Types of Skin

How to Care For Your Type of Skin

In order to properly care for your skin, you must know the type of skin you have. Making the right choices for how you care for your skin will enhance your skin’s health, slow the aging process, and boost your self-esteem and confidence.

Essentially, there are five common skin types: normal, oily, dry, combination and sensitive. Below are characteristics of each skin type along with tips for how to best care for each.

Normal Skin

The normal skin has a good circulation without any trace of oil on the surface of the skin. Normal skin is soft, with a smooth, even tone.

Recommended care for normal skin includes daily care use of a gentle cleanser, a toner, a non-irritating hydrating exfoliant, sunscreen with SPF 30 or greater that includes antioxidants, and a moisturizer. Adding an antioxidant serum will help nourish and keep your skin defended against the environment.

Oily Skin

The characteristics of oily skin include overactive sebaceous (oil) glands, large pores and a shiny appearance. Factors affecting oily skin are hereditary traits, diet, hormone levels, pregnancy, unsuitable cosmetics and stress. Acne flare-ups and blemishes are common with oily skin.

Caring for oily skin includes regular, thorough cleaning with a mild, soap-free cleanser. You can also use of an alcohol-free toner, and a water-based moisturizer.

Dry Skin

Dry skin does not retain oil easily and is characterized by the skin feeling tight after washing. It’s flaky and rough, and has fine wrinkles or red patches.

Recommended care for dry skin includes gentle cleaning along with the use of a protective moisturizer. Depending on the climate you live in, it may be necessary to adjust your dry skin moisturizer with the changing seasons.

Combination Skin

Characteristics of a combination skin type include healthy coloring, medium-size pores, along with some oil on forehead, nose and chin, but not on the cheeks, mouth and eye areas.

Caring for combination skin involves treating each region differently —i.e. use of a mild cleanser overall and an alcohol-free toner on the oily skin and moisturizer on dry areas.

Sensitive Skin

This kind of skin is characterized by thin, delicate skin, along with skin that is prone to flushing, rashes, and easily irritated by the sun and cosmetics. Sensitive skin can be caused by conditions such as rosacea, eczema or allergies.

Because sensitive skin can easily become inflamed and irritated. It is important to choose skin care products that do not contain ingredients that create an adverse reaction. For that reason it is important to keep the skin clean using mild cleansers while avoiding rough scrubbing. In addition, it is highly advisable to limit the number of products used on your face at one time and to always test products on a small area of your skin before use. We also recommend steering clear of products that contain benzoyl peroxide, propylene glycol or salicylic acid.

Now that you have a better understanding of the different skin types. How to identify the type of skin you have, and how to care your skin? You’ll be able to make better choices regarding how to keep your skin looking young and radiant for as long as possible.