HOW TO UNDERSTAND YOUR SKIN TYPE?

Dec 19, 2021
3 min read

Figuring out your skin type is one of the most important steps in knowing how to take care of your skin.

An individual’s skin type is determined by an assortment of skin characteristics, including:

Water content: Influences elasticity
Lipid (oil) content: Influences softness
Sensitivity level: Influences reactivity and tolerance to substances like certain types of soaps or clothing materials

Follow these steps to determine your skin type:

Step1: 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, nose, and chin.

Step 4: Determine Your Skin Type

Skin falls into five types: normal, oily, dry, combination, and sensitive.

Each type of skin will have its characteristics and require different cares. From a cosmetic viewpoint, skin is classified according to several factors.[1]

They related to its balance: sebaceous secretion, hydration, and sensitivity level. The type of skin is determined by genetics, it is also affected by other factors, and changeable by time.

Based on these characteristics, there are five basic types of skin: normal, dry, oily, combination (both oily and dry skin), and sensitive. Below, we describe the main characteristics of each type of skin.

1. Normal skin

‘Normal’ is a term widely used to refer to well-balanced skin. The scientific term for healthy skin is eudermic.[2]

Normal skin has:

fine pores
good blood circulation
a velvety, soft and smooth texture
a fresh, rosy colour uniform transparency
no blemishes
and is not prone to sensitivity.

As a person with normal skin ages, their skin can become dryer. Read more in age induced dryness.

2. Dry skin

‘Dry’ is used to describe a skin type that produces less sebum than normal skin. As a result of the lack of sebum, dry skin lacks the lipids that it needs to retain moisture and build a protective shield against external influences.[3]

Dry skin tends to be flaky, itchy or rough. It has different degrees: dry skin, very dry skin, extremely dry skin.The differences can normally be distinguished by:

2.1. Dry skin

Mildly dry skin can feel tight, brittle and rough and look dull. Skin elasticity is also low.

2.2. Very dry skin

If the dryness is not treated, skin may develop:

mild scaling or flakiness in patches
a rough and blotchy appearance (sometimes it appears to be prematurely aged)
a feeling of tightness
possible itchiness

2.3. Extremely dry skin

Certain areas of the body – particularly hands, feet, elbows and knees – are prone to:

Roughness
chapping with a tendency to form rhagades (cracks)
calluses
scaling
frequent itchiness

Extremely dry skin is most commonly found on the elderly or on severely dehydrated hands.

3. Oily skin

‘Oily’ is used to describe a skin type with heightened sebum production. This over production is known as seborrhea.[4]

Oily skin is characterised by:

enlarged, clearly visible pores
a glossy shine
thicker, pale skin: blood vessels may not be visible

Oily skin is prone to comedones (blackheads and whiteheads) and to the varying forms of acne.

With mild acne, a significant number of comedones appear on the face and frequently on the neck, shoulders, back and chest too.

In moderate and severe cases, papules (small bumps with no visible white or black head) and pustules (medium sized bumps with a noticeable white or yellow dot at the centre) appear and the skin becomes red and inflamed.

4. Combination skin

Combination skin is, as the name suggests, skin that consists of a mix of skin types (both oily and dry skin). Based on its location, it presents characteristics of both dry and oily skin since the distribution of sebaceous and sweat glands is not homogeneous. [5]

Combination skin is characterised by:

an oily T-zone (forehead, chin and nose)
enlarged pores in this area perhaps with some impurities
normal to dry cheeks

5. Sensitive Skin

Skin that’s easily irritated and is more reactive than normal skin is referred to as sensitive skin. This type of skin is fragile, usually prone to heat, redness, itching, etc. and loses its barrier, thus allowing microorganisms and irritants to easily enter and leading to infections and allergic reactions.[6]