If you want to take care of your skin, it’s important to know your skin type. Here’s how to find out.
You should establish a skincare routine.You may have picked up a couple of products that you use every now and then. But there’s a good chance that you don’t know your specific skin type and which kinds of products are best for it.
And if you’re not using the right products for your skin type, then you could be negating or even counteracting the benefits of doing skincare.
For example, if you have dry skin and use a product with drying ingredients, your skin will dry out even more, making matters worse.
Knowing your skin type can also help you diagnose problems more easily. For example, if you know you don’t have acne-prone skin but experience a breakout, you can examine other factors like diet and lifestyle.
Knowing which skin type you have has plenty of benefits, and don’t worry — it’s easy to figure out.
What Are the Most Common Skin Types?
First, look at the five major skin types and their characteristics:
Normal Skin
In dermatological terms, “normal” skin has balanced moisture levels. It’s not too dry or too oily.
The normal skin type is characterized by the absence of sensitivity, breakouts, or blemishes. Typically, people with normal skin have fairly small pores that don’t become clogged too easily.
Although normal skin has no big issues, it still requires regular maintenance in the form of a good skincare routine.
Oily Skin
Oily skin is caused by an overproduction of sebum, which is the main substance in the body’s natural oils.
When your body produces too much sebum , the skin develops a shiny look and a greasy feel. This tends to be most apparent throughout the T-zone (the collective name for the forehead, nose, and chin).
Although oily skin doesn’t wrinkle as easily, it comes with quite a few problems. Often, guys with oily skin suffer from pimples, blackheads, and blemishes, partially because they often have enlarged pores that get clogged easily.
Dry Skin
An underproduction of sebum causes dry skin. Here, the skin doesn’t create enough oil to stay hydrated, and that causes it to become rough and flaky.
Dry skin often feels tight and looks dull. It’s also much more prone to cracking than hydrated skin.
Guys with dry skin might experience itchiness, scaliness, and ashiness. The presence of fine lines can also be a sign of dry skin.
Combination Skin
Combination skin is characterized by oiliness in some spots and dryness in others. People with combination skin often experience oily T-zones and dry cheeks.
This skin type is arguably the most difficult one to deal with. Oiliness and dryness are polar opposites, so finding the right products can be a hassle, and you often have to use different products on different areas of your face.
Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin is often categorized as a skin type, but it’s more of a characteristic. Any skin type can be sensitive, though the condition is often associated with dry skin.
You probably have sensitive skin if your skin becomes easily irritated or inflamed from gentle skincare products. Symptoms often include redness, itchiness, and feelings of discomfort (e.g., burning, stinging, etc.)..
However, experiencing a strong reaction to a product doesn’t necessarily mean you have sensitive skin. True sensitive skin will become irritated from something as light as a shower.
In addition, people with sensitive skin often have other skin conditions like eczema and rosacea.
What About Acne-prone Skin?
Like sensitive skin, acne-prone skin is not so much a skin type as it is a quality of the skin — you can have oily or dry skin prone to acne.
This is why acne-prone skin isn’t one of the five skin types listed by the American Academy of Dermatology Association.
Acne-prone skin is especially susceptible to breakouts, and as a result, it’s often inflamed and bumpy.
How To Determine Your Skin Type
Are you curious about what skin type you have? You can use a technique called the wash method to find out.
The idea behind the wash method is to create a clean baseline that you can use to determine how your skin behaves naturally.
This is important because it’s hard to accurately determine your skin type if you’re not paying attention to your skin’s natural baseline.
In other words, experiencing bouts of oiliness or dryness doesn’t necessarily mean you have those skin types.
There are three easy steps to the wash method:
- Wash your face with a gentle cleanser. If you don’t already have one handy, the Superfood Cleanser from Youth To The People is a good choice.
- Gently pat your face dry and wait 30 minutes. Make sure to use a soft, clean towel. You should also pay attention to how your skin feels right after drying it.
- Observe how your skin looks and feels. At this point, your skin’s natural characteristics should be obvious.
Here’s a quick breakdown of how to classify your skin type:
- If your skin looks shiny and feels greasy, you probably have oily skin.
- You probably have dry skin if your skin feels tight and uncomfortable or has any flakes or scales.
- If your T-zone is shiny, but other areas (like your cheeks) are dry, you probably have combination skin.
- You probably have sensitive skin if your skin is red and inflamed or has any itching, burning, or stinging feelings.
- You probably have normal skin if your skin doesn’t experience any of the above issues.
If you don’t want to rely on looking and feeling only, you can grab some blotting sheets and press them against different areas of your face after reaching the 30-minute mark.
Blotting sheets absorb oil, showing you how much your skin has produced since you cleansed it.
If the sheets are soaked with oil, you likely have oily skin. You likely have combination skin if some are oily and others are dry. Naturally, a lack of oil on the sheets points to dry skin.
How To Care for Your Skin Type
The best way to care for your skin type is to seek out products made for it.
Here’s what to look for depending on your skin type:
Oily skin: Look for lightweight (preferably oil-free) products that provide water-based moisture. Mattifying moisturizers, foaming cleansers, and exfoliating products can all help tame oiliness.
Dry skin: Look for fragrance-free hydrating products with key ingredients like hyaluronic acid, squalane, and shea butter. Be sure to avoid drying ingredients like alcohol and alpha-hydroxy acids.
Combination skin: Finding the right products for combination skin will take some trial and error. A good way to start is by spot treating your skin’s oily and dry parts separately by using products made for those skin types.
Sensitive skin: Look for fragrance-free products with minimal and clean formulas that lack harsh ingredients like dyes, sulfates, and parabens. When trying out a new product, patch test it first by applying a small amount to your skin and observing how it reacts.
Acne-prone skin: Look for non-comedogenic and non-acnegenic products that are as lightweight as possible. Consider looking for acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, and retinoids.
Can Your Skin Type Change?
Sort of. Broadly, your skin will get drier as you age, but skin type can change in other ways due to environmental changes, stress levels, health issues, and diet.
However, most of these changes are not permanent. For the most part, your skin type won’t change forever — it will only change as a reaction to shifts in your environment or health.
If you notice any change in your skin type, use the wash method test to make sure your skin’s baseline has indeed been affected. If it has, you’ll probably need to adapt your skincare routine.
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