Nighttime routine for oily skin?

[KinseyMillhone]

Help!
My skin is quite oily, which I know is supposed to be a good thing as you age but just lately I look like shit .. fine lines round my eyes, skin's an uneven colour, spots that seem to leave holes, random bumps that I can't refrain from squeezing
Every now and then I try a night cream or serum and they just make me spotty - what can I do?
Oh, and I'm not a big spender on beauty stuff, but if you've got an expensive miracle product I want to hear about it!

[Nabootique]

Hello. A few questions:

How old are you?
What products have you tried so far? What made you spotty?
What is your current routine? Do you exfoliate?
When you squeeze the random bumps does anything come out of them? sounds gross but wondering if they are bumps or blocked pores, etc.
Have you had any changes in medication/diet/lifestyle recently?

Sorry for all the questions, but it does help narrow down the causes and recommendations!

[thefudgeling]

Your skin sounds like mine! I find it calms down if I do the following:
Hot cloth cleanse in the evening (I use superdrugs own brand).
No moisturiser/night cream at all (apart from tiny dab on any dry patches that appear in winter).
Mineral sunscreen only.
Don't touch your face too much.
Cut down in booze (sorry).

Hope that helps.

[KinseyMillhone]

Thanks Nabootique: I'm 39 in three weeks (sensitive time!), I've been using Nip+Fab glycolic face wash in the shower, sometimes St Ives invigorating scrub as well/instead, a mixture of micellar cleanser and baby wipes at night (if I'm feeling lazy). I can't remember a lot of the moisturisers I've tried, one from Aldi, a sort of swirly cream+serum, some Clarins things... I've been avoiding anything heavy like those for a while, so I'm not spotty atm (squeezing achieves nothing!) but if I use oil-free products I instantly get red, dry flaky patches. I've been using Olay Complete Care for years, it really seems to suit me, but I feel like there might be something better for overnight (and minus the SPF). Oh, and I try to use sun cream most days, the light and silky one, or a Factor 50 from Superdrug. Good tip about the mineral sunscreen fudgeling, is there one you'd recommend?
No major life changes, but not eating enough fruit and veg, too much sugar. Practically teetotal though!
I need to moisturise after cleansing, otherwise my skin feels really tight, though.
Hope I got all the questions! On my phone and can only see a tiny box Thanks so much for replying!

[Hopefully]

I have oily skin and I find using an oil at night, counter intuitively, makes things miles better. At the minute I am using Aurelia cell repair, but have also used trilogy rosehip oil (I know two people who have reacted to this, so maybe avoid if you are v sensitive) and Clarins lotus oil with great success. Use just two drops on damp skin.

I used to use an acid toner but I'm not convinced it was the best thing for my skin so I'm currently trying this, which promises similar effects without the inflammation potential of acid.

[ItsAllGoodMan]

I've got oily skin and have been having really good results from the Superdrug clearly youthful range. I use the day and night serums. Day serum is moisturising enough for me not to use any extra moisturiser on top.

For cleansing I use Superdrug hot cloth cleanser and an acid toner afterwards. I also use Nip Fab glycolic night pads every few nights.

My skin looks a lot brighter and less spotty since I started this routine, and it's a lot cheaper than the products I used to use!

[Fluffycloudland77]

Merumeya balm, double cleanse at night once in the morning.
La Roche posay effaclar duo but changing when it runs out because they test on animals for the Chinese market.
Nip + fab glycolic extreme pads 2-3 times a week.

[Nabootique]

I'd ditch the wash in the shower (and the scrub and wipes). The water will be too hot for your face and face washes can be stripping, which leads to the skin overcompensating with more oil. A cleanser removed with a flannel will exfoliate lightly and will be better for your skin. I really like the Boots Botanics Dual Action Hydra Cleanser (I think it's called!). Great budget option, and if you do prefer to rinse this will emulsify and rinse off.

The Nip+Fab Extreme pads as recommended by Fluffy are a really good buy for the price and will exfoliate more gently than a scrub. They also contain both AHA (good for fine lines and texture) and BHA (better for oily skins) so sound perfect for you.

You are right to avoid the heavy moisturisers. Like Hopefully says, an oil for oily skin is a good idea. To add to the recommendations, Caudalie C15 Polyphenol overnight oil is great (this is where you will want to spend the most money, I'd say. I haven't found a really good budget oil, certainly not for oily skin). Then use a light moisturiser. An oil free one I like is La Roche Posay Toleraine Fluide. I know you've said that oil free upsets your skin, but you need something light and you won't be lacking in oil due to the previous step.

See how you get on with the above. If the fine lines are still pronounced you might want to think about introducing a retinol product.

[KinseyMillhone]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! If I try the oily things should I expect to be quite oily for a few days until my skins learns not to overcompensate? (Would definitely put me off if I wasn't expecting it, and I really like to be squeaky clean!)

[Fluffycloudland77]

Mine didn't go oily.

[TheFuckersBitingMe]

I use oil based products on my oily skin and, weirdly, it's less oily than ever before.

Liz Earle hot cloth cleanse is better by far than scrub exfoliators, and Pixi tonic is fab, too. Bravura is meant to be brilliant, but I've only read about it rather than try it.

I use ESPA serum at night which is oily, but it leaves my skin lovely and plump and glowy by morning.

[Fannyfannakerpants]

I also use the superdrug hot cloth cleanser and nip and fab pads. I then use la roche possay effaclar moisturiser. I tried there toner and it was fine but the nip and fab is half the price. I'd love to use an oil and really have tried but my skin revolts. I've ran out of moisturiser and stupidly tried to find a new bb cream instead. I should just stick to what I know works instead of looking for better and wasting all of my money.

[Nabootique]

It is possible your skin might take a while to adjust in terms of oil production, but not always.