How to Know Your Skin Type
12:50What drives you when choosing a specific product for your skin? You can't rely completely on other people's reviews or recommendations to buy a skincare product because the most basic thing in skincare is knowing your skin type.
Determining your skincare routine of how often you should wash and exfoliate your face, types of moisturizer or sunscreen that suits your skin, the necessity of an oil cleanser, and many other things related to skincare will all depend on your skin type.
Knowing your skin type allows you to choose the right products and customize a skincare regime that'll work best for you. Skin type is determined by genetics but it can also vary greatly according to several internal and external factors.
So, instead of just taking a guess, figure out your skin type and let's dive deeper into this topic so you will know for sure.
WHAT ARE THE 4 TYPES OF SKIN?
There are 4 basic healthy skin types: normal, dry, oily, and combination skin.
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| from ImanAbdulRahim | by 'The Little Book of Skincare' |
1. Normal Skin
Normal skin is a wide term used to refer a well-balanced skin. The skin is neither too dry nor too oily and it's always has a regular texture with overall balanced sebum and moisture.
You might have some pores along the T-zone area but it's not too much. Most of the time, people with normal skin don't really need any special care of their skin and will experience rare breakouts.
2. Dry Skin
Dry skin usually happens because the skin is lacking moisture. It's generally a feeling of tightness and flakiness of your skin even when you do not touch it.
Sometimes your skin can be irritating if it's too dry that it can eventually be cracked, leaving it more exposed to bacteria and caused other skin problems if it's not properly managed. In some serious cases, the cracks of your skin may be too deep and it can even bleed.
It may also occur because of several external factors such as the usage of certain products, the temperature of current weather, or the immersion in hot water.
3. Oily Skin
Oily skin is caused by excessive sebum production from sebaceous glands and normally, you'll have larger pores. These glands are found under the skin's surface. Sebum isn't totally bad since it also helps to protect and moisturize your skin and it's actually an oily substance made of fats.
It's usually determined by some hormonal causes or genetic. Most people with oily skin are related to breakouts and the existence of acne because if you don't cleanse your face properly, the oil will clog your pores and causes many skin problems.
4. Combination Skin
Combination skin is generally a characteristic of both dry and oily skin where the T-zone area (forehead, nose, and chin) of your face is usually more oily while the other area (cheeks) is normal or a bit dry. This can happen when the distribution of sebaceous glands is not homogeneous (equivalent).
SENSITIVE SKIN
Some people might have this type of skin.
It's a condition where your skin can react easily to certain things you put on your face or the environment. It's a contrast to normal skin which usually has no reaction to these kinds of factors. Sensitive skin is fragile and always needs extra caution and care.
Sensitive skin is more prone to inflammation and other unfriendly reactions as this type of skin are typically loses its barrier function to protect the skin, causing bacteria and other irritant substances to enter the deeper layer of the skin easily.
Taking care of sensitive skin can be quite challenging and it'll take some time and effort to determine which ingredient in your skincare products cause bad reactions to your skin. To make things easier, use only one product or formula at a time and always do patch testing before trying a new product.
HOW TO KNOW YOUR SKIN TYPE?
1) The Bare-Face Method
This is the most common way to know your skin type and it's easier to do. It's called the bare-faced method and here are the steps:
1. Wash your face. Cleanse your face thoroughly with a mild cleanser you normally use and rinse it off.
2. Use a clean towel to gently pat your skin dry.
3. Leave your skin bare for 2 hours after you cleanse (do not apply any other skincare: moisturizer, toner, serum, etc).
4. After 2 hours, examine your skin condition:
- If your skin feels tight or parched, especially when you smile or make any other facial expressions, you most likely have dry skin.
- If your skin starts to feel greasy and you notice a shine on your T-zone area and also on your cheeks (maybe less oily than your T-zone area, but it still oily), your skin is likely oily type.
- If there's any noticeable shine on your T-zone area but the other area seems dry, your skin is mostly to be a combination.
- If your skin doesn't fall under any of those conditions above, you have normal skin that only requires low maintenance. (You're so lucky!)
2) Use A Blotting Paper
Using this tool is most likely an excellent method to differentiate between oily and dry skin area. After 2 hours you cleanse your face and leave it bare, gently pat the blotting papers on the different areas of your face.
Then, hold up the sheet to the light to examine how much oil is visible to certain areas. Determine your skin type by looking at which areas cause the blotting paper more saturated with oil. [Use the same guides above to check.]
CONCLUSION
Our skin is unique and taking steps to identify its proper care and needs is essential for it to function at its best. If you want more accurate results of your skin type, you can always refer to doctors as they can analyze your skin condition thoroughly.
12 comments
Nice sharing! 😍
ReplyDeleteThis is a good tips. I knew my skin is a combination one. Thank you for sharing this good post.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it’s important to know our skin type since we rely on that in order to purchase our beauty products, especially skincare range. Everyone should know this and this is a good sharing for those who didn’t know their skin types 😊
ReplyDeleteMine is dehydrated skin. So dehydrated that the skin overcompensates by producing extra sebum. For years, ppl kept telling me I had oily skin. But every time I used oil control products, it became a lot worse. I wish I had known better.
ReplyDeleteDah pernah cuba, jenis kulit muka Sis, jenis kering, ingat dulu berminyak.. bila dah tau, baru senang nak pilih skincare mana yang sesuai..
ReplyDeleteI dont really know my skin types as it is a combination of oily skin and dry skin. i wish i knew it earlier so that I can tackle it with the right methods.
ReplyDeleteBethol la... We xboleh main pakai jer semua produk kan. It is so important for us to understand our skin condition before applying our facial routine..
ReplyDeleteMine is combination. Normally i will read first the ingredients before I use the products
ReplyDeleteall the information you share are too useful
ReplyDeleteSaya ni dr jenis combination skin. kawasan T tu berminyak n kawasan lain pulak kering.
ReplyDeleteHey. thanks for sharing this :) Good one. saya dalam kategori sensitive skin. Hm susah juga nak jaga tapi kena jag at least takda la makin teruk huhu
ReplyDeleteMy skin jenis combination. Tapi senang nak jaga la tak ada masalah jerawat atau pigmentation. But still kena buat penjagaan wajah yang teratur
ReplyDelete