Matte Magic: 10 Must-Haves for Best Face Wash for Oily Skin
The world of skincare is vast, varying, and let's be honest, a little confusing. But no matter who are or how little you care about skincare, chances are you own and use a cleanser.
Washing your face is how you wake up and refresh yourself for a brand new day. It not only helps you feel ready mentally but it also preps your skin for the rest of the day. If you feel like no matter what you do and have tried, your skin just always seems to be doused in oily, the cleanser you're using might be the root of the problem.
Oily skin requires special care so you can take away your skin's self-regulated sebum-filled hydration and make it work for you rather than against you.
In this blog post, we're going to show you what exactly it means to have oily skin and put you on your new holy grail cleanser!
Our Picks
What Does Oily Skin Type Mean?
What is Oily Skin?
Oily skin is caused by the overproduction of sebum by the skin's sebaceous glands. This excess oil can result in a shiny appearance and may also cause blocked pores and acne breakouts.
Your skin needs to stay hydrated and when proper skin care isn't in place for moisture to remain locked down onto the skin, the skin will begin to overcompensate and produce more sebum to hydrate itself. Factors like climate, stress, genetics, and harsh skincare products can contribute.
Vinisha Venugopal
While we can't change certain internal factors, removing ingredients from our skincare that worsen our skin, and correcting our skincare routine can protect the skin from external factors, like the climate, and help you control your oily skin.
Believe it or not, oily skin is a great assist in the anti-aging journey because it maintains the skin's soft and supple look. You just have to make the skin work for you. Adding the correct cleanser to your routine for a fresh, hydrating base is the first and one of the most important steps.
Top Picks
Best Standard Overall: Cerave Foaming Facial Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
Whether you're new or well-versed in the world of skincare, the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser is a great everyday face wash. It clears the skin of the dirt and oil buildup without stripping the skin of its moisture. The formula contains hyaluronic acid, an essential hydrator (because oily skin becomes super oily skin without proper hydration), niacinamide, a top-tier pore-minimizer, and ceramides, strengtheners for a healthy skin barrier. It's beginner-friendly and easy on the wallet.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and ceramides.
This product is also free of fragrance, paraben, and non-comedogenic.
Best Multi-Benefit Antioxidant: Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
The green juice of the cleanser world, the antioxidant powerhouse, the vitamin booster - these are just a few ways to describe the Youth To The People Superfood Cleanser. Its plant-based antioxidants remove dirt, oil, and even makeup while reintroducing pH-balance for a non-drying, soft finish. This vegan variety hydrates, soothes, smoothes, and cleans the skin with a green juice detox from the outside in!
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include Kale, spinach, green tea, alfalfa, vitamins C, E, and K.
This product is also cruelty-free, vegan, and free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, phthalates, dimethicone, or mineral oil.
Best Salicylic Acid-Based: CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
For greasy skin that needs a little more clearing and unclogging of the pores, the CeraVe Renewing SA Cleanser is the way to go. An oil-soluble liquid exfoliant, this cleanser works its way into the depth of the skin to clear out pores from down under to prevent clogged pores and result in blemishes that we all loath-acne, blackheads, and whiteheads to name a few! It's also anti-inflammatory and pore-minimizing.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include salicylic acid, ceramides, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and vitamin D.
The product is fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, and contains no harsh microbeads.
Best Glycolic Acid-Based: Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
The Mario Badescu is a great assist to your everyday cleanser with its surface-level exfoliating properties to rid all dead skin cells. Recommended to be used 2 to 3 times a week, this cleanser doubles down on the pore unclogging and minimizing the front to prevent buildup and breakouts all the while providing a soothing effect to the skin with a dab of aloe vera sprinkled into the formula. When your daily cleanser needs a little extra help, sprinkling in a glycolic acid cleanser can work wonders.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include glycolic acid, sage extract, and aloe vera.
This product is vegan, phthalates-free, and cruelty-free.
Best For Sensitive Skin & Anti-Inflammatory: EltaMD Foaming Facial Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
For oily and sensitive skin craving a gentle touch that is still strong enough to pull out the grime or grease from your skin, try the EltaMD Foaming Facial Cleanser. The cleanser is ideal for balancing out the pH levels in the skin and it's oil-free so it clears the ingredients checklist. With Bromelain enzymes, this product is anti-inflammatory thereby reintroducing a soothing touch to the skin upon irritation when cleansing.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include Bromelain.
This product is oil-free, non-comedogenic, sensitive-free, paraben-free, pH-balanced, and vegan!
Best For Acne: CeraVe Acne Cream Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
Though many factors can contribute to acne, having oily skin is one of the most common. An ingredient that is great to introduce to the skin in this case is benzoyl peroxide. Benzoyl peroxide kills bacteria present on the skin that contribute to acne and gently exfoliates the skin. This particular cleanser comes in a low concentration of 4% making it easier to use for sensitive-skinned folks.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include 4% benzoyl peroxide, hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and ceramides.
