How to Determine your Skin Type
Contrary to popular opinions about beginner skincare, the first thing you need to in order to create the perfect routine for you is determining your skin type. Your skin type is a major determining factor in selecting skincare products that are right for you and your skin needs. Keep reading if you want to know how to determine your skin type.
Understanding Skin Types
In order to understand what skin type means, it is important to break down what skin type is not. Skin type does not refer to skin conditions, skin tone, or even skin laxity. Skin type is often misunderstood to encompass some of these concepts but the fact is, there are only four skin types- Dry Skin, Oily Skin, Normal Skin, and Combination Skin. However, there could be several skin conditions that can happen in tandem with your skin type.
Skin conditions refer to skin disorders that are usually formed at any particular stage in life either due to stress, hormones, allergic reactions, etc. Examples of skin conditions are sensitive skin, dehydrated skin, acne-prone skin, etc.
This brings us to the question…
What does Skin Type mean?
Skin type simply refers to the natural moisture level within the skin. This is determined by how much sebum your skin produces. In fact, sebum is the only determinant in figuring out what your skin type is. However, the amount of sebum you produce can vary from time to time depending on several environmental, genetic and other factors such as diet, hormones, certain medications and certain conditions.
What is Sebum?
Sebum is our skin’s natural moisturiser. It protects, coats and locks moisture into the skin. It is produced by the sebaceous glands and keeps the skin protected from harsh realities of living. Sebum is composed of triglycerides, fatty acids, wax esters, squalene and cholesterol.
Lack of enough sebum could cause a whole lot of issues within the skin. Excess sebum also increases the chances of clogged pores. Therefore, there is the need for a healthy balance.
It is important to note that you are inherently predisposed to your skin type. Your genetics play a huge role in determining what your skin type is. However, it may change based on several factors as discussed above.
The Different Skin Types
There are four skin types- Dry Skin, Oily Skin, Combination Skin and Normal Skin
1. Dry Skin
Dry skin is characterised by its tendency to not produce enough sebum. Thus, the skin feels lacklustre, sometimes itchy, tight, cracked and may not absorb product very easily. Other essential characteristics of dry skin is that it has smaller pores, may look a little bit dull, and can experience flaking. The skin is usually dry to the touch except when heavily moisturised.
Dry Skin usually tends to need a lot of replenishment to combat the lack of natural sebum production. Thus, hydrating, skin-identical and skin-replenishing ingredients should be your priority when choosing a product, especially in moisturisers.
2. Oily Skin
Oily Skin is characterised by extreme shine because they produce more than enough sebum. This skin type tend to have larger pores and are more likely to be prone to clogging. Clogging could lead to blackheads and other forms of acne.
A myth that needs to be debunked is that people that have oily skin do not need to moisturise. This is inherently false because the skin produces sebum to protect itself from external factors and may be producing too much because it feels like it needs that amount of sebum. The reason the skin may come to such a conclusion may be because it is not being replenished every time it has been stripped down of its natural state of moisture after cleansing. Thus, It is imperative to moisturise after cleansing regardless of your skin type.
3. Normal or moderate skin
Normal Skin is moderate skin. It means that the skin does not produce excess sebum or not enough sebum. It neither overreacts or underreacts. Normal skin types can experiment with several products to see what works for them. This skin type is the most desired because it is the optimal skin type when it comes to choosing products since it doesn’t react excessively or underwhelmingly.
4. Combination Skin
This skin type is the trickiest to determine. This skin type is oily on the tee zone and dry in other areas of the face. It is important to learn your skin if you have this skin type. You may even have to use different products on different areas of your face due to the varying levels of sebum production across several areas of the face.
To summarise, does your skin produce excess sebum? Then you may be classified as having oily skin. On the other end of the spectrum, do you not produce enough sebum? If yes, you may have dry skin. Do you produce just the right amount to keep your skin looking lustre? Your skin may be normal skin. Combination skin types usually tend to only be oily around the t-zone and dry in other areas of the skin.
How to determine your skin type
There are two tests that you can do at the comfort of your home to determine what your skin type is-
1. Wash and Wait method
Wash your face with a gentle cleanser or just plain water. It is important that the cleanser is gentle and not stripping as this could slightly affect the results. Great gentle cleansers to use are Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser or Simple Micellar Gel Wash. Gently pat the skin dry and do nothing. Do not apply any serums, toners or moisturisers. Wait an hour and then check your skin after.
If your skin feels tight, dull and rough after that hour, then you have dry skin. On the other hand, if it is shiny or highly moisturised, then you have oily skin. If you have combination skin, only the t-zone will be oily and the rest of your face will be dry. Your skin will neither be dry or oily if you have normal skin.
2. Blotting Sheet Method
Take a couple of blotting sheets and place on several parts of your face- your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Ensure you do not have makeup on and do this test only after washing your face and waiting for an hour. Remove the sheets after a few seconds to a minute and look at the blotting sheet through a light source.
The more translucent the sheet, the more sebum it seems you’re producing.
Can your Skin Type Change?
One interesting question people often ask is if your skin type can change. Yes, your skin type can change depending on a lot of factors such as how dry or how humid your environment is, how old you are, current actives in your routine, certain medications and so on.
Because these factors can change, your skin type also has the tendency to adapt to such change(s). However, it is almost impossible for your skin type to change without any triggers.
Why does determining my skin type matter?
Determining your skin type matters because it helps you determine how much you need to replenish the skin, what ingredients you should be using and how to optimise your skincare routine for your personal needs. People with dry skin should look for highly moisturising ingredients while oily skin should look for products that are not too heavy for their skin.
It can further help you to know what products have the potential to work well for you. This could ultimately ripple into saving a lot of money as well as your skin in the process.
Conclusion
Our skin needs can change over time as a result of several factors. Maintaining your skin’s health is the top priority but it makes it so much easier to do that when you know how to create a routine that works for you based on your skin type and concerns.
No matter what your skin type is, your skin can be as healthy as you want it to be. This is as long as you can optimise your routine to fit your skincare needs at any particular time.