Although having oily skin and acne at the same time is typical, many people also report that they have dry skin and acne at the same time. Others say their skin is dry underneath and oily on top, or that it's flaky at the surface but oily underneath. It's hard enough to treat acne and oily skin, but tackling these other issues at the same time is infuriating and confusing!

We're not going to say there are easy solutions to these dilemmas; however, with some detective work, facts, and fine-tuning your skin-care routine you can get beautiful results you'll see in the mirror every day. Let's figure this out together!

Do You Really Have Oily and Dry Skin, and Acne?

First, keep in mind that age is not a factor for having acne or other types of breakouts. Just because you're no longer a teenager doesn't mean you won't break out. Even if you didn't break out or have acne as a teen, it doesn't mean you're in the clear (pun intended) as an adult. The ebb and flow of hormones (especially in women) can bring on breakouts during adulthood just as the surge of hormones triggers teenage acne.
If you're struggling with oily skin, dry skin, and acne, then in all likelihood your skin-care routine is the major cause of the problem. Using drying soaps or harsh scrubs, overdoing cleansing brushes like the Clarisonic, applying toners with alcohol or other irritating ingredients (think witch hazel or menthol), not using lightweight moisturizers (think gels) that contain healing ingredients, and not using sunscreen daily all add up to a disaster for your skin. (Surprise: Not using sunscreen contributes to numerous skin problems because it hurts the skin's ability to heal.) Your skin simply cannot survive the onslaught of such an assault or neglect—increased oil production, dryness, and breakouts are practically inevitable! In short, the wrong skin-care routine or overdoing things can cause skin to be both oily and dry, often in the same areas. The products you use matter a lot!
If all that weren't enough, lots of companies sell acne treatments that are loaded with extremely irritating and drying ingredients, which no one should ever apply to their skin because they only make matters worse. So, between a detrimental skin-care routine and products that contain irritating ingredients, it isn't surprising you have dry skin on top (or underneath) adding to the other concerns you're dealing with.
Another possible cause of dry skin in combination with oily, acne-prone skin is that anti-acne treatments, both over-the-counter and prescription, can be drying if used too often or if you apply too much at once—perhaps because you think if a little bit is good the more must be better. Numerous studies have shown—with valid scientific research-based certainty—that salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide are essential anti-acne ingredients, and so companies often include these two proven ingredients in their products (that's good), but both of these can have side effects when combined with ingredients like alcohol, menthol, witch hazel, peppermint, eucalyptus, or sulfur (that's bad). Your skin will suffer if you apply these ingredients on a regular basis, even if they're accompanied by good ingredients. Check out our list of Best Anti-Acne Products for gentle, yet effective recommendations—and consider adjusting frequency of application if even well-formulated anti-acne products make your skin drier.

The gold-standard topical disinfectant, benzoyl peroxide can be drying for some people, especially if they start right away using a 10% concentration rather than a lower 2.5% concentration to see how their skin responds to it. Those are some of the issues, but there's still a couple more to think about.…

What to Do When You Still Have Acne and Dry Skin

If you've tried all of our recommendations—using a gentle skin-care routine, eliminating products that contain irritating ingredients, experimenting with proven acne treatments to see which combination works best for you, adjusting the frequency of application so as not to overdo it, and applying skin-healthy ingredients in lightweight gels, serums, thin lotions, or toners—and you still have dry skin and acne, there is another approach to consider.
Despite the fact that excess oil is a chief contributing factor for acne breakouts, a small percentage of people find themselves with truly dry skin and acne. In fact, they have almost no surface oil, blackheads, or visible pores at all. They struggle to find a moisturizer that addresses the needs of their dry skin without aggravating breakouts, and continually worry that anything they try to get the breakouts under control will make their dry skin even drier. This scenario can be a paralyzing dilemma when shopping for skin-care products!
Here's what you need to know: All the recommendations we make above still apply, but you may need a moisturizer that is more appropriate for dry skin and not oily or combination skin. For example, you might need a mix of anti-acne treatments suitable for dry skin along with one of the Paula's Choice moisturizers and serums from our Moisture Boost, Skin Recovery, or Resist product lines.

Acne-prone, oily skin is a stubborn combination of problems that can occur at almost any age, and it's always emotionally distressing. When you add dry skin to the mix, it becomes even more of a challenge to identify the cause and then find a solution, while also avoiding products that are likely to make matters worse. Following what our detective work revealed can lead to clearer skin, minus the red bumps, flakes, and shine—without making dry skin worse. Now that's the ideal balance!

Blackheads are dark tiny bumps on skin. They are a mild type of acne and are medically known as open comedones. Interestingly, the black color of these comedones is not due to dirt.They appear dark and black in color as the sebum is exposed to the oxygen in air. Though slightly raised, unlike pimples, blackheads are not painful or inflamed.

More often than not, they appear as enlarged pores and black spots, especially around the nose, chin, and cheeks.They are caused by a buildup of excess sebum and dead skin cells leading to blocked skin pores. Thus, this problem is more common in individuals with oily skin or combination skin.

Excess oil production, in turn, is caused by a number of factors like hormonal changes, genetic predisposition, stress, intake of certain medications, environmental factors, and so on.Furthermore, improper skin care is another important reason leading to blackheads. For instance, using too much makeup, oil, or oil-based creams increase your chances of developing this problem.

How to Get Rid of Blackheads

Given below are 9 effective solutions for eliminating blackheads from your skin.

