Great skin is not just about good genes, but our daily habits. In fact, our skincare routine has a large impact on how we look. More importantly, everyone should know what their particular skin type is.
The right skin care routine starts with knowing your skin type. Skin care products that are one size fits all rarely work, it’s because your skin needs tailored products and solutions based on your skin type.
1. Oily skin
The skin secretes natural oils to keep itself moisturized, but for people with oily skin this process can go into overdrive, especially if they have larger pores.
The bigger the pore, the more active the oil glands, and the more active the oil glands, the more they’ll secrete. This can translate to an oily film on your face throughout the day, as well as frequent breakouts. You’re prone to oily skin if you notice that when you apply moisturizer, and almost anything you apply, you break out.
2. Dry skin
The number one sign that you have dry skin is if it appears dull and lifeless. Dry skin looks dull because it’s often covered in a layer of dead skin cells. Light reflects off these rough skin cells in all different directions, whereas if your skin is hydrated, it has a smooth surface that reflects light evenly, and so appears more radiant.
Many factors can lead to dry skin, including sun exposure, hot showers and over-exfoliating with products like salicylic or glycolic acid.
3. Sensitive skin
Sensitive skin is skin prone to inflammation. People with sensitive skin may have acne, rosacea or contact dermatitis, a type of red, itchy rash. Sensitive skin may also be especially prone to stinging or burning.
People with sensitive skin may have overreactions to certain ingredients and, for that reason, they should avoid overly harsh compounds in all their beauty products beyond skin care.
4. Combination skin
There’s not a universal definition for combination skin and some dermatologists think it’s not a true skin type like oily or dry. Skin type can change seasonally and combination means you are dry in winter and oily in summer. Some people incorrectly use it to mean oily in the T-zone but this is classified as an oily skin type.
Other dermatologists argue that combination skin is a distinct skin type characterised by varying amounts of oil production on the face. Combination skin tends to be oilier in the forehead and nose where you have more oil glands, and drier on the cheeks. Sometimes around the mouth can be both dry and oily and more sensitive in general.
5. Normal skin
As with combination skin, it’s tricky to define normal skin. “Normal” just means whatever is normal for you.You have your normal, so your normal will be combination, dry or oily and if you want to make a category, normal skin is skin that can tolerate most things without overreacting.
There is no medical definition of normal skin, but broadly speaking, it could mean that the skin is healthy and well hydrated. Normal skin makes enough sebum to hydrate the skin, so, in reality, normal skin is oily skin with just enough sebum production to keep skin healthy.
