If you face acne, breakouts, as well as combination, and oily skin issues like dehydration, you can add some of these affordable products into your skincare routine.
These are highly recommended by beauty bloggers drugstore (under 20$) skincare products for acne that include face mask, face wash, and moisturizer for oily skin.
Before talking about the products I want to mention the ingredients that you really want to focus on when you’re trying to find products for acne and oily skin.
The first one is tea tree oil, it’s natural, it’s anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and it also helps to kill off the acne causing bacteria. You can use it as a natural spot treatment. But make sure when you do, you dilute the tea tree oil with a few drops of a low-comedogenic carrier oil like grapeseed oil, hemp seed oil, or jojoba oil. Mix a few drops of this oil with one drop of tea tree oil and then just like dab it on.
The second is salicylic acid. Which is probably something you’ve heard about if you do have oily, acne-prone skin. Salicylic acid is a BHA, and it works by softening the keratin in the skin. The skin is more easily turned over, which means like new baby skin is going to the surface, which then reduces the potential of your pores getting clogged. Salicylic acid penetrates oily skin because it is oil soluble. Compared to AHA’s which are water soluble, which means it can’t go into the deeper areas of the pores and help clean them out and kill the bacteria in them.
Now let’s talk about the products. All these are the products that are drugstore prices. In the drugstore they have a lot of great cleansers and moisturizers for oily skin, not so much serums, because serums are very concentrated for specific concerns on your skin, and you have to pay a little bit extra. So it will go from face wash to serum, moisturizers, and face masks for acne-prone and oily skin.
7 Best skincare products for acne-prone oily skin
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Medicated Gel Cleanser
This one has a 2% salicylic acid, but it also has 0.05% micro exfoliating LHA. LHA stands for lipohydroxy acid, kind of a relative of salicylic acid, and it works to fight acne by lifting out dead skin cells from the skin surface. The only difference is it doesn’t penetrate as deeply as salicylic acid, which also means on the good side that it’s better for sensitive skin, or skin that’s easily irritated.
It’s a clear gel that’s quite runny, and then it foams up really nicely on the face, and when you wash it off, it’s still very comfortable and smooth. Just make sure you cleanse your face for a good amount of time in order to wash acids off your skin. Give it like 2 minutes, so that the ingredients can really seep in and do their job in your pores, and then you wash it off. Works perfect for oily skin.
The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution
This is a buffet of different AHA’s, it’s got lactic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, glycolic acid, and all of these, as the title suggests, are AHA’s which helps to decongest the pores, it helps to break down dead skin. It also has Tasmanian pepperberry, which is super high in antioxidants, and also helps protect your skin from harmful UV rays.
About once a week you apply a thin layer to dry but clean skin while avoiding the eye and mouth areas, wait for 10 minutes, and then you just rinse it off completely and keep going with your skincare routine. It’s best used at night.
I wouldn’t recommend you jump into this if you haven’t used any chemical exfoliants, but this is definitely okay for those who are moderate in it.
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion
This drugstore moisturizer has three essential ceramides and hyaluronic acid. Yes, it says “for normal to dry skin”, but it’s very lightweight, it absorbs very quickly into the skin. It’s just white, has no fragrance, very watery, comfortable, it’s perfect for oily skin. And you also can use this on the body, especially for the neck.
Differin Oil Absorbing Moisturizer with Sunscreen SPF 30
It’s the oil control moisturizer with sunscreen, and it’s for acne prone skin. The key ingredient in it is adapalene, this is a derivative of vitamin A, a.k.a. retinol. It says absorbs excess oil and won’t clog pores, and it has UVA and UVB protection, so it has all the things that you really want in a day moisturizer for oily skin type. It really does absorb excess oil when you apply it, it does have that kind of sunscreen-y look, but it doesn’t stay there, and doesn’t feel greasy.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost gel-cream
This is designed for extra dry skin, but it really can work for oily skin people. It’s laden with hyaluronic acid, and it’s still like a gel texture, it’s just a very thick gel, a little bit tackier and a little bit stickier. If you aren’t too sensitive in the winter, you can definitely try this one. It absorbs quickly, looks great under makeup. Use it after a toner, a serum and then lock it in with this.
The Body Shop Tea Tree Skin Clearing Clay Mask
This is a face mask for acne prone oily skin that has a tea tree oil, smells really good, and has perfect consistency. Two key ingredients are tamanu oil and kaolin clay.
Tamanu oil has recently been picking up a lot of traffic in the beauty-skincare industry over its magical properties, because it helps with reducing inflammation as well as acne scars, hyperpigmentation, and other skin conditions, while also simultaneously destroying acne-causing bacteria and just helping with the pain. It’s an ultimate healing ingredient that helps to heal even burns and cuts. So as an oil, that what it’s really good for, but it’s also inside this face mask as well.
And kaolin clay is one of those really good clays for oily skin, because it helps to absorb all the excess oil, without being too stripping on the face.
What you do is, just after cleansing your face, after shower, for example, put this straight on, leave it on for 10-15 minutes, then wash it off, and you feel like decongested straight away.
Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay
It’s 100% bentonite clay, and bentonite clay is the best, if you have super oily skin, because it really just pulls out all the toxins, all the oils. If you are really feeling gross on your skin or acne, you know, like hormonally, just put it on your face wherever you need it, and then it will be gone after a couple of days.
Also it’s great to mix it with apple cider vinegar. You mix the powder with apple cider vinegar, mix it around, and you’ll see that it starts bubbling, then you just apply it to the face. It smells kind of gross, but you get over it, because you know it’s good for you. When that dries, it’s really tight, it’s really pulling because it is soaking up everything.
You wash it off, and it might be a little bit red afterwards, if you do it all over your face, but that dissipates. It’s actually fine. And then you just proceed with skincare.
So these are the best recommended by beauty bloggers drugstore products for acne-prone oily skin. Everything is under 20$! Try them out and enjoy your skincare routine.