The skincare market is a growing and blooming industry. From the place of “one cream fits all” it grew rapidly in the last decades into a market with hundreds of new products coming out each year. These products tend to be more and more specifically designed for characteristic Skin Types. Few years back it wasn’t a big issue if you didn’t know your skin type, because it was more like fancy cosmetic jargon used by estheticians .

As the beauty products become more and more differentiated and characterized based on skin types, it starts to be a necessity for all of us to know more about what skin types are really about and identify what skin type defines our skin the best. The actual ingredients in the moisturizer products differ from those that hydrate, the mix is different whether it was meant to balance out an oily skin or to moisten a dry skin. It’s no wonder that it is becoming more and more difficult to decide and distinguish what is good for us and what was created for people with different skin types from us. 

In our approach to skincare, we recommend focusing on maintaining a healthy skin by supporting it in maintaining its natural state of balance.  IMPORTANT :  The information we share here as well as the skin test may be useful when you want to identify your skin type at home. For better accuracy we recommend that you go to a skin care consultation or contact a dermatologist or pharmacist.

Confused about skin types and skin health? Here is what really matters

Before we dig deeper in the categories of oily, dry and combination skin types let’s see first what is behind all of that. Why this matters more than just knowing whether your skin is oily or dry? Because your oily looking skin can actually be dry skin that is out of balance and it is over producing oil. When our skin is out of balance it looses it’s natural resilience and cannot protect itself from damage.

It is important to note that what really matters for a healthy looking skin is the actual health of your skin. The skin is a dynamic, constantly self-renewing tissue from the inside out, that’s why it needs regular attention. A healthy skin has a good oil balance, a good barrier function and a well-hydrated epidermis.

All skin requires moisture from both water and oil to maintain a healthy balance and good functioning and skin types are generally about the different types of balances and imbalances of water and oil in the skin. The main barrier of the skin is located in the outermost layer of the skin and plays two important roles: 1. the role of retaining moisture and 2. protecting the deeper layers from irritants, pollutants and UV rays. Healthy skin has a natural oil balance that allows skin cells to naturally function.

If we super simplify the issue ( which is never a good idea because the details matter, but it can be efficient way to just get the main point of something) we can start with the general truth that water and oil do not mix. So oil is necessary to keep thing out and to keep things in. To make the skin barrier ( the epidermis) balanced you want a good WATER AND OIL balance in the skin. Moisturizing and Hydrating is what actually makes your skin look healthy from the outside. So again, if we super simplify this we could say that you hydrate your skin from the inside out and you aid it’s good oil balance and barrier functioning with products and treatments when something goes wrong. Healthy skin is basically a balanced skin both from the outside and from the inside.

The Skin Type Test

Every skin is different and knowing your skin type is the first necessary step in caring for your skin properly. It’s best to find out first what skin type you have and build your skin care routine around that. From a cosmetic point of view, healthy skin is classified according to oil production and oil balance. Normal skin produces a normal amount of oil, dry produces less than normal while oily skin produces more than normal oil.

The simplest and surest mode of finding out more about your skin type, is to visit a professional and ask them. In case you want to test it for yourself at home it possible using a simple tissue paper. Wash your face and let it dry. After about an hour take a tissue paper and press it on your forehead, check against the light to see if the paper became oily, spotted or dry with some flakes. Using different parts of the paper repeat the procedure on your nose, cheeks and around the chin. 

This method of testing is used to determine the most basic characteristic of your skin, that is oiliness.  It is advisable to wipe each part of your face – like forehead, chin, cheeks, eyes and nose area – separately because they might have different features. Some people have combination skin, which basically means that different areas of their face have different characteristics.

Results of the skin type test:

1. Balanced skin – There are no traces of skin particles or oil, your skin feels revitalized and elastic – in this case your skin is called normal. 
2. Oily skin – Traces of oil are the easiest to spot and that indicates that your skin is oily. This might vary from mild oiliness to very oily skin.
3. Dry skin – skin particles, dry flakes are signs of dry skin. Dry skin can also be reddish and start to be itching a little and burning soon after wiping it with the tissue. In this case it can be referred to as a sensitive skin. Sensitive skin is a special type of skin that needs special care and attention.

Another method you can use to check the results of your skin type test is the size of the pores. Pore size is another indication of skin type where small pores generally indicate dry skin, while large pores mean oily skin.

The Main Skin Types

As you can see from the test results there are 3 basic skin types : dry, oily, and normal. You may have found that your skin isn’t exactly like any of those three types. It is not something out of the ordinary, because most peoples skin is a mixture of these 3 types. There are many people with mixed skin types and with combination skin types. Your skin can also change slightly it’s basic characteristics in response to weather, diet and other outside or inside conditions. The basic skin types detailed below serve more like a guidance to know what your skin tends to be like most of the time. .

 Normal Skin

It is neither oily nor dry. The skin is vibrant, elastic and has a good circulation. Normally the pores are small and almost invisible. Breakouts are rare and come and go quickly. Blackheads if they appear will be only in the T zone.

Normal skin has a balanced oil and moisture production and has a smooth texture. Normal skin needs little maintenance and the best cosmetics are the natural ones so the natural good balance of the skin is not endangered. You want to cleans and moisturize your skin but the best about normal skin is that you can keep product use to the minimal.

Normal skin is resilient. Normal skin can became dehydrated sometimes but with a little attention and quick fixes you can easily restores the skin back to it’s natural health and balance. Resilience means that it can tolerate weather conditions pretty well and in case something causes mild irritation it heals quickly and easily.

Dry Skin

Lacks moisture and oil. It would be more correct to call the typical dry skin as the DRY DEHYDