UNDERSTANDING ACNE-PRONE OILY SKIN

The skin of the face is punctuated by pores that contain a hair and a sebaceous gland, together forming the pilosebaceous follicle. The function of the sebaceous gland is to produce sebum, an oily substance that protects the skin from external aggressions.

As a result of increased sensitivity or an overproduction of androgenic hormones (male hormones) in the body, the pilosebaceous follicles can become disordered: the sebaceous gland grows, produces excess sebum and the skin becomes oily.

Acne-prone oily skin is very common in adolescence and young adults, due to the hormonal upheaval that accompanies this period of life. However, it can sometimes persist beyond this period for genetic or hormonal reasons: some skin types are oily by nature and remain so throughout life. In other cases, the skin can become oily at times, due to hormonal changes: menstruation, pregnancy, menopause or times of stress. Finally, some contraceptive pills can also influence the production of androgenic hormones and therefore make the skin oily.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF ACNE-PRONE OILY SKIN

Dull and shiny or even oily in appearance, acne-prone oily skin has irregular grain and large pores, visible to the naked eye. The excess sebum involved in oily skin often also results in small imperfections (comedones) or even more or less severe acne..

Often poorly tolerated oily skin has an advantage, however: thick and protected by excess sebum, it is more resistant to signs of ageing.

THE CASE OF COMBINATION SKIN

Combination skin has the same characteristics as oily skin, but only on the T zone of the face, which is particularly rich in sebaceous glands: forehead, sides of the nose and chin. The skin on the cheeks may be normal or dry. Combination skin is particularly complex to maintain, because it presents different needs depending on the areas of the face.