Do you have oily skin? If you do, you know just how icky it feels and how desperate you are to have normal skin again. But there’s a good chance your skincare efforts and good intentions are actually making your skin more oily. So, to make sure you don’t make matters worse, here are five skincare habits to stop ASAP.

Over-washing your face

It seems logical to wash your face more than twice per day when it’s oily and shiny. But this sends the wrong message to your skin. When you over-wash it, your skin thinks it needs to replace those oils, and that’s exactly what it does. So, resist the temptation and only cleanse in the morning and evening, and that’s it!

Over-scrubbing your face

Like over-washing, over-scrubbing tells your skin to produce more oil. So, try to avoid aggressive exfoliators. Instead, try salicylic acid, which can dissolve facial oils and help to dry out oily skin. 

Your products clog your pores

Certain skincare and beauty products can clog up pores, follicles and oil glands, and this can trap the natural oils in your skin and lead to breakouts. Instead, look for “non-comedogenic” products.

You avoid moisturizer

Who needs moisturizer when your face feels like a grease bucket? You do! That’s because without a hydrating moisturizer, your skin thinks it’s dry. So, to compensate, it increases oil production giving you the oily skin you’re trying to avoid.

Your toner is too harsh

You may recognize a pattern here. To fight oily skin, we over-scrub and over-wash to get that squeaky clean, dry face we want. The same goes for toners. However, a harsh and astringent toner can strip away the natural oils from your face, too. And guess what happens next? Your face produces more oil to make up for that.