Oily Skin Cosmeceutical

Summary and Key Features

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No definition exists for oily skin, as oily is a patient perception.
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While cosmeceuticals can remove oil from the skin surface, no cosmeceutical can effectively reduce oil production.
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Facial powders are effective at absorbing oil, as are oil-absorbing tissue papers.
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Many facial products for oil control contain niacinamide.
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Cleansers cannot distinguish between unwanted facial sebum and intercellular lipids.

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Oily skin is a challenge for the dermatologist, since there is a fine balance between removing enough sebum to get rid of facial shine and not inducing temporary skin dehydration. Many patients with oily skin are tempted to use strong detergent cleansers to remove sebum; however, the intercellular lipids are also damaged, yielding the appearance of dry skin. It is not possible for a cleanser to distinguish between sebum and intercellular lipids; thus a cleanser should be selected that minimizes barrier damage. Barrier damage is a problem created by many acne medications that contain skin irritants such as benzoyl peroxide or retinoids. Table 30.1 lists some of the cosmeceutical ingredients that might be helpful in products designed for oily skin.

Table 30.1

Cosmeceutical Actives for Oily Skin

Cosmeceutical	Effects on Skin Physiology	Patient Selection Comments
Niacinamide	Reduces amount of sebum collected on skin surface	Used topically in oil reducing moisturizers
Polymer-absorbing beads	Bead uses van der Waals forces to absorb and hold oil in a polymer sphere	Used in moisturizer to hold and absorb oil that reaches the skin surface
Salicylic acid	Oil-soluble exfoliant that can enter sebum-rich pore milieu	Used as an astringent to remove oily residue from skin surface and follicular ostia
Witch hazel	Astringent containing tannins from leaves obtained by steam distillation	Used to remove excess sebum from face
Papaya	Papain proteolytic enzyme removed from fruit and applied to skin surface	Used to remove oil and desquamating corneocytes from skin surface
Soy	Fresh soy milk fraction that contains phytoestrogen genistein	Thought to be an antiandrogen hormonally reducing oil production
Retinol	Naturally occurring form of vitamin A functioning as a retinoid	Thought to produce a drying effect on skin similar to prescription retinoids but on a lesser level