Perfect oily skin care in rainy season

Rainy season brings unique challenges for our skin, especially oil skin. High humidity, excess moisture and frequent sweating during the monsoon makes only skin even more greasy.

It clogs pore and causes acne breakouts. Individuals prone to acne are seen to get deeper nodules during this time of year. So it’s important to keep skin unclogged throughout the year with a dynamic skin routine which means changing with weather and skin condition. During winters Inadequate head washing and using oily moisturisers and hair oils cause flare in later months specially in summers and rainy season, when there is sudden increase in sebum production.

Dr. Anil KV Minz, Senior Dermatologist, Genesis Skin & Hair Clinic Faridabad shares insights on how to deal with oily skin in the rainy season.With the right skin care, I have reduced the intake of medicines like prolonged courses of antibiotics and Isotretinoin in my patients.

Steps to take care of oily skin in rainy season:

Cleansing: One may use salicylic acid face wash twice daily, if their skin is not rash prone. For people with rash prone skin, use a non-foaming cleanser.

Ideally, twice washing is enough. However if it gets really greasy, one may wash thrice daily. Prolonged use of AHAs and BHAs your U part of face gets dry and u will notice darkness around your mouth and eyes. With further longterm of usage the side of nose become red and flaky and U zone becomes darker and rough.

It may even progress to itchy rashes in these areas.Moisturiser: With every wash, your skin is robbed off its protection barrier so it needs to be reduced with right kind of moisturisers.

Otherwise skin becomes rough, potentially dull, especially around the mouth and eyes. Choose a light water based moisturiser in gel formulation. Apply twice daily after face wash. Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid, pentavitin and aloe vera.Toner: Use non-alcohol based toner. Look for ingredients like rose water, green tea, witch hazel or cucumber extracts. Rash prone skin should avoid toners.

Sunscreen: Even during the rainy season one should use a sunscreen, even thou sunlight is not there but Ultraviolet (UV) light is very much present.

Use sunscreen morning and afternoon even if indoors. Use sunscreen which are water based gel or matte finished silicone base sunscreen. Now there are many sunscreens with oil reduction formulation and mild antibacterial properties.Exfoliation: Use mild exfoliation once or twice a week. One may use physical fine scrubs or chemical exfoliants like AHAs or BHAs. This step is best avoided in irritable skin. Use these agents gently with circular motion, avoid pressure over jaw line, as it may cause damage to the skin in these areas.

Use sufficient amount of water to wash away these agents. Use cold water for washing.

Face pack & Masks:

One may use clay based masks like Multani mitti (fuller’s earth) or kaolin. Sandalwood packs will also absorb excessive oil from skin. Again don’t leave these masks too long on skin else they will suck away all the oil on skin to cause dryness.

Diet & Lifestyle:

· Avoid frequent wiping of sweat as it causes frictional damage to skin and causes rash.· Pat dry your skin to minimise frictional damage to skin.

· Wear loose cotton clothes and soft absorbent towel. Use wet wipes, again too much rubbing may irritate ur skin. People with rash prone skin should avoid fragrant and colourful wipes.· Keep hydrated and drink a lot of fluids. Increase intake of fresh fruits specially with high water content like melon, cucumber and oranges. Refrain from consuming fried, oily and sugary foods. Observe if you get acne flare after dairy intake. A proportion of individuals get again specially nodules after dairy especially toned milk.

However, these is not true for everyone. So one needs to observe if it really happens to them. · Avoid heavy makeup. Use powder based makeup or noncomedogenic makeups. Don’t use oils to remove makeup, one may use non foaming cleansers to remove them. People with oily skin should avoid parlour facial as it mostly gives acne and once the skin is clogged skin usually takes months to recover. One can carry mist spray in hand bag, lot of spring water sprays are available today Do these simple steps and keep your skin healthy and glowing skin and enjoy the rainy season.