Do you suffer from oily skin even though you wash your face properly?
Some people try to keep their skin clean by washing their face often and improving the oily shine caused by sebum, but this skincare method might be incorrect.
Actually, the cause of your shiny skin may be overwashing.
Today, we will fundamentally review the causes of shiny skin, the correct way to wash your face from the viewpoint of Microbiome Care, and how to choose skincare products for beautiful skin.
Contents
- Is over-washing the enemy?
- Sebum is essential
- KINS' way of face washing
- Points to choosing skincare to use after washing face
- Regulate sebum secretion by taking care of the body from the inside
Is over-washing the enemy?
We are all bothered by shiny skin, aren't we?Not only does shiny skin give the impression of being somewhat unclean, but it can also cause makeup to come off and cause other problems too.
It can also cause skin problems such as clogged pores and acne.
Because of these reasons, you may usually wash your face thoroughly, trying to get rid of the shine.
Scrubbing with skincare products that have high cleansing and disinfecting power will certainly make you feel temporarily refreshed.
However, excessive face-washing can cause shine itself.
Sebum is essential
Although sebum is often disliked in some ways, it is essential for our skin.
Sebum has important functions, such as preventing moisture evaporation from the inside of the skin and protecting it from external enemies.
Also, sebum is indispensable for indigenous skin microbiome. Staphylococcus epidermidis, known as "good microbiome for skin," feeds on sebum and sweat to multiply and produce glycerin, which maintains the skin's pH acid.
Excessive face-washing washes away both sebum and microbiome that are necessary for the skin.
If you wash your face several times a day, you will wash away the sebum and microbiome that your skin needs.
The removal of sebum leads to skin dryness. When your skin gets dry, it produces even more sebum. And it causes shiny skin!
Excessive washing and powerful cleansing foam can also damage the skin microbiome.
When sebum, the food source of the skin microbiome, is in short supply, the skin barrier function will lose. And this causes rough skin.
To eliminate shiny skin, we recommend you review your method of washing your face first.
How many times a day do you wash your face? What kind of facewash do you use?
We encourage you to improve your face-washing routine by keeping in mind not to “overwash.”
KINS' way of face-washing
If you feel you may have been washing your face too much, please check the following rule of face washing.
Use facewash only once a day.
Many people wash their faces several times a day with facewash.
But we recommend that you limit the use of a facewash to once a day, as it can be hard on your skin.
Especially, we don't recommend using facewash in the morning.
The purpose of washing is to remove dirt. The type of dirt in the morning and at night is the same, but the amount of it is significantly different.
During the daytime, sebum and sweat are actively secreted, and the skin is in an environment where it is easily soiled by going out. Therefore, it is appropriate to use a facewash at night.
But sweat and sebum are not secreted as much as during the day when we are sleeping. And since we are indoors, the skin doesn't become so dirty. Therefore, washing the face only with water in the morning is enough to remove the dirt.
Wash gently to avoid friction
When washing your face, we recommend not scrubbing your skin with strong power.
Although it may seem scrubbing will remove dirt thoroughly, the friction can damage your skin and the skin microbiome.
Many of us have a habit of scrubbing and washing our faces so pay attention even to your fingertips.
Pressing your fingers against your skin is too strong. Try to just glide your fingers over the skin.
Wash with slightly cold water
The key here is washing with "slightly cool water" instead of "lukewarm water."
Sounds confusing? If so, just remember to wash your face at a temperature that is just a little lower than the temperature at which you feel lukewarm.
One paper has shown that when skin is washed with lukewarm water of about 35°C, skin oils are washed away and the moisture content of the skin after washing is greatly reduced.
However, at a temperature of about 28 °C, the sebum reduction has been minimized.
When you wash your face, remember to wash with slightly cool water (28°C).
Cautions for Facial Cleansing
If you always wash your face thoroughly twice a day with a cleansing foam, etc., a drastic change of your method or reducing the number of times may make you feel uncomfortable.
In such cases, try to get used to washing your face less frequently over a period of weeks. Or, you may want to limit the use of a facial cleanser in the morning to the T-zone only.
Also, if you use vegetable oil moisturizer (shea butter, horse oil, etc.) or if your skin's sebum secretion is very high, washing only with the water may leave dirt and oxidized oil on the skin, which causes skin problems.
We recommend you find a face-washing method that suits you the best.
Do you want to know more about which skincare products suit you? Click here.
How to Find the Best Skincare for Yourself.
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Points to choosing skincare to use after washing face
In particular, there are skincare items available from various brands that are designed to improve sebum problems, especially for oily and combination skin types.
However, they may damage the skin microbiome or cause rough skin in some cases.
Let's check the key points on choosing the right skincare product.
Be wary of ethanol-containing products.
There are different types of skincare products for oily skin but beware of products containing ethanol. Ethanol is sometimes used for controlling sebum and tightening the skin by taking advantage of its properties.
Ethanol refreshes the skin and suppresses sebum secretion through its volatility and heat of vaporization, but excessive use can deprive the skin of moisture and oil and dry it out.
If "ethanol" appears at the beginning of the product label, it means a large amount of ethanol is used as a base ingredient. However, if it appears later on the label, it is used as a carryover ingredient during ingredient extraction and is therefore considered to be contained in smaller amounts.
