners. I think they are unnecessary, and in my experience, a hydrating toner does a much better job of keeping oily skin at bay. I love the Whamisa Organic Flowers Deep Rich Essence Toner. Like its name implies, it’s deeply hydrating, but sinks into the skin beautifully without any greasy residue.

Step Three – Chemical Exfoliation

Ditch the harsh scrubs and move over to the bright side with chemical exfoliation. The best exfoliating ingredient (and product in general) for oily skin is BHA. Beta-hydroxy acids, or BHAs for short, are mostly salicylic acid and betaine salicylate. Oily skin tends to have a lot of built up dead cells on the surface of the skin and when you use a product with formulated with a BHA, it works to dissolve or “unglue” the dead skin cells that are clogging your skin. Not only does it dissolve dead skin, it penetrates into your pore lining so oil doesn’t continue to build up in your pores. Blithe’s Green Tea Splash Mask is formulated with salicylic acid. For a more concentrated spot treatment, soak a cotton pad with the mask and apply to the skin. Boom! Get your glow on, girl.

Step Four – Lightweight moisturizer

Anything formulated with heavy emollients are a no-go for my oily, acne prone skin. I gravitate towards watery, gel, and lightweight moisturizers, that offer hydration, without a weighty, greasy feel. The Make P:rem All-in-One Master Cream, and the Huxley Fresh and More Cream are a great choices for those with oily skin. Make P:rem’s Master Cream is a gorgeous lightweight gel cream, formulated with brightening radish root and niacinamide. It smells heavenly, and glides onto the skin with ease, absorbing completely without a greasy feel. It’s my new favorite!

What are your favorite products to use for oily skin? Let us know in the comments!

Get your glow on,
Sheryll

Sheryll Donerson is a Southern California native who currently lives in Phuket, Thailand. She fell in love with Korean cosmetics while teaching ESL in Korea 3 years ago and hasn’t looked back. She writes Korean beauty reviews on her blog, The Wanderlust Project, and is a devoted lover of champagne, Nutella, chemical exfoliation and Crossfit.