Skin types

If you would like to have beautiful skin and properly take care of your skin, it is absolutely important to determine your skin type. You cannot correctly take care of your skin without knowing the skin type, because all “skin interventions” depend on your skin type. Without knowing your skin type you never can select adequate effective skin care products.

The quality and the type of our skin are genetically determined which means we are all born with the certain type of skin. But during future life the quality of skin can be changed depending on climate, food, hormones, skin care products and cosmetic interventions.

Skin plays a huge role in women appearance – beautiful skin is sexy, give women self-confidence and well being. Looking at skin you can recognize some health indicators and bad habits (smoking, coffee addiction, cosmetic abuse, etc.).

What can be considered as beautiful skin? – “Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin”, so take care of your skin.

Some women are very lucky to enjoy smooth, flawless, resilient and sexy skin thanks to genetic predisposition. But for some women beautiful happy skin is just a result of proper regular care.

It is well known that the skin type could be changed during women lifetime. In most cases young women have normal type of skin but with aging, with influence of several factors the type of skin could be changed. Women type of skin could vary depending upon several factors including body water content, oil (lipid) content, genetic sensitivity, diet, stress, hormonal fluctuations, medication and skincare habits.

All experts classify five main basic skin types:

• Normal Skin
• Dry Skin
• Oily Skin
• Combination Skin
• Sensitive Skin

Each type of skin has very specific characteristics and require very specific care or even treatment.

Skin type tests

If you don’t know the type of your skin, you can use very simple “skin type test” – in the morning (immediately after waking up, without any toilet) just clean your face skin with clean facial paper or facial tissue. Once you have it (paper or tissue with skin elements) – you can determine the type of your skin.

If you have normal type of skin, you would not find any traces of oil or any other elements on paper or on tissue. Usually normal skin is elastic, vibrant, smooth, clean and supple.
Normal skin is a lucky skin because it looks beautiful and needs minimum attention and care. With aging the normal skin will develop minimum problems.

If you have dry type of skin, you would also not find any traces of oil but you can feel flaky, dry, tight skin with fine pores, wrinkles, sometimes with sallow tone and irritated zones. If you are young, dry skin could look nicely but with aging it could change. Dry type of skin needs special regular attention and care with adequate products (preferably natural masks and moisturizers).

If you have oily skin, you would discover spots of facial oil on paper or tissue. You would be able even to see oily skin on your cheeks, nose and forehead. In most cases the oily type of skin could be problematic for women because of several reasons including unpleasant look (shiny, greasy, thick, coarse), regular enlarged pores, regular acne and other skin diseases.
Good news is that usually oily type of skin is not prone much to aging and wrinkling but needs every day care including special diet, weight control and regular care with special products.

Majority of women have combination type of skin. If you have combination type of skin, you would be able to discover on paper or tissue some traces of oil coming from nose area and forehead, but the skin test paper will be clean in the areas of cheeks and around eyes.
Combination skin needs complex care – different kinds of products for different parts of face.

Sensitive type of skin can be easily recognized – it is usually very dry, tends to feel tight, becomes inflamed and irritated easily. On sensitive type of skin you can discover reddish and/or scaly areas, you could also feel itching and/or tingling, and sometimes you can discover spots.
Sensitive type of skin is the most problematic skin – care is not easy and professional support could be needed.

Skin types and recommendations

Normal type of skin

Normal type of skin always looks clean, smooth, not oily, not dry, not sensitive, almost not visible pores with radiant complexion.

Skin care products for normal skin are available and easy to use.

Combination type of skin

Combination type of skin can be dry or normal in some areas and oily in others – in most cases women with combination type of skin could have slightly oily T-zone (nose, forehead, chin) and drier cheeks with dry patchy spots here and there.
Combination type of skin could be smooth, could produce overly/ medium dilated pores and/or blackheads, with good circulation and healthy color and could sometimes look shiny.

Combination type of skin needs special care – you could need to take care of T-zone differently from areas with drier spots. For oily T-zone better try the astringent on those areas only after face washing. It is also recommended to exfoliate twice weekly to remove any dead skin cells and use a heavier facial moisturizer on skin dry spots.

Dry type of skin

Dry type of skin is less elastic. On dry type of skin you could see more visible lines, red patches, almost invisible pores, dull, rough complexion.
Some drying factors could trigger skin cracks, peel, itching, irritation or even inflammation zones. Very dry skin could become rough and scaly.

Risk factors for dry type of skin include aging, hormonal changes, weather (wind, sun, cold), ultraviolet radiation, regular exaggerated heating, long hot bath or shower, certain chemicals or medications and genetic factors.

Dry type of skin requires special care – heavy cleansers and moisturizers, gentle soaps. During winter and/or cold weather it is recommended to use humidifier and not let indoor temperatures get too hot. Long hot bath or shower should be avoided – better have short shower once a day.

Oily type of skin

Oily type of skin is usually dull or shiny with thick complexion, enlarged pores, blackheads, breakouts, pimples and other blemishes. Risk factors for oily type of skin include stress, hormonal changes (especially during puberty), exposure to heat or too much humidity.

Skin care for oily type of skin should be regular (every day) – skin should be washed 1-2 times a day; pimples should not be touched or squeezed; skin should not be scrubbed but gentle cleanser should be used regularly.

Sensitive type of skin

Sensitive type of skin usually has causes or triggering factors. Try to find out what exactly provoked the sensitivity of your skin. Usually sensitive type of skin tends to be thin and delicate with fine pores; it could be dry, reddish, itching and/or burning.

It could be difficult to find the right skin care products for sensitive type of skin. You could need some professional support and/or advices.

Basic skin care tips

• Avoid direct sunlight, UVA and UVB rays; always wear special sun hat and sunglasses; you may use sun protection creams.

• Never smoke; avoid passive smoking and social smoking.

• Always stay hydrated – drink enough water and different liquids.

• Wash your skin regularly every day (especially before going to bed) and never wear makeup to bed.

• Moisturize your skin – regularly and gently.