What’s Your Skin Type?
To take the best care of your skin, it’s key to know your skin type. Your skin might be dark or light, or prone to acne or age spots, and this matters for products you choose, too. When it comes to your daily skin care routine, though, you first need to know if your skin is normal, dry, oily, sensitive, or a combination.
Three things figure into your skin type:
- How moist your skin is. This affects how elastic and comfortable it feels.
- How much fat, also known as lipids, are in your skin. Your skin’s health and softness depend on them.
- Sensitivity level. This shows how well your skin supports outside conditions and products you use.
To find out your skin type, start with a simple tissue test. Grab a mirror, too. Wash your face. Pat it dry, and wait for an hour. Press the tissue to your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin.
Normal. If your face isn’t shiny, and there’s no oil on the tissue, you have normal skin. This means your skin has the ideal combo of moisture and oil, and the right balance of healthy bacteria to keep out infection. Your pores may be hard to see, and your complexion looks clear and well-nourished.
Dry. If your skin feels tight and there’s no oil on the tissue, your skin is dry. You might not be able to see your pores at all. Your skin may be dull with a rough texture, because it doesn’t have enough moisture.
Oily. If your face is shiny and there’s a greasy smear on the tissue, your skin is oily. This happens because your oil glands make excess lipids. You’ll likely have enlarged pores and easily get pimples and blackheads.
Combination. If you have an oily “T-zone” (your nose, chin, and forehead tend to have blackheads) and your cheeks are dry or normal, you have combination skin. It’s caused by an imbalance in how lipids are made and dispersed in your facial skin.
Sensitive. If your skin reacts to regular skin products, flushes easily, and stings a bit when you wash your face, your skin is sensitive. You’ll need to choose skin care products carefully. Seek out the mildest you can find.
Daily Facial Care
Even if you know a lot about your skin, you need to know how to keep it clean. Here’s the gentlest way to wash your face:
- Wet your skin with warm water.
- Using an alcohol-free, mild cleanser, make circles with your fingertips to spread the product over your face. (Scrubbing or using a washcloth or sponge can be too rough.)
- Rinse off all the cleanser with water, and pat your skin dry with a clean towel.
- If your skin itches or feels dry, follow up with the right moisturizer for your skin type. Use the right sunscreen (see specs below) before you go out. You can use a product that includes it, or apply it on top.
Cleanse your face twice a day, plus after you sweat a lot:
- When you wake up. Even if your skin was clean at bedtime, germs and dirt can still land on your face when you sleep.
- Before bed. Particles of makeup, grime, and smoke can settle on your skin during the day.
Perspiration, mainly if you’re wearing something on your head like a helmet or a hat, can irritate your skin. Wash your face as soon as you can after you sweat heavily.
Body Skin Care
The key to healthy skin is gentle care all over.
- Choose mild cleansers for your body, as with your face. Harsh soaps can remove oil your skin needs.
- Spending a long time in the shower or bath – especially using hot water – strips oil, too. Don’t soak or stand under the spray for too long, and keep water just warm enough.
- Don’t try to lather up with bath soap to shave. Use a mild shaving product in cream, gel, or lotion form. Swap out dull or rusty blades for a sharp, clean razor. Shave in the direction the hair grows.
- After washing or bathing, gently blot your skin dry with a clean, soft towel. Take care to not wipe away all the moisture from your skin.
- If you have dry skin, follow up with a moisturizer made for your skin type.
Lifestyle Habits for Skin Health
Like your heart or your liver, your skin is an organ. That means your routines, from going out in the sun to getting enough sleep, affect how your skin looks, feels, and functions.
Try to adopt these lifestyle upgrades as part of your skin care routine:
Manage stress. Stress hormones destroy collagen and elastin – the substances that keep your skin looking youthful and fresh. Stress also triggers your skin to make more oil, which can cause breakouts and make acne worse.
Beauty sleep is a thing. Your body repairs and renews cells while you’re sleeping. One study showed the people with healthier skin got seven to nine hours of rest a night.
