These Oil-Blotting Papers Will Soak Up Every Drop of Grease on Your Face

It can feel like a never-ending battle to prevent midafternoon greasiness when you have very oily skin as I do. Sure, we can dust our faces with setting powder or spritz on setting spray, but makeup artists say oil-blotting paper, also known as blotting sheets, is the most convenient and mess-free way to reduce oil throughout the day.

To help you understand why blotting paper is the most underrated way to make oil and shine a thing of the past, I connected with a few beauty experts to learn more about how to shop for and use them. Each pick on our list has earned hundreds of glowing Amazon reviews — so you know they're reliable on even your worst days. As a bonus, the makeup artists I spoke to revealed their favorite oil-blotting papers that they've relied on for years.

Best Blotting Papers

What Is Blotting Paper?

These pocket-sized beauty power players are about the size of a business card and are typically made from gentle rice paper, cellulose, bamboo, abaca leaf, or hemp. They're available in various colors but become less opaque as they absorb the oil on your face. Makeup artist Jenna Apel and facial plastic surgeon Dr. Jaimie DeRosa, M.D., adore blotting paper because they soak up oil from the top layer of the skin without disturbing the rest of your makeup.

Best Ingredients

DeRosa likes blotting papers enhanced with skincare-quality ingredients, like charcoal to purify pores, green tea extract to soothe the skin and prevent free-radical damage, and willow bark to exfoliate, purify, and unclog pores. Other blotting papers are infused with powder to help soak up excess oil and provide a light layer of coverage.

How to Use

After removing a single blotting paper from the packaging, gently press it onto your face and roll it onto the greasy areas of your face. Typically, one sheet can soak up most of the oil on your face, but if you have very oily skin or if the papers are very thin, you'll likely use two or three blotting papers.

Frequency

DeRosa suggests using blotting paper once a day to prevent your skin from assuming that it’s dehydrated. “Your skin thinks it needs more oil if you’re drying it out with over-use of the blotting papers, so it tries to do a ‘good job’ and increase the oil production,” says DeRosa. “It’s similar to what can happen if one uses skin care products that dry-out oily or acne-prone skin — the skin responds by increasing its production of sebum (skin oil).”

Expert Tips

• After blotting, mist your face with a hydrating face spray to cut down on shine without stripping your skin of hydration.
• Don't place a used blotting paper back into the original packaging because you'll spread germs.
• Always wash your hands after using blotting paper.
• Avoid using the same blotting paper to prevent spreading acne-causing bacteria all over your face.

Ready for a matte complexion? Here are all of the best blotting papers beauty professionals actually use.