Everyone's skin is normal to them, but in order to care for diverse skin types, we often group people into some skin categories. Ascertaining your skin type is an important first step in knowing how to treat your skin, what products to use, and how to Have Perfect Skin.
Step 1
Wash Your Face. Wash with a gentle cleanser and pat dry. Remove make-up. This cleans away oils and dirt that may have accumulated during your day, giving your skin a fresh start.
Step 2
Wait an hour. During this time, your skin should return to its natural state, the characteristics of which will determine your skin type. Act normally and, please, don't touch your face.
Step 3
Dab your face with a tissue. Pay attention to the 'T-zone'--the area of your forehead and nose.
Step 4
Determine your skin type. Skin falls into four types--normal, oily, dry and combination.
- Normal skin shows neither oil nor flaking skin. It should feel supple and smooth. If you have it, consider yourself lucky :)
- Oily skin is characterized by the grease on the tissue. It is also common for a person with oily skin to have large pores and a shine.
- Dry skin may feel taut or show flakes of dead skin. It is associated with small pores. Moisturizing is important for this skin type.
- Combination skin is most common. It exhibits traits of all three of the above skin types. Usually, the skin is oily in the T-zone and normal to dry elsewhere.
Tips
- One of the most important things you can do for your skin is to Stay Healthy.
- Your skin is part of you. It can be affected by your environment, products you use, your stress levels, diet, lifestyle choices and more. These factors can change your skin type to fluctuate, so keep that in mind.
- During puberty and menopause your whole body takes a hit with raging hormone levels. That affects your skin too.
- Aging skin will often require more care.
- Use a pH balancing cleanser or a toner after cleansing... you won't have to wait an hour for your skin's pH to normalize.
- Sometimes a few breakouts around the mouth and chin are due to "that time of the month." Only use spot treatments.
- Drink more water! Your skin will produce more sebum (oil) if it's dehydrated to keep itself lubricated.
- The T-Zone is your forehead, nose and chin. It's called the T-Zone because when connected, the forehead nose and chin form a T.
Warnings
- There's a big difference in an oily skin type and an oily skin condition. Treating a normal skin type that has an oily condition with products made for oily skin types can create more oily problems and breakouts! Visit a spa or school that has estheticians (not cosmetologist) for a facial and let them do a skin analysis to find out exactly what skin type, (based only on follicle size)or conditions your facing. Most schools offer customized facials for around $20.00.
