While having oily skin is an accepted part of growing up, especially during puberty, it can also happen suddenly at various points in your life. In this article, we’ll talk about the most common reasons why you may suddenly have oily skin. Read on!
Stress
When you’re more stressed than usual, your body tends to produce extra amounts of cortisol, a stress hormone. It increases glucose levels in your bloodstream and helps produce substances that repair body tissues. However, its most common side effect is excess oil on your skin.
Too much oil clogs hair follicles, and this results in acne, zits, and pimples. Even those who have never had oily skin before tend to suffer from increased oil levels in times of stress. Dermatologists suggest using blotting paper and other products that help reduce the amount of oil on your skin.
Diet Changes
The changes in your diet can cause sudden excess oil production. In general, the type of foods you consume regularly can affect your skin, and it helps to know which foods contribute to your skin’s health.
- Fried food: fried food can cause oily skin since they contain high amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, which stimulate oil production.
- Sugar: food that has plenty of sugar causes inflammation in the body, which triggers greater oil production.
- Dairy: food like cheese, milk, and yogurt can clog your skin up, triggering more oil production. You can instead try soy and almond milk.
- Salt: too much salt can dehydrate your skin. As a result, your sebaceous glands will overproduce sebum.
- Alcohol: alcoholic beverages can also dehydrate your skin. To compensate for the fluid loss, your body will then produce excessive amounts of oil.
Hormones
Internal and external factors can cause hormonal changes in your skin, which can lead to an imbalance in hormonal levels. This triggers your sebaceous glands to produce excessive amounts of oil.
Specifically, androgens are the primary hormones that cause excessive oil production. During puberty, a lot of people experience oily skin because androgen production is much higher. To combat this, you can take certain vitamins for oily skin and eat healthy food.
Skincare Routine
Taking care of your skin also needs balance. When your daily skincare routine is too harsh over-exfoliating, for example can trigger overproduction of oil.
Using the wrong skincare routine can have negative effects on your skin. The same goes for skipping moisturizers and not wearing sunscreen when going out. It’s best to choose oil-free and non-comedogenic labels when buying skincare products.
Medications
Certain types of medicines and drugs can also trigger oily skin. For instance, using hormonal birth control pills and hormonal replacement therapy can lead to excessive oil production. Meanwhile, other types of drugs can lead to drier skin.
In both cases, your skin will try to overcompensate and overproduce oil. Over-the-counter medicines can also have the same effects.
Age
The amount of oil and sebum your body produces varies greatly throughout your life. At birth, the body produces high levels of sebum. It then decreases shortly after.
As mentioned, during puberty, sebum production drastically rises. Males produce up to five times more sebum than females at this period, so they’re more prone to breakouts and oily skin. At the same time, females also experience higher sebum production rates during ovulation; production doesn’t decline until after menopause.
In general, aging causes sebaceous glands to reduce sebum output. This explains why older people’s skin becomes dry. Fine lines and wrinkles appear and become more noticeable over time.
Climate and Weather Conditions
Changes in climate and weather can also result in oily skin. As the fluctuation of heat and humidity happens throughout the seasons, skin oiliness also changes accordingly.
This explains why some people are prone to oily skin, larger pores, and a shinier complexion during the spring and summer months. During the winter months, the skin tends to be drier than normal, triggering more oil production, too.
Skin Disorder
You may also be suffering from a skin disorder, such as seborrheic dermatitis, which causes your body to produce excess oils in different parts of your body. This disorder can develop at any time during your life.
Seborrheic dermatitis can also be a side effect of other diseases such as Parkinson’s, depression, and heart conditions.
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