How to avoid a shiny T-zone

If you need to beat the shiny T-zone just remember the Three Ps for dealing with excess oil when you're wearing makeup.

A shiny T-zone is a problem for lots of people. If you have oily skin or combination skin you probably deal with an oily T-zone on the daily. Even those dry-skinned people sometimes find they get oil in the forehead and chin area. Everyone will need to deal with it differently. There are a few ways to combat the shine. To mattify, I turn to the Three Ps: preparation, primers and powders.

Depending on your skin type and the amount of sebum you are dealing with you will need to treat it differently. Oily skin will obviously have shine issues. When your skin is dry or combination it can be more difficult to deal with. When you tackle one problem if can aggravate the other. Using greasy moisturisers will worsen the oil slick but you still need lots of hydration. Here's how we use the Three Ps for each skin type.

Oily Skin

If you have oily skin and you want to combat that shiny T-zone prepare with a hydrating serum and a hydrating mist as opposed to a greasy moisturiser. That will hydrate your skin so that it doesn't compensate for dehydration by over-producing sebum. Use a mattifying primer specific for oily skin. Mattifying primers spread sebum more evenly across the skin so that you don't get shiny patches. Then powder all over with a great mineral setting powder. After your regular powder, carry a blotting powder with you. Blotting powder takes away shine but it's completely translucent so it doesn't build up on your makeup and look cakey.

Dry/Combination Skin

If you are the owner of dry skin it can be difficult to deal with the shiny patches. Combination skin is much the same. Products that are specifically for shine will often dry out your skin more. For dry skin, prepare with lots of hydration. A great vitamin C serum is a good start. Then, use your usual moisturiser over it. After that, use a hydrating brightening primer. Finally, set your foundation with a mineral powder that doesn't contain any talc. Talc is a drying ingredient that will cause flaky skin and make your skin overproduce sebum. For combination skin which will have more oil present, a blotting powder down the centre of the face after your mineral powder should keep it at bay.