I've been working in the skin care and beauty industry for about 5 years. Every week I encountered a client buying skin care without knowing their skin type. Majority of my clients would blindly follow blogger and YouTube guru skin care routines without checking if the person they are watching has the same skin type. Lets just say if you have dry patches and you're using charcoal skin care products daily and wearing matte makeup daily. Don't be upset when the skin flakes come running. Let makes things simple!
How many skin types are there and what are they ?
There are technically 5 but we will stick to the usual 3.
1.Dry
2.Combination
3. Oily
How do I know my skin type ?
The real question is how does your skin feel by the middle of the day.
Dry: Does your skin feels tight? Does it flake? Do you get patches that have texture? Do you reapply moisturizer during the day?
If you answered yes to any of those questions you have a dry skin type. Typically most people that have a dry skin type will feel tightness when washing their face with general cleansers. Sometimes their skin will feel normal in the beginning of the day but by the middle of the day feel like their skin could use some hydration.
Combination: Is it hard to find makeup due to feeling dry in one area but shiny in another? Does the front of your nose shine while the side of your nose flakes? Do you feel like you have normal skin but occasionally your forehead and nose shine? When you wear makeup does it wear off by the end of the day and get greasy?
If you answered yes to any of those questions you have a combination skin type. Most will fall in this skin type. You can also refer to this type as normal. This can be broken down into 2 subcategories; dry combination and oily combination. The difference is whether or not your cheeks need more moisture by the middle of the day. Dry combo will feel a slight need for hydration like a refresher mist or spray. Oily combo will feel normal by the middle of the day because they have oils from the T-Zone (nose and forehead) to keep their cheeks hydrated. If you only produce oil or see shine in the T-Zone area you are combination.
Oily: Does it seem like no matter how many matte products you layer on it can never stop the shine from peeking through? Does your skin ever feel greasy before you put any products on your skin? Does shine trail from your T-Zone to your cheeks and chin.
If you answered yes to any of those questions you have an oily skin type. What shocks most people about oily skin is that you are oily because you aren't hydrated enough! Sounds crazy I know but if you really think about it you can understand why. When your skin is lacking moisture its natural defense is produce oil to help. Most oily skin types are afraid to moisturize because they don't want to look like a glazed donut. The truth is the less you moisturize the oilier your skin will get. The longer you attempt to dry and matte out your skin the longer you will be oily.