This product is fragrance-free and non-comedogenic.
Best For Acne (Higher Concentration): PanOxyl Acne Foaming Wash
Why We Are Passionate About It
For a higher boost of benzoyl peroxide for oily and acne-prone skin, the PanOxyl Acne Foaming Wash is ideal. With a 10% concentration, the face wash kills bacteria, cleans up the pores, treats existing ance, and prevents new acne from forming. Bonus, it's great to use on the body as well. We all know "bacne" is not fun!
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include benzoyl peroxide.
Best Soap-Free, Hyaluronic Acid-Based: Neutrogena Hydro Boost with Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Gel Cleanser
Why We Are Passionate About It
If you have oily skin and feel like regular face washes for oily skin still leave you feeling a bit too dry, and tight-skinned, the Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Gel Cleanser is for you. Cleanser provides a gentle and deep cleanse with the extra concentration of hyaluronic acid, the number one ingredient to lock down moisture, so your skin remain soft and supple without the greasy grimy hydration that sebum provides.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include hyaluronic acid.
This product is hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic, fragrance, soaps, parabens, phthalates, and alcohol.
Best Charcoal: Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Face Wash
Why We Are Passionate About It
For the most thorough of all oil cleanses, check out the Bioré Deep Pore Charcoal Face Wash. Charcoal is great for attracting dirt and grime to latch on and be swiftly washed off. It clears away every bit of oil present in the wash with face washing working to deep clean 2x times the amount of a regular cleanser. As such, this face wash may be one to use a few times a week coupled with a hydrating serum and moisturizer if your skin isn't too oily for an everyday ritual with charcoal.
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include charcoal, water, and glycerin.
This product is tested by dermatologists.
Best Professional-Grade Powder Formula: Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
Why We Are Passionate About It
A travel-friendly option from a widely loved brand, the Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant is a powder cleanser formula that is loved by oily-skinned folks. The Daily Microfoliant is a powder-to-foam cleanser with its sole trigger being a couple of drops of water making it one of the most customizable formulas on the market. If you want a thicker paste to use as a mask, add less water. If you want a foaming face wash, add more water.
Coupled with the powder formula is an amazing ingredient list that is perfectly tailored for oily skin. Salicylic Acid for exfoliation, unclogging pores, and preventing acne, rice to smoothen skin texture, and colloidal oatmeal to calm and soothe skin. It's a great multi-functional ingredient and formula that you can manipulate on a daily based on what your skin needs at that time!
Ingredients & Make
Ingredients used include Rice, Salicylic Acid, and Colloidal Oatmeal.
This powder cleanser is free of fragrance and artificial colors.
It is also cruelty-free, gluten-free, vegan-friendly, and paraben-free.
Conclusion - Best Face Wash for Oily Skin
Oily skin is greasy, slightly angry skin that just needs a little extra care to make it work for you. Exfoliate, hydrate, and maintain it starting with a face wash specifically tailored to your skin's needs. For a beginner and budget-friendly pick, try the CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser. For a travel-friendly formula that does it all give Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant a shot. Either way, your newly oily-controlled skin will be sure to thank you!
FAQs
What is the main cause of oily skin?
There are a lot of criteria that can cause oily skin. Here are a few:
- Puberty & Hormonal Imbalance & Genetics
- Stress & Diet
- Climate & Location & Sweat
- Aging
- Current Skincare Routine
- Enlarged pores
If you checked any of these boxes then you're one of the main ones who is on the hunt to learn more and bring back your reign over oily skin. Click to see How To Stop Oily Skin Like a Pro.
Does oily skin go away?
Yes and no. If the cause of your oily skin and blemishes is age-related, ie during puberty, and with time, oily skin can fade away if not reduce dramatically. If you're genetically wired to have oily skin, then you may just need to learn to control it with proper care.
What are the benefits of having oily skin?
While oily skin may feel like the bane of your existence, it bears its silver lining:
- the oil leaves your skin soft and moisturized
- slows down signs of aging via sebum hydration
- though NOT an excuse to say goodbye to sunscreen, the oil in your skin protects your skin from burning up fast
- oil leaves behind a natural glow
How We Curated Our List
Whether you fall under the category of oily skin types or even combination skin tittering on the oilier side, there's always a way to learn how to make your skin work for you.
There are products on the market, like glycolic and lactic acids, for treating oily skin but the main thing is finding your skin's balance, oil control, cleanser that works for you, and maintaining it.
We've taken the guesswork out of it for you and compiled a concise list of high-quality products that will fit both your budget and your needs.
Whether you're looking for a luxury option or something more affordable, we've got you covered.
Next Up: 9 Best Ingredients for Oily Skin to Master the Matte
Vinisha Venugopal
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