How to figure out your skin type

 

Not all skin is the same. Products that work for my skin might not work for yours. Puzzling? The answer is we have different skin types. What this means to you is the skin care products that benefit my skin might actually be bad for yours. There are five basic skin types:

  • Sensitive Skin
  • Dry Skin
  • Combination Skin
  • Oily Skin
  • Maturing Skin

 

Sensitive Skin

Have you ever noticed a change in your environment affects your skin? This could be a sign that you have sensitive skin. Whether it is stress, pets or the weather, sensitive skin is prone to reactions.

Your levels of skin sensitivity affects what skin care products are good for you. Sometimes the wrong skin care products can leave a burning  or stinging sensation. Although severity does vary, skin sensitivity often appears as red and itchy, dry or burning and can even result in flaky patches on the skin. Sensitive skin is becoming more and more common. Spme helpful tips when dealing with sensitive skin

  • Avoid hot water. Take short warm showers instead.
  • Use fragrance free skin care products.
  • Instead of using perfumes, try using essential oils.
  • Try using gentle laundry detergents that are fragrance free
  • When using new skin care products, first test them out on a small area of your skin.
  • Try using cleaning supplies made from organic materials.
  • Apply moisturizer after a shower.

Dry Skin

Although not a serious condition, dry skin can feel tight and uncomfortable. Dry skin often results in scaly flaking patches. Pores tend to be almost invisible and premature wrinkling is not uncommon. Having a dry skin type means your skin has fewer oil-producing glands than regular skin does. When skin is lacking oil, it is not able to retain its moisture.

Tips for dry skin:

  • Limit your time in the bath or shower to 10 minutes or less. Avoid using hot water. Use enough soap to remove dirt, but not enough to result in a thick lather. Dry your skin gently and apply moisturizer when dry.
  • Apply moisturizer after washing your face or hands, while your skin is slightly damp. The reason this is so important is moisturizer works by trapping already existing moisture in your skin. The water evaporating on your skin tends to dry it out.
  • Make sure to use skin care products that are formulated for dry skin. This means they should not contain a fragrance.
  • Make sure to use hypoallergenic laundry detergents.
  • Exfoliate your skin at least once a week. The reason this is important, with a build up of dead skin, our skin is not able to absorb moisturizers effectively.


Combination Skin

Are some areas of your skin dry and rough and other areas oily? If so, you might have combination skin. It’s relatively simple to treat dry skin, or oily skin. However combination skin is a combination of both. This makes it difficult to deal with.Generally our faces have some areas that are more oily than others. The t-zone (which includes the chin, nose and forehead), is more oily than the rest of the face. This is because your oil producing glands are concentrated in those areas. The areas around your eyes and cheeks might appear more dry than the rest of your face.

Tips For Combination Skin:

  1. Use a mild facial cleanser twice a day to wash away impurities, excess oils and dirt. The cleanser you use should clean your t-zone without drying out your cheeks and areas around your eyes.
  2. It is important to exfoliate your skin at least twice a week, making sure to use a product that is formulated for all skin types. That way it will work equally well on the oily areas and the dry areas of your skin.
  3. Use an oil free moisturizer.
  4. Use blotting paper to remove excess oil during your day.
  5. Use broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or above.

Oily Skin


Does your skin look constantly shiny? Do you go through blotting sheets only to find your skin still feeling oily? Does your makeup seem to slide off your face? There is a simple reason for this. Beneath each of our pores is a gland that is responsible for producing oil called sebum. This oil helps to keep skin healthy by lubricating our skin and protecting against dehydration. When your oil glands are working correctly, the oil removes dead skin and skin irritants.Having an oily skin type means your sebaceous glands produce too much sebum (oil). Sadly this can often result in breakouts as the sebum mixes with dead skin cells resulting in clogged pores. The good news is having oily skin means your skin is more likely to retain moisture. This means you will be less likely to develop wrinkles later in life.The approach to treating it is to create a balance between your skin’s natural moisture and excess oil.

Tips For Oily Skin:

  1. Always use oil free or noncomedogenic skin care products.
  2. Make sure to wash your face at least twice a day. Make sure not to was too vigorously as that might irritate your skin.
  3. In order to prevent your skin from increasing its oil production due to irritation, use a gentle foaming face wash.
  4. Although you might want to decrease your skin’s oil production, it is still important to moisturize every day.
  5. Use blotting paper to absorb excess oil. Make sure not to rub your face with the paper as this will spread the oil to other areas of your face.
  6. Use water based makeup.

Mature Skin

As our life experiences add up, our skin begins to reflect the passage of time. Each blemish or wrinkle hints to a life event. As time passes the metabolism of our skin cells slows down. Our skin’s ability to recover from injury slows down. It becomes less elastic and less flexible due to a number of causes such as dehydration. Our skin loses some of its freshness and consistency resulting in fragile wrinkled skin. Often dark spots begin to appear. 
 
Tips for mature skin:
  1. Wear sunscreen daily. This is one of the most important tips that applies equally for maturing skin as it does for youthful skin. Nothing damages your skin more than sun exposure. A good sunscreen will help you avoid wrinkling and brown spots.  When choosing a sunscreen, make sure to choose one that blocks both UVA and UVB rays. Make sure to use it even on cloudy days.
  2. Since mature skin tends to be dry, make sure to moisturize your skin daily. Avoid using hot water as water that is too hot will strip oil from your skin. Dry skin tends to be flaky, so make sure to exfoliate on a weekly basis. Use products designed for mature skin.
  3. Because skin changes over time, make sure that your favorite skin care products that you used in your youth are still working for you now.