Avoid glycerin which increase Cutibacterium acne
Glycerin is an ingredient that has long been used as a moisturizer and is characterized by its high moisturizing ability. It is an ingredient naturally present in the skin, and is also an ingredient produced by Staphylococcus epidermidis, "good microbiome for skin."
It is a typical moisturizer found in most skincare products like lotions and gels.
However, for people with oily skin that produces a lot of sebum, glycerin may be causing skin problems.
Recently, it has been pointed out that the moisturizing effect of glycerin may cause pores to become clogged, leading to skin problems.
Furthermore, since acne-causing bacteria, Cutibacterium acne, increases by feeding on glycerin, so too much glycerin can also lead to inflammation and worsening acne.
If you have oily skin or suffer from acne or skin problems, it may be better to choose glycerin-free skincare products.
Be careful with oleic acid-containing oils.
We recommend you be careful with the products containing high oleic acid.
Oleic acid is the same component of unsaturated fatty acids found in skin sebum and therefore has a high affinity for the skin. And it is the perfect skincare product for dry skin.
However, it should be noted that for those with excessive sebum secretion, oleic acid not only causes shine but also feeds Cutibacterium acne.
Oleic acid is abundantly contained in olive oil and camellia oil. There is less oleic acid in Argan oil (about 45%) and jojoba oil and rosehip oil (about 10%).
Therefore, for oily skin, acne-prone skin, and those who suffer from rough skin, jojoba oil or Vaseline, which contain less oleic acid, are recommended.
Regulate sebum secretion by taking care of the body from the inside
Avoid high fats and sugars that stimulate sebum secretion
For example, white rice, bread, and pasta tend to raise blood glucose levels. Choose low-GI foods which do not raise blood glucose levels that much, such as brown rice, cereal bread, and products made with whole grains.
Dairy products also lead to excessive sebum production. They contain insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a component similar to insulin, which activates male hormones when ingested.
The male hormones cause an overproduction of sebum and lead to acne and rough skin.
If you are buying fermented foods, try to choose foods of plant origin as much as possible, such as soy milk yogurt rather than yogurt and rice bran rather than cheese.
Supplement B vitamins to promote lipid metabolism
Nutrients such as protein, essential fatty acids, dietary fiber, and vitamins A, B, C, and E are necessary to maintain skin health.
In particular, vitamin B2 plays a role in lipid metabolism, while vitamin B1 acts as a coenzyme in carbohydrate metabolism.
Vitamin E is also involved in maintaining healthy skin and mucous membranes, and its antioxidant effect is essential for preventing skin problems.
We recommend soy milk, which is rich in B vitamins, almond milk, and nuts which are rich in vitamin E.
And B vitamins are also produced by Bifidobacterium in the intestines. For the body to efficiently produce B vitamins, it is important to keep the intestinal environment in good condition.
Taking care of your intestinal environment
Many people may experience acne and shiny skin during premenstrual.
One possible cause is that the hormonal balance is disturbed, resulting in a relative increase in male hormones.
Women also secrete a small number of male hormones, but when the hormonal balance is disturbed, male hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands and increase the sebum secretion.
The intestinal environment is also important to regulate this balance. The intestinal environment is involved in the metabolism of female hormones. So when it's disturbed, the balance of hormones is also easily disturbed.
Deterioration of the intestinal environment can also lead to skin inflammation, so we recommend keeping it well balanced by adopting Microbiome Care daily. Try to consciously include soluble dietary fiber and fermented foods in your everyday diet.
Sleep stimulates the secretion of growth hormones.
Lack of sleep can also cause skin problems. It reduces the turnover function of your skin, causing pore problems.
The turnover function is a skin cycle in which old skin cells are pushed up to the surface and peeled off to be reborn as new skin cells.
Growth hormone is necessary to activate this turnover function, and it's secreted especially during sleep.
Do you want to know more about the relationship between the exercise and microbiome? Click here.
Exercise and Gut Microbiome
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So, we can all see why enough sleep is essential for good skin conditions. The appropriate amount of sleep varies from person to person, but a good night's sleep is desirable to stimulate the secretion of growth hormones.
Below are three tips for sound sleep.
1. Turn off your smartphone before going to bed
Do you often watch your phone or TV in bed after turning off the light? Some of you may fall asleep while looking at your phones.
The strong light emitted by smartphones stimulates the brain and interferes with deep sleep. We recommend that you turn off the TV and smartphone screens with the lights when you get into bed.
2. Avoid eating just before bed.
It is also important not to eat just before going to bed. When you eat, blood sugar levels rise, and the secretion of growth hormone decreases.
So if you go to bed immediately after a meal, sufficient growth hormone will not be secreted, and the skin turnover function will be reduced.
In addition, sleep immediately after a meal requires the energy for digestion, which interferes with deep sleep. We recommend finishing dinner 4 hours before going to bed.
3. Incorporate moderate exercise.
Exercise is also important for sound sleep.
Humans fall asleep more easily when their body temperature drops. So exercise during the day can lower your body temperature naturally when you go to sleep.If your body temperature rises with exercise, your body temperature will drop efficiently when you fall asleep, making it easier to fall asleep.
So, we assume you all understood the three golden rules to get rid of shiny skin.
The most important thing is to avoid over-wash.
Also, pay attention to skincare ingredients.
And finally, don't forget to take care of your skin from the inside with what you eat.
All of these rules will help us to achieve a well-balanced skin without shine.