Take care in the sun.Aside from causing sunburn and dryness, those harsh rays can cause photoaging. This means long-term damage from too much exposure to UVR, or ultraviolet radiation. It can lead not only to wrinkles, spots, and discoloration of your skin, but to skin cancer.
- Apply about two tablespoons of minimum 30-SPF, broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen before heading outside. Reapply right after swimming or sweating a lot, or every two hours.
- Wear protective clothing such as hats and long sleeves and pants that block UV rays.
- Try to stay in the shade when the sun is at its highest energy, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Don’t use sunlamps or tanning beds. They also emit UV rays that are just as damaging.
If you’re a person of color, you have more melanin in your skin, which does give a little extra protection against UV rays. But you still need a strong sunscreen. The best choices are tinted mineral sunscreens with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which will blend better with your skin tone. This formula will shield your skin from indoor light and electronics, too.
Eat well. Did you know too much sugar can harm collagen, and processed foods can weaken elasticity? But if you eat whole foods and drink lots of water, your skin will thank you with a healthy glow. Extra points go to antioxidants: Think fresh berries and even dark chocolate.
Stayactive. Exercise speeds up blood flow and transports key nutrients and oxygen to your skin.
Don’t smoke. Smoking leeches vital nutrients and oxygen from your skin. It also harms your elastin and collagen and narrows your outer skin’s blood vessels so that it cuts blood flow to the surface. Smoking regularly also leads to wrinkles around your mouth and eyes from the habit of inhaling and squinting against smoke.
Choosing Skin Care Products
Picking out the best products for your skin from the crowded skin care shelves can be daunting, even if you don’t need special formulas. Keep it simple:
Normal. Basic is best. Day and night, use a gentle cleanser to wash your face, and follow up with a light moisturizer. If you’re on the younger side, lotion – which is weight-wise between water-based gels and thicker creams – should do the trick. If you’re over 50 or notice your skin is drier than before, lean toward a cream. Don’t forget the sunscreen for daytime.
Dry.Choose a mild cleanser and a moisturizerpacked with super-hydrating ingredients such as hyaluronic acid or ceramides. Read labels to zero in on more good stuff, such as fragrance-free and non-comedogenic, which means it won’t irritate your skin or clog your pores.
Oily.People with oilyskin already have more moisture than those with other skin types. Adding more can block pores and cause breakouts – which, along with pimples, can discolor darker skin. Sometimes a light gel after cleansing can be good for oily skin, but you might be able to go without it. See what works for you.
Combination. If your skin is oily in some areas and dry in others, you’ll need to treat your skin in different ways.For example, the dry parts need moisturizer, while the oily ones – usually the T-zone of your nose, chin, and forehead – should go without.
Sensitive.People with sensitive skin need to be extra careful with what they put on their faces and bodies. That means fragrance-free, very mild products, including soap and laundry detergents. And while hypoallergenic is a good feature to look for, don't confuse it with organic. Your skin can react to “all-natural” products, too.
What About Anti-Aging Products?
The market for anti-aging products is vast and growing, and even appealing to younger people. It can help to narrow it down:
- The not-so-secret ingredient in many high-quality anti-aging products? Moisturizer. Add sunscreen, and you’ve got the most effective anti-aging duo for almost anyone. No problem if you buy a combo product – just make sure it meets the guidelines above, with minimum 30 SPF.
- Remember to home in on products made for your skin type.
- No one anti-aging product does it all. Using too many different products at once can irritate your skin, though. After you give moisturizer and sunscreen a shot, zero in on what aging factors you want to improve, such as age spots or lines. Then buy a formula that addresses them specifically.
- If you want to use, for example, a vitamin C serum (which helps your skin make more collagen) and retinol (which speeds up cell turnover), use one at a time. For example, apply vitamin C in the morning, then moisturizer and sunscreen, and use retinol with moisturizer at night.
- Stick with hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic formulas.
Concerns About Your Skin
If you have a question about your skin or notice something different, such as a breakout or a mole that’s changed color or size, make an appointment with a board-certified dermatologist.