Which Mattifying Moisturizer Works Best for Oily/Combination Skin? Tested Them and Here Are the Results

My skincare journey is a long and at some points, a painful one, and only now after so many years and tests and fails, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If my experience with handling oily/combination skin can help and inspire a struggling person, I am more than happy to share it. As a teenager, I had occasionally a few pimples on my T-zone. I had ALWAYS, at all time 1-2 big pimples on different parts of my T-zone, but mostly on my chin. I would use very harsh exfoliants, even scrubbing ones, all kind of acne-treatments on ALL my skin, without understanding that there are different areas that need different treatment. I would strip my skin of natural oils with anti-bacterial soaps, following with astringent toners/lotions making my skin looking and feeling worse over time. This would have a big role in my confidence as I was not allowed to wear makeup in school. And I would continue to use products that are stripping my skin from sebum, only to produce more sebum, more pimples, more redness, more sensitive skin. After years and years, I understood that oily skin needs hydration and balance, a protective skin barrier before any spot treatment. The hydration needs to be done immediately after cleansing, not to drag a fast response from the oily skin that needs immediately it’s sebum back. The hydration needs to last all day until the next cleanse and needs to be done with light texture products, that will not clog pores or sit on top of the skin in a heavy layer, that will not let it breathe. The ingredients are also very important. They need to be tested for sensitive skin, preferable not to have perfume and definitely not contain alcohol. Key ingredients and best for oily skin include: hyaluronic acid, that brings hydration without clogging pores- search for the smallest molecules formulation possible, multi molecular weights and always apply on damp skin to lock in moisture, and niacinamide (B3 vitamin)- for calming skin and reducing excess oil, just test it locally because there are some persons with sensitive skin that can’t use it. Stay away from heavy oils, comedogenic products like mineral oils, coconut oil. About all natural ingredients products, I have my own experience to tell that not all 100% vegan, clean products made my skin better, some of them on the contrary. I’ve had irritations, redness and even acne after using some natural ingredients product. I’ve come to the conclusion that for an everyday skincare before makeup, my T-zone, where I am oily, have large pores, even pimples, I need to have HYDRATION that KEEPS SEBUM UNDER CONTROL. I need to use a MATTYFING MOISTURIZER. 

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It is very important to understand and accept that mattifying PRIMERS cannot be worn on an everyday basis. Most mattifying primers contain alcohol and other components that for a short term, they help absorb and even stop sebum production, but on the long run, they dry down the skin and make you produce even more sebum and create an imbalance that ads only to the problem. So for everyday use, go for a mattifying moisturizer, to keep sebum on a certain level of control and on special occasions only, have the primer just after the serum and foundation on top of it. A mattifying moisturizer will not give you the exact effect as the primer, but you need to take things in proportion and think for the long term, that our skin needs hydration and care. Here are the mattifying moisturizers I have tried so far and how they performed for my oily T-zone, the most problematic one.