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Oily Skin Remedy
By Rob Hardwicke, President and Product Master

Oily skin usually begins in puberty, when the production of oil from the sebaceous glands increases due to hormonal changes. Oily skin can also appear during pregnancy and menopause - both periods of intense hormonal shift and activity. Oily skin is typically difficult to manage, not only because of the associated acne outbreaks, but because the usual approach to caring for it is not good for your general skin health. In fact, people with naturally oily skin often experience some of the kinds of skin problems associated with dry skin - like chapping and cracking - simply because their regimen for dealing with the oily skin is so harsh.

I'm here to tell you today that there is a better way to manage oily skin. But before we get into specifics, the good news: most of the wrinkles that appear with aging are the result of a natural decrease in oil production in the skin. People with naturally more oily skin tend to wrinkle substantially less than people with drier skin. Now, this does NOT give you permission to go spend hours a day in the sun or use damaging chemicals like benzoyl peroxide on a long-term basis. You can still destroy your skin if you put enough effort into it. What you do have is an "adaptive advantage," so cherish it, and take good care of your skin in the meantime!

1. Use a Dead Sea mud mask

One of the most remarkable substances on earth is Dead Sea mud. It contains over 120 essential minerals that have been known for 4,000 years to provide health and beauty benefits (Cleopatra, anyone?) that have rarely found their equal since. It's incredible to think about: we have a skin care industry estimated at $43 billion (2003 - Johnson & Johnson). A staggering number of new products appear every year, each making claims to do one or another miraculous thing. Yet it turns out that the most potent, healing, gentle cleanser in the world can be scooped up right out of the ground along the shores of the Dead Sea.

We have customers who have suffered from oily skin and acne for years, who upon simply trying our Dead Sea mud mask were absolutely floored at the results. Dead Sea mud gently pulls excess oil from the skin, while providing your skin cells with a stunning array of minerals that work to repair and nourish skin naturally. So if you've been trying to control oily skin with chemical ointments or harsh soaps, stop. Try using Awakening MUDFACE Dead Sea mud mask for two weeks and if you aren't amazed, we'll happily refund your investment, no questions asked.

2. Wash Gently

When you do wash, make sure to find a soap with only natural ingredients. Generally, the fewer ingredients the better. Two good brands either to try or to use as an ingredient reference are Dr. Bronner's and Burt's Bees. Avoid overly hot water and intense scrubbing, both of which tend to damage your skin over time.

3. Moisturize properly

Wait, did you say moisturize? Won't that just make my oily skin worse?

Ah, warrior. You must learn the ways of the hydration samurai. The fact is that most of the "moisturizing" you've ever done for your skin has been anything but. If you read the ingredients list of just about any moisturizing cream or lotion (whether the most ubiquitous mass market product or the highest-priced organic one), you'll find that almost invariably, the "moisturizing elements" are plant-based oils of one kind or another. In some cases they're petroleum-based products like mineral oil (really, really bad). Slathering shea butter or olive oil onto already oily skin is obviously not a wise choice.

But what if there were another approach to skin moisturizing? Well, there is. At Awakening Skin Care, we use the term "hydrate," rather than "moisturize," because it truly describes what our products do. Your skin's moisture is of course water, not oil. Our bodies are 60% water, and what they need to stay hydrated - and thus function properly - is water. What our products do very differently than almost any others is to use a mineral-based formula, rather than a plant-based one. Of course, we use high quality bio-sourced botanicals and plant extracts because these can have incredible healing properties. But for hydration, we use minerals. Specifically, potassium, which is an essential mineral responsible for maintaining the body's hydration levels.

By delivering highly concentrated potassium to your skin cells, you facilitate the process of hydration and allow the other ingredients to function at their optimal level. This is NOT the case when those ingredients are bound up in an oily base that just sits on your skin.

The good news for folks with oily skin is that you can hydrate without adding on additional layers of oil, which in the long run means healthier skin.

If you have oily skin try a daily regimen of Awakening MUDFACE Dead Sea mud mask followed by either our dead sea mineral skin cream (such Awakening BODY), or for something really remarkable, you can try our brand new antioxidant face and wrinkle cream, called FACE&NECK. (We're very creative about naming our products, as you can tell.) You'll be surprised how clean and refreshed your skin is, with none of the clogged, oily feeling you get from most moisturizers.