How To Determine Your Skin Type
It has come to my attention that most people don’t know how to properly assess their own skin type and conditions. If this crucial step isn’t done properly, then it’s very likely the wrong skin care products are being used.
There are 4 or 5 skin types, depending on who you talk to, and several skin conditions. Skin type is yours for life while the conditions can come and go.
Skin Type
This is the skin you are born with, and it mostly has to do with how much oil you produce. It will change slightly over your lifetime since we produce less oil as we age. Proper products will help you balance the skin, getting that water/oil combination just perfect.
You want to do this with a clean face, no products interfering. So wash everything off, wait 30-60 minutes and assess. All you’re really looking at is how your skin produces oil. Then we move on to conditions.
Dry Skin
This is skin lacking oil. Small pores, flaking skin and tightness are the common indicators. This skin type is fragile. You need a barrier of water and oil to protect the skin, but since the skin is deficient in oil, it’s more prone to sensitivity.
Normal Skin
Nothing much to say here, there’s a great oil/water balance. Skin has no really issues at all, maybe the occasional breakout or dry spot due to hormones or weather. A big mistake that happens with this skin type is the obsession with any change. One pimple means that they’ve “broken out”. One fine line means that they need aggressive anti-aging products over the entire face. Perspective is a bit lost. This skin type simply thrives on gentle exfoliation and regular hydration.
Combination
Slightly off from normal, this is usually larger pores on the nose area and more oil in the T-zone, but dry and tight on the cheeks. This can be a frustrating skin type to work with, very hard to balance. It usually takes a lot of trial and error. It’s usually best to go with creamy type cleanser and finish with an oil free moisturizer.
Oily Skin
This is usually the easiest to identify. Large pores, lots of oil, lots of shine. Oily does not mean acne, but they often go together as excess oil leads to build up in the pores. This type of skin is often thicker and requires more cleansing and exfoliating, but there’s a fine balance. You don’t want to over cleanse, which can cause irritation and redness. Using a water based hydrator will help to balance as well.
Sensitive
This is the iffy one. Some people say it’s a type and some say a condition. As I mentioned above, your skin type is with you for life, but skin conditions can be changed. A sensitive skin type knows it. These people are frightened of products. They’ve had uncomfortable reactions to most things; sometimes even mysteriously break out in a rash. Sensitized skin I’ve put in with the conditions post. I’ve written an entire post about this complex issue. You can see it here.
Next come the conditions. Any of which can be applied to any one of the skin types.
This is where skin care gets a bit complicated: an oily skin can be dehydrated, mature skin can have acne.
It’s juat a matter of narrowing it down.
Have you had problems identifying your skin type?
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6:56 pm on November 6th, 2009
[...] that you’ve determined your skin type, it’s time to take a look possible skin conditions you may [...]