QUESTION:
The following question was asked by a radiant rebel in our Facebook community:
“Bear with me and I apologize in advance for a long post.
For years, and I mean YEARS (I am 52) I have had OILY, acne-prone skin.
I really don’t remember having clear skin since the age of 12.
In my 40s, I was struggling a lot with cystic acne and about 4 years or so ago, I found Grounded Sage products and started with the detox and then tried several other products in your line. These products did wonders for my skin.
Once my acne was much more controlled, I ventured out a bit and have recently been using Josie Maran Argan oil products which I love the feel on my skin but I am not sure if it is enough as I am seeing wrinkles at the base of my neck (tech neck) and the eleven lines on the forehead along with some other horizontal lines on the forehead, etc.
So, I am finding my way back to you and am very intrigued by your new products (blueberry night cream/raspberry serum) but not sure what would best suit me for a complete routine.
In addition to the wrinkles/fine lines, I still experience whiteheads on my nose (especially if I’ve been in the sun) and my chin.
I also have what I believe to be sebaceous hyperplasia but I also have some other raised bumps that I think may be something else.
I struggle when completing the skin assessment because I still think of myself as having oily, acne-prone skin.
So, as a test, I washed my face this morning and did not use any products/makeup and 10 hours later I do NOT have an oily shine. I can feel a little oil on my skin, but it is not shiny and slick like I am used to.
Working from home for several months, I have not been wearing makeup and this makes me wonder if my skin type is changing or if the makeup (not yours) has been adding to my oiliness.
I’m just confused and a bit lost where to start again since my skin type seems to be different than before.
Any suggestions are much appreciated!!! And if you read this far, thank you!!!!”
ANSWER:
Ok so, there’s LOTS to unpack here but I’m going to take it piece by piece.
First off, I’m so proud of you for listening to your skin and making observations about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s changing!
It sounds like your biggest concerns are adding anti-aging benefits into your routine without causing your skin to break out in acne. Is that right? As well as confusion around what your skin actually needs as your oil levels have changed?
Oil Changes
The change in oil production makes complete sense to me – oil production decreases with age, and wearing makeup can make our skin feel oilier (or trigger an increase in oil).
For example, I’m a desert marigold too (acne-prone and prone to skin dehydration and have combination skin most of the time… mostly dry but can get slightly oily around my t-zone), and when I wear makeup, my skin feels oilier throughout the day. If I use makeup with silicones, my face feels super oily by the end of the day!
After Sun Breakouts
The breakouts / white bumps after sun exposure make sense too as oils that oxidize due to UV exposure become super pore-clogging and inflammatory (hence the breakouts). That why it’s so important to have a lot of antioxidants in your routine (they help reduce the amount of free radical damage to our oils from UV exposure) plus UV protection during the day.
A good combo for this (that also includes anti-aging benefits) is the vitamin c serum (for a heaping dose of antioxidants) plus your UV protection of choice (for me that’s our Calendula & Oat Facial Moisturizer or our Summer Shade Day Cream).
Basically, any mineral protection that doesn’t cause breakouts will be beneficial (especially with a vitamin c serum underneath).
For further reference, here’s a link to our facial sunscreen guide if you don’t have a copy already 🙂
Anti-aging For Acne-Prone Skin
As for products in the line up that are good for combination skin (and are safe for acne-prone skin types) while also including anti-aging ingredients, you were on the right track with the new berry products.
I’ve made these products for folks who want to include anti-aging products in their routine without upsetting sensitive, acne-prone skin, AND for those who have skin that is prone to dehydration.
I think it’s important to point out that we don’t have to have oily skin to have breakouts – though it can be hard to shift our thinking from “acne = oil”. Acne = DAMAGED oil…. even if there’s not very much oil. Check out this post for a more detailed explanation.
Hydration Helps
Another important point is that dehydrated skin will show fine lines, wrinkles, and the like MORE than hydrated skin.
How healthy our lipid barrier is determines how easily our skin can hold on to hydration. If we want to rehydrate our skin (to reduce the look of fine lines), we need to include a deep absorbing hydrator as well as a product that will help support our lipid barrier (our lipid barrier keeps that hydration in our skin so it doesn’t leak out!)
Basically, hydration helps keep our skin plump and reduces fine lines. If we gently press on our skin as see a “desert-like” texture appears (which can happen whether there’s oil sitting on top of the skin or not), our skin doesn’t have enough WATER… aka hydration.. and our lipid barrier, aka the oil layer, is “leaky” … aka the hydration leaks out of our skin and makes it look older than it) – Here is a link to pictures of what I mean from an older newsletter I sent out.
I should also note that drinking lots of water helps hydrate the deeper layers of skin, but won’t ever be able to hydrate the outermost layers (that’s why hydrating skincare is so important).
I’ll wrap this up, but if I was off the mark in answer your question, or you have any follow up questions or need me to explain or expand on anything that I touched on, please let me know! 🙂
P.s. Follow the rest of this conversation here (note: you’ll need to join the Facebook group to access the thread)
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