Caring for Oily Skin

Oily Skin: A Global Guide to Glowing (Not Greasy) Skin

If you’re constantly blotting your T-zone, watching your makeup slide off by noon, or editing your photos to make your forehead less shiny, you’re definitely not alone. Oily skin affects people across the world, regardless of climate, ethnicity, or age.

Here’s the good news: oily skin can actually be managed. In fact, it also has some benefits, like slower aging and built-in hydration. The key is learning how to balance your skin oils, not battle them. Using products for your skin’s specific needs is the most important part of your oily skin ritual to give you radiant skin from within.

Why Oily Skin Happens

Your skin naturally produces sebum (oil) to keep it soft and protected. But when your sebaceous glands go into overdrive? That’s when the slippery, greasy feeling kicks in.

Here are a few reasons oily skin occurs:

• Genetics: Some of us are just born with more active oil glands. #thanksmomanddad
• Climate: Warm, humid environments (think Southeast Asia, parts of Africa and South America, or the southern USA) can trigger more oil production.
• Diet & Hormones: Spicy foods (hello inflammation!), dairy, and hormonal fluctuations can also contribute to an increase in oil levels in certain individuals.
• Over-cleansing: Yup, you read that right! Cleansing your skin too much can make oily skin worse. When your skin’s stripped of moisture, it produces even more oil to overcompensate.

Step-by-Step Guide to Managing Oily Skin

Let’s get into a skincare routine that actually works for oily skin – gentle, effective, and globally inspired.

Step 1: Cleanse Without Stripping

A lot of people with oily skin think they need to go hard with harsh cleansers. Squeaky clean? Nope! That just leaves your skin feeling tight and more oil-prone.

Try: Nuria Rescue Rebalancing Cleanser
This gel formula is ideal for practically everyone – oily skin, dry skin, combination skin, and anyone who doesn’t  have sensitive skin. It gently removes excess oil and impurities without disrupting your skin’s natural barrier. Bonus: it’s infused with mandarin orange (known for its levels of Vitamin C and antioxidants) and rice water, which strengthens and hydrates.

Step 2: Tone to Tighten & Balance

Toner is your secret weapon. But not the old-school kind that smells like rubbing alcohol. You want a toner that calms, refines, and refreshes without drying you out.

Try: Nuria Pore-Minimizing Toner
Made with tea tree oil and witch hazel, this toner preps your skin for the rest of your skincare layering, helps reduce shine, and balance your skin’s oil production. It’s the perfect way to reset your skin after cleansing, especially as the summer heats up.

Step 3: Hydrate & Protect (Even Oily Skin Needs Moisture!)

People with oily skin often skip moisturizer, thinking it’ll make them greasier. But here's the truth: hydrated skin produces less oil!

Try: Nuria Defend Skin Shielding Essence
This lightweight, breathable essence is perfect for oily skin. It hydrates, protects against pollution and free radicals, and improves skin texture – all without clogging pores or adding shine. Ginseng, carob and niacinamide balance out this powerhouse serum for resilience and elasticity.

Bonus Tips for Balancing Oily Skin

• Reach for blotting paper – They soak up oil without caking or adding anything else to your skin.
• Stick to non-comedogenic products – AKA products that won’t clog your pores.
• Avoid harsh ingredients, like alcohol – Look for ingredients like tea tree, niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate, green tea, and gentle acids, to name a few.
• Don’t overwash – Twice a day is plenty.
• Use SPF – Yes, even if you’re oily. SPF is for everyone. Go for a matte finish sunscreen to reduce shine.

Final Thoughts: Learn How to Love the Skin You’re In

Oily skin may come with its challenges, but with the right products and a balanced ritual, it can also mean resilient, radiant, and healthy skin.

Around the world, different cultures have embraced natural solutions for oily skin—from tea tree oil in Australia to vitamin C in Brazil and rice water in Korea. Nuria brings these time-tested ingredients together in clean, globally inspired formulas designed to work with your skin, not against it.

So if your skin’s sending SOS signals (Shine Overload Syndrome, anyone?), give it what it really needs: balance, hydration, consistency, and a little love. 

 

About the author, Jasmin Figueroa
Jasmin is an accomplished formulation scientist and skin health expert who has spent her career listening to consumers and developing products that rock. A founding member of the Nuria community, she loves traveling with her family, chilling with her friends at the beach, and will totally judge you if you don’t wear SPF.