When I talk to friends and family about moisturizers, cleansers, masks, foundation, etc, I always ask what type of skin type they have. Recommending something that may work for a dry skinned person might not work for a person with oily skin. I am in a group of makeup lovers on facebook and I am shocked by how people offer advice on best moisturizers, foundations, face wash without knowing the other person’s history and background on their skin. By understanding your skin type, you will be able to move forward and know how to properly care for your own skin and address the issues your skin may have.
Normal: Normal skin is the type of skin which you may find feels comfortable, smooth, and minimal on texture and pores. The person with this type of skin may experience experiance some shine or larger pores around their T-zone area (forehead, chin,and nose). A casual hormonal breakout will peak its way through occasionally but nothing too serious. This person’s water and oil content is balanced and doesn’t need much assistance in making it balanced.
Now just because you have a normal skin type, doesn’t mean you don’t have to do much with it. Maintaining a healthy diet, staying hydrated and care is important as your skin type may change. A person with normal skin type should use a foaming cleansers daily in the morning and at night. When it comes to exfoliation, this skin type is recommended to exfoliate the skin 2 times a week. And light moisturizers would be sufficient. Now as far ask masks go, I wouldn’t recommend anything too drying. An occasional hydration mask, radiance or a vitamin boost mask is always great. If doing a detox mask which is drying, after cleansing apply a toner to return the skin to it’s natural PH balance.
Dry: Dry skin looks dry or flaky and feels tight after washing. Pores appear small and may be sensitive. This skin type may look aged more than any other skin type as the dry skin emphasizes the fine lines.
This type of skin requires special care. Along with eating healthy and staying super hydrated, this skin type requires richer cleansers and moisturizers. Exfoliate the skin every other day, followed by a good moisturizer.Mixing different mediums (facial oil, followed by a cream) of moisturizer can help the skin stay hydrated. Making sure to have a good night cream is also essential to managing the dryness in the skin. Using a thicker night cream with AHA for exfoliation of dry patches or sleeping packs (night masks you can sleep in instead of washing off) are great.
Oily: Oily skin is shiny and looks oily due to condition in which the skin has overactive sebaceous and/or oil producing glands. Most people who have oily skin may have acne prone skin as they have frequent breakouts and not just hormonal. This skin type shows few signs of aging and fine lines due to overproduction of oils. This skin type also usually has large visible pores, especially around the T-zone area.
Lets start off with maintaining a healthy diet……. are you seeing a pattern here? Having a healthy diet is a good start for all skin types. I had discussed the importance of a living a healthy lifestyle and diet here. Make sure to cleanse the face twice a day (morning and night) even if you haven’t applied any makeup or anything topical on throughout the day. Cleansing twice a day is something I recommend to all skin types as skin barriers collect dirt and dust from the environment throughout the day which is washed off at night and while resting the skin detoxes which should be washed off in the morning. With oily skin, the misconception that I see happening a lot is not moisturizing the skin correctly. Many people think that just because they are oily, there is no need to moisturize your face. WRONG! You must always moisturize the skin and for a person with oily skin, I would recommend using an oil-free and non comedogenic (does’t clog pores) moisturizer. By moisturizing the skin, you trick your skin to think that it is creating enough oils, thus the oils on the face may decrease. Using alcohol free toners and spot healing breakouts can help manage skin along with masks targeted for breakouts and oily skin. If wanting to exfoliate, start off with once a week and see how the skin handles it for a couple weeks, If you see no bad reaction, you can try exfoliating 2-3 times a week
Combination: This person will be oily in the T-zone area. May have dry skin or dehydration around the cheeks. Around the T-zone area, you may see that this person may have large pores.
With this skin type, you must cleanse the face regularly along with moisturizing the t-zone area. For the area where this skin type might experience dry skin or patches I would recommend doing a richer moisturizer, or one that may contain AHA in it. With this skin type, you may use a mask on the t-zone area to extract dirt from the large pores around the forehead, nose and chin area while avoiding the cheeks. A hydration, collagen and vitamin masks would be alright for this skin type as well 2-3 times a week.
Sensitive: Sensitivity in skin may occur in any skin type (dry, oily or combination). With this skin type, you will see that the skin becomes easily irritated by the ingredients in makeup, mositurizers, cleansers and masks. Sensitive skin is noticed when skin feels itchy, blotchy, tender or burning occurs when you apply anything topical over the area.
With this skin, you must maintain a healthy diet and be aware of your sensitivities. This skin type may require mild cleansers, skincare and vegan makeup. I would recommend that they would use alcohol free and non-perfumed products for the face as these are some of the irritants to the skin.
Depending on the season, diet changes, hormones, stress and ingredients, your skin type can change. I am either dry/sensitive skin type or combination/sensitive. During the winter I use a richer moisturizer and wear foundation that is more dewy/hydrating and doesn’t emphasize my dry patches. I also use hydration masks and vitamin boost masks followed by a toner and serums that are gentle on the skin. During the super hot months, I notice my skin is more combination. I try wearing lighter moisturizers, and wear foundation that won’t slide off my face. I also carry around blotting papers during the hot summer months as my skin around my T-zone may become a little oily. And as for my sensitivity issues, I always try reading the ingredients and try staying away from anything that may have perfume or alcohol in it, trying out samples of products before committing to purchasing the full size products or sticking to things that I know already works for me. By recognizing the changes in your skin, you can help your skin adapt to the environment with an easier transition. Now before you ask for a recommendation for something having to do with your skin, I hope that you will remember these guidelines as they may help you the next time you try purchasing a cleanser, foundation, toner or moisturizer.