• Taking facial steam every week or every alternate week is highly beneficial for opening your skin pores and softening the sebum plugs causing blackheads. For this, you can place your face over a bowl of hot water for about 10-15 minutes. You may add dried herbs or a few drops of essential oils in boiling water to increase the effectiveness of this procedure. Facial steaming and application of warm compresses makes it easier to remove the blackheads. Thus, use this procedure before applying any face mask to eliminate this problem.
• Exfoliate your skin with an oatmeal mask to get rid of blackheads. To prepare the mask, add sufficient green tea or chamomile tea in a tablespoon of colloidal oatmeal to form a thin paste. You can make your own colloidal oatmeal at home by grinding rolled oats or quick oats in a food processor or coffee grinder to get a fine powder. After rinsing off the oatmeal mask from your face, dab hydrogen peroxide on the affected area with the help of a cotton ball.
• Mash a few strawberries to get two tablespoons of strawberry pulp. Mix a teaspoon of honey in this pulp to form a paste. Apply it on your face and neck. Rinse it off after 20 minutes.
• There is another interesting homemade peel off mask prepared by mixing half a cup of lemon juice, orange juice, or tomato juice and a packet of plain gelatin. You can heat this mixture either on a stovetop or in a microwave for about 15 seconds. Leave it to set for about five minutes. Finally, brush it lightly on your face, particularly around your nose with a makeup brush or a small paintbrush and peel it off when it dries.
• Whisk an egg white and apply a thin layer on your face, especially around the nose. When it dries, spread another layer. Let it dry for about 15 minutes. Finally, scrub it off with a warm, wet washcloth to reduce blackheads naturally. You can follow this procedure once or twice a week.
• Use an over-the-counter cream or lotion containing benzoyl peroxide to get rid of blackheads. You can use it about two times in a day for about four to six weeks. Before applying the cream, though, make sure your clean your face thoroughly. You can also use retinoids and cleansers containing salicylic acid.
• Take half a cup of boiling water and add one teaspoon of Epsom salt and three drops of iodine in it. Dip a cotton ball in this solution and apply it on the affected areas to treat blackheads.
• Using blackhead strips or pore strips can be an effective way to improve blackheads and plugged pores. Besides, you can opt for comedone extractors that help remove blackheads through suction.
• If nothing else works, then you may consider cosmetic procedures like laser or light therapy. In case you are interested in a non-invasive procedure then you may try chemical peels or microdermabrasion.

Tips to Prevent Blackheads

• Wash your face two times in a day to remove the accumulation of excess oil and dead skin cells from the pores, thereby reducing the chances of developing blackheads.
• Exfoliate your skin regularly. However, do not scrub your face excessively. Plus, do not use abrasive body scrubs on delicate facial skin.
• Avoid using greasy cosmetic as well as hair care products.

For years i have had bad acne and scaring. I have used almost all the tricks in the book until i came across information on what is called the Oil Cleansing Method. I saw success stories and it seemed not only simple but also cheap! Expensive brands claiming to fix acne do work for some time but then dry your face out and eventually stop working. I was tired of a flaky/oily face and the caked on make-up to cover it all up. 

So here is the AMAZING Oil Cleansing Method:

 "Using oil to wash my face is probably the last thing I would think of. After reading about oil-cleansing, it all began to make sense.

Our skin produces oil in order to function properly. When we use harsh or even mild facial cleaners/lotions/products they strip our face of it’s natural oils. Our skin is then forced to compensate by producing more oil. An over production of oil will clog our pores- causing acne-and leave our skin feeling/looking oily. I normally would wash my face (with Cetaphil) at 6:15am and it would get oily by 8:30am!"

There are many reasons why our skin can benefit from oil-cleansing.

1. Oil dissolves oil
2. It will dissolve the oil that has hardened throughout the day and stuck in your pores
3. Naturally keeps your skin supple and moisturized
4. Easily removes make up
5. Cheaper than buying facial products
6. It’s a cleanser, make-up remover and moisturizer all in one!
7. Helps even out skin tone
8. 100% Natural

Recommendations:

• For those with normal skin use a 1:1 ratio of Castor Oil(cold-pressed) and EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

• For those with acne-prone or oily skin use a 3:1 ratio of Castor Oil (cold pressed)and EVOO. (This is what I've been using)

• For those with drier skin start off with a 1:3 ratio of Castor Oil (cold-pressed) and EVOO

I keep my oil in a small container with 3 Tbs of Castor Oil and 1 Tbs of EVOO – it lasts about 2 weeks.

You can use several different types of oil, but after some comparing, I went with a combination of 70% Castor Oil (Make sure it’s cold-pressed) and 30% Extra Virgin Olive Oil. My reason is because Castor Oil is great at pulling  out all of the dirt/build-up, and Extra Virgin Olive Oil is very nourishing and moisturizing. It also has the same PH as human skin.

The routine goes like this:

1. Let your faucet run, so the water gets pretty hot. 
2. Gently rub a quarter size amount on your face for about a minute. Make sure to massage it in and not scrub it.
3. Run a washcloth under the faucet. (This part is important, because it has to be hot enough to cause a steaming effect that helps to remove the dirt form your pores.) Leave the washcloth over your face until it’s cooled down, about a minute.
4. Gently wipe off the oil using the washcloth.
5. Your skin will probably look nice an supple and will probably be a little red from the steam.

I have been using this method for about a month now and i am so happy with it. My skin isnt half as oily, my make-up looks great all afternoon. My acne has decreased significantly, only a few pimple here and there and even then they clear up within a day or two. My scaring is also going away. You really should see results within a few days. I use this method at night and in the morning i wash my face with Mary Kay Timewise because it helps prevent wrinkles and really makes your skin feel great.