The skin over produces oil to compensate from an attack, that is, an attack from harsh detergents that strip the skin of it's natural oil, for example Sodium Lauryl Sulphates & harsh medicated skin washes.  The skin goes into overdrive, producing more and more oil (sebum) as a form of protection; hence pores can become clogged with sebum and debris and then can become infected, resulting in spots and possibly eczema patches on the drier parts for the more sensitive skins.  Skin needs to retain a nice natural water resistant base to defend itself from microbes, etc.  The sebum and sweat combine nicely to form this healthy acid mantle (which is also a mild anti-bactericide too).  Unfortunately the Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) and harsh detergents strip your skin of this nice natural pH balance, hence more sensitive skins (even though oily) will be prone to the chance of experiencing skin disorders/problems. You also double your chances if you suffer from stress too. 

If you’ve read the Eczema tips on the other page, you may notice significant similarities between these two pages.  Because although Eczema seems to arise from a dry and sensitive skin condition, the assaults the skin has had to endure only creates more of a vicious circle, and the habits are hard to break out of, or to even recognise what you are doing.  The main similarity to pin point is the use of Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) based products; this main ingredient is in most if not all commercial mainstream products.  It will strip your natural skin oils.  The more of an oily problem I thought I had, the more products I would wash and coat myself with.  The more harsh products used, the more sensitivities I created for myself.  Hence, skin became far more oilier and I was then unable to use most high street skincare items due to increasing sensitivities.   I couldn’t see the wood for the trees and the balance was continuously being tipped until I recognised what I was actually doing...

I commenced a year's training for Anatomy & Physiology (the beginnings of becoming a Holistic Therapist).  The main topics studied in-depth was the skin’s structure, and it’s purely balanced ideal state.  I then received a light bulb moment!  I realised I had to stop what I was doing and finally find a state of balance for my skin, somehow.  I needed to trust that my skin ultimately knew what it should be doing (if there are no underlying illnesses/diseases).   It was me who was constantly interfering with my skin’s balance, through stress, diet and harsh washing detergents.  I can remember when I first commenced upon that path and noticed a few blemishes when I was 21, never had spots before, not even in my teens, where have they come from?  It was a slippery slope from then on... weekly visits to the high street to find the latest miracle cure for spots. 

Your skin requires a lot of respect for all the work it does, protecting you from all sorts of microbe invasions.  The many functions it is able to perform deserves our utmost admiration!  You don't need to fight spots/oily sensitive skin problems.  Try and understand why your skin is the way it is...  I used to become angry at my skin for not always looking it’s best, this behaviour certainly made my skin worse.  The ideal is to work with your skin, what are your stress triggers, is there anything you can change that could reduce the stress?  Could you improve your diet, eat more soluble & insoluble fibre, so that your digestive tract functions more efficiently?  Could you drink more water to flush out your natural bodily toxins more efficiently?  How can you increase your intake of Essential Fatty Acids for ultimate skin health?  Becoming worked up about you skin is another stress factor to contend with, and this behaviour takes time and a lot of patience to overcome and to then finally break the cycle.

Since breaking out of this vicious circle by using natural and organic skincare I finally discovered my ‘true’ skin type.   It was after all, combination and now highly sensitive.  The mass production of oil that covered my face everyday was purely a protective defence measure.  Highly sensitive now because of all the medicated and harsh detergents I was using over long periods of time.  Although I now have to live with sensitive skin, which can lead to Eczema, my skin is now so much healthier than it ever has been.  For me organic skincare was the miracle I was looking and hoping for.

These natural products will allow you to find your ‘true’ skin type.  By using natural base oils full of nourishing essential fatty acids will do so much more for your skin, you will notice a difference in just a matter of days.  A word of warning, if you’ve not used natural before, and you have always used petro-chemical derived products, you may find that your skin may undergo a healing process, you may notice a couple of new spots, this can be expected.  After suffocating your skin’s ability to breathe and heal itself by using petroleum-based emollients, it will suddenly feel like your skin is free.  This turmoil is short-lived only and does not happen for everyone.  Most people will notice significant improvement straight away.  Of course, do check that the skincare you are using is suitable for your skin type.  You may also find that your skin will change altogether, so what you first thought your skin type was, is now altogether totally different. 

Of course, when choosing natural organic skincare, you need to be aware that all base oils have differing characteristics; some are more suited to mature/dry skins whereas other base oils are more suited to more sensitive/combination type skins.  So, using a base oil that is created for a dry skin type will not be suitable for a sensitive/combination skin type.  The effect of using heavier oils for oily skin types can result in the same old problems, clogged blocked pores.  Choosing natural does not always mean you get it right first time.  Our skincare and sensitive skincare items are created with vegetable oils although some from fruit and nuts too.  These Vegetable oils, or more precisely termed 'fixed oils' are composed of molecules that make the cream/lotion/butter easier to smooth onto the skin, although they consist of large molecules (similarities to that of petrol chemical derived oils!) these fixed oils are far more healthier in that the vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids are absorbed more readily into the skin cells.  It is thought that Avocado Oil is the only oil that can penetrate the upper layers of the skin, and so should be considered to be used for the more drier and mature skin types.  These natural basic oils are so much healthier and more biologically aligned to our anatomy than petroleum based emollients.

Would you prefer to eat food if a. had been fried in Mineral oil, or b. if it had been fried in Vegetable oil?