How Do I Determine My Type Of Skin? Hereʼs How To Tell

In the decision to put more energy in caring for your skin, you need to first understand the type of skin you carry. This is very important as you don’t want to feed your skin with what it does not need, making it worse. Knowing your skin type is therefore the key to caring for your skin. It helps you know the right products your skin needs to be healthy. Also, over time, your skin type is expected to change, younger folks for example are more likely than the elderly folks to have the normal skin type – as they grow, their skins may change to mature skin type.
There are various skin types: acne-prone, sensitive, mature, combination, dry, normal and oily.

Acne-prone
This type of skin is easily recognized. If you happen to frequently get breakouts or you have breakouts that almost never go – after using so many products, you are very likely to be having an acne-prone skin. This condition happens when you have pores that clog easily, leading to breakouts such as blackheads and pimples. It is possible to have an oily, dry or combination skin and still have an acne-prone skin. An acne- prone skin is usually caused by genetic and allergic factors especially in cases of breakouts that almost never go. In cases like this, I recommend visiting the doctor’s office for a check-up.

Sensitive skin
Sensitive skins are usually caused by environmental, genetic and allergic factors. Your skin can be considered sensitive if:
– You experience frequent rashes and bumps
– Reactions to essential oil
– Ill reactions to fragrance
– You have patches or dry, flaky skin
– Your skin peels easily
– Quick redness on your skin due to certain changes
A person with a sensitive skin needs to be very careful, mild and patient in the treatment of such skin. Avoid cosmetic products that have strong ingredients and if at all you are to use such ingredients, apply a minute quantity for a short period of time.

Mature skin
Individuals with mature skin type usually experience dark spots, dulling, and dehydration. When your skin is mature, it is no longer elastic, neither is it flexible, some of its consistency reduces gradually and then it finally becomes fragile.

Combination skin
Your skin is the combination skin type if it is both dry and oily at the same time but in different areas, the T-zone (nose, forehead and chin) being the oily area while your cheeks and the skin around your eyes appearing as the drier area. Most people have this type of skin. Facial masks will prove very effective when treating a combination skin type. Other characteristics of the combination skin type is that the pores look bigger because they are more open and seem to have blackheads.

Dry skin
A dry skin is one who lacks moisture. One common characteristic of a dry skin type is the presence of almost invisible pores. They are usually rough and flaky and can easily reveal an aging look. Your skin type is dry if:
– Skin is itchy
– Skin appears dull
– Skin is scaly to touch
– There are dark circles at your under-eye, leading to wrinkles

Normal skin
Normal skin has a balanced sebum production and good blood circulation. It is also called eudermic – well balanced. It is therefore neither too dry nor too oily and there are very few imperfections. Your skin type is normal if:
– You have fine pores
– There are few or no breakouts
– Healthy glow
– Smooth to touch
– No severe sensitivity
These characteristics of normal skin are often found in young individuals.

Oily skin
Oily skin can be caused by hormonal changes, diet, genetics, cosmetics or certain medicines. When the skin, through the sebaceous glands produces sebum in excess, it leaves it clogged and congested. Individuals with oily skin are also known to possess post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation and are therefore very likely to have acne. You also have an oily face if:
– Makeup doesn’t stay on and seems to “slide” off mostly anytime from 40 minutes after makeup application.
– You have visibly enlarged pores, especially on your nose, chin and forehead.
– You get the usual feeling of the needing to wash your face often.
– It is sometimes hard to apply makeup.
– You experience a tight skin feeling.
– You are very prone to acne.
Oily skin type is very common in the teenage years and early 20’s, but for some people, it doesn’t end there. The good thing about having an oily skin is that it makes one’s skin look younger and supple. The skin ages at a slower pace due to the extra moisture content, keeping the skin very much hydrated and less prone to wrinkles.

Skin Type Test
Here’s a quick way to knowing your type of skin. This test only needs oil blotting papers to be carried out. Gently pat the blotting papers on the different areas of your face – forehead, chin, cheek, nose, and the around the eye. Hold each sheet up to the light to determine how much oil is visible. If the sheet picked up little to no oil, you most likely have dry skin at the area the sheet was applied. If the blotting sheet reveals oil from the forehead and nose areas alone, your skin is normal/combination.

Conclusion
I am certain by now, you know the type of skin you carry. Be sure to use the knowledge gotten here in picking the most suitable skincare products for your skin. Thank you so much for reading through, I hope it has been value for your time! You may leave your comments or send in your questions and suggestions. Stay tuned for our posts on how to care for your skin type.