Disclosure: This post is Sponsored by Trophy Skin. Oily skin is my own with a lifetime of experience to provide the advice.

I've had oily skin my whole life. When I was in my teens and 20's I thought the best I could do was to always have blotting papers handy or to keep reapplying mattifying power. Sometimes keeping your skin routine simple is the best way to start improving your skin. Follow these tips, and you're on your way to diminishing the oil, keeping your pores clear and cutting down on the break-outs.

1. Take Your Makeup Off Each Night

This is a no-brainer, but also the lazy girl in me doesn't always abide by this very obvious skin care rule. Sometimes we're out late with friends and just want to crash in bed once home regardless of the full face of makeup and other times the wing on your cat eye is so on point that you want to try to keep it intact for a refresh the next day. (Trust me, I've been there.) Layers of makeup being rubbed into your skin while tossing and turning is just putting yourself in the fast lane to a breakout. Take the time to remove the makeup, it'll pay off.

2. Wash Your Face Daily

Washing your face, even if you weren't wearing makeup, is important for clearing away all of the environmental elements that can wreak havoc on our skin. Use a cell phone? You're rubbing dirt on the side of your face. Touch your face during the day? You're putting bacteria on your skin. Only washed your sheets last week? You're rolling around in dead skin. (Gross.) You get the point. A foaming face wash is best for oily skin as it'll cleanse away the excess sebum without stripping your face of the oils it needs to stay hydrated.

3. Exfoliate Twice Per Week

Oily skin is more than just a greasy face. It means clogged pores, being prone to breakouts and blackheads in what seems like an endless cycle. While cleansing your face is key to preventing breakouts, exfoliation is the best friend you never knew you needed. Unclogging your pores helps prevent larger pores in the future (and no, you cannot turn back time on your pores - once they're large, there is no magic method to shrink them.) If you're looking for a simple but effective way to do this, check out my review of Trophy Skin's LaBelle Ultrasonic Skin Spatula (and the promo code for 15% off.)

4. Wear a Gel-Based Moisturizer

Creams tend to be too heavy for oily skin and gels seem to provide the perfect amount of moisture. I love the light texture of a gel moisturizer and how quickly it absorbs into skin. Gels also give skin a bit of a mattifying effect instead of contributing to that highly coveted oil slick look. (Complete, and utter sarcasm.)

5. Wash Your Pillowcase Twice Per Week

Sure, we all know we should be washing our sheets at least once per week, but that pillowcase becomes a petri dish pretty quickly if not washed more frequently. Oils, not only from your face but your hair, blend in with shedding skin, bacteria and makeup (if you forgo tip #1) to create an environment ripe for pore clogging. While most skin experts say it's best to sleep on your back and avoid your face touching the pillow altogether, let's be real - those of us who sleep on our sides and bellies cannot change our ways (nor do we really want to.) Prevention is key and unfortunately having oily skin means we have to put in a little more effort to keep our skin clear and blemish free - something our future selves will be grateful for. Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram.

This is a Sponsored post. Opinions are my own. 

As you get older, your skin care needs change. With so many products vying for our attention, it's easy to get overwhelmed. So how do you narrow it down? I recently was given the opportunity to have a 30 minute skin care consultation with Jan Marini. Jan Marini is a leading educator, innovator, and skincare product researcher. I've never actually prioritized my skin care issues, so having the ability to chat with Jan really helped me to understand how to be selective when choosing the right products for my needs.

Skin Concerns

Mature skin (40+) Sun damage with Melasma-like patches and dark spots Deep and fine wrinkles Some areas of skin redness Sagging skin, especially under the eyes and jowls and neck Large pores on and around my nose Honestly, I could've totally picked apart my skin and gave her even more things I wish would change, but decided to stick to the primary concerns.

Skin Care Product Recommendations

Based on the above, Jan recommended her Skin Care Management System in addition to two extra products. (All pictured above.) These products included: BIOGLYCOLIC® FACE CLEANSER, C-ESTA® SERUM, BIOCLEAR® LOTION, TRANSFORMATION FACE CREAM, ANTIOXIDANT DAILY FACE PROTECTANT SPF 33, Hyla3D, and Marini Luminate® Face Lotion.

In talking with Jan, she's not a fan of manually scrubbing your face to exfoliate, as it creates other issues like inflammation and micro-tears and scarring. Jan recommends resurfacing. Resurfacing goes after superficial imperfections – fine lines, acne, tackles roscea, skin texture issues; it gives that glow to skin.

Resurfacing uses an acid, like glycolic acid (the smallest alpha hydroxy acid), which stimulates collagen. You may know resurfacing by another term, chemical exfoliation. Chemical, what the what? It doesn't mean it's bad. All things are chemical after all, like dihydrogen monoxide... or as us common folks know it - water.

But back to chemical exfoliants. So I've already mentioned glycolic acid, which is my fave because it melts away the build up in your pores, however, Jan Marini's Bioclear Lotion does a hat trick with a combination of glycolic, salicylic and azelaic acid. I have combination to oily skin, so this is perfect for my skin type and tackles a multitude of sins (fine lines, wrinkles, redness, acne scarring, large pores and uneven texture.)

Jan told me that it is for this very reason, that her Bioclear Lotion is her hero product. It is can used by many different skin types while covering a large majority of skin concerns. Something to note about the Bioclear Lotion - it's more of a serum consistency than a lotion (see photo above.) You only need 2 drops to cover your face and neck, so a little goes a long way. The Hyla3D and Marini Luminate® Face Lotion are must-haves for aging skin. Pro-active skin care should begin in your early 20's, as that is when you begin to lose hyaluronic acid. So by the time you're in your 40's, you're really feeling and seeing it by way of volume loss and fine lines and wrinkles. 

Hyla3D restores moisture back to the skin and reduces the appearance of those lines. Her Face Lotion contains non-staining tumeric to lighten pigmentation and retinol. Just for the record, at this age there is no reversal of lines and wrinkles. Even Botox is just a temporary fix. So finding the right skin care products that help minimize are important, just as much as avoiding the ones that contribute to exacerbating your skin issues.

Jan Marini Skin Research has been around for 23 years. Constantly researching, developing innovative and transformative products from the beginning – technologies that have medical validations - are how Jan and her team create products that are truly effective.

Jan told me that she reads medical journals because there is a lot that relates to how we age, such as diabetes. She has a dedication to marketplace, education, and wanting to provide technologies that truly address skin care issues, not just cover them up.

We were both on the same page that you should see your skin as an investment and as such, really do the research on the products that would benefit you most. I explained that I would much rather use a $100 product that gets it right the first time than to buy five $20 products that are ineffective, waste my time and end up collecting dust in my cabinet.
I learned quite a bit during this consultation, such as that you need to use a separate sunscreen from your moisturizer and that they should not be in the same product. Sunscreen in moisturizer would have to be the majority of the product, which means you are doing more protecting than moisturizing and as such, you may then think a product doesn't work because it hasn't addressed your skin's lack of moisture and abandon it.

We live in a want it now world and have high standards for our skin care products. Must fade discoloration, clear out blackheads, hydrate where necessary, mattify in the T-zone, reverse wrinkles, prevent sun damage and bake us a cake.

While some of the products Jan Marini has does address a lot of issues, she was very firm that sunscreen has to be worn on its own to help protect the skin from future damage.

Which, by the way, if you have a lot of hyperpigmentation and dark spots like I do, you will want to try her C-ESTA Face Serum. It has Vitamin C and DMAE. It's very liquidy in texture (so not really what you are used to for serum), but its thin consistency makes it great to be able to use a little and spread out across your face/neck.

So far I really like her products. I've only been using them twice per day for a month now. Having been around the block and knowing that addressing skin care issues, especially hyperpigmentation, takes a good 10-12 weeks. Give it a try for yourself.

I love mud masks for my combination skin. Seriously, having an oily t-zone makes your skin feel so dirty already, so why not get messy and clean it up with a little mud? I've had the chance to try out ClarityRx Rehab Mediterranean Detoxifying Mud Mask for about a month now and my skin is feeling amazing. I'll be honest, when I received this 2oz jar, I really thought it was sample or travel size. To my surprise, this is full size. For $27 that's a little on the pricey side, but I'm hesitant to baulk at the pricetag because this mud mask really is fabulous. This mud mask jiggles like jelly in the jar and has a sponge-like feeling when you touch it. When you scoop it with your finger, it's gel-like. It's easy to apply it in a thick layer, and I highly recommend that you do, as it dries relatively quickly. Despite all the adjectives - it is indeed mud, and feels like that once applied. Upon opening the jar, your senses will be transported to the spa. ClarityRx Rehab Mediterranean Detoxifying Mud Mask has all of the ingredients that oily and combination skin types desire: Mediterranean Mud, Dead Sea Mud, Kaolin, Bentonite, and Dead Sea Salt. The very first ingredient is aloe vera gel, which explains the jelly-like texture. I slathered on this mask after cleansing my face. It says to wait about 10-15 minutes before rinsing, but the max I could do was 10 minutes. This mud mask dries incredibly quickly, and as it does, it gets very tight on your skin. I used luke warm water on a wash cloth to wipe it off and it did take a little elbow grease to do so. After rinsing my face, my skin felt baby soft and the oiliness was gone. Success! I then went on with my usual skin care routine, which seemed to amplify how great my skin felt. Instructions state that you can use this mask 1-2 times per week. I only do it once a week so as not to over-dry my skin, which would then send oil production into overdrive and it soon becomes a vicious cycle. I really like this detoxifying mud mask - I just wish it came in a bigger jar! Have you tried it? Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Disclosure: Product sent by PR, affiliate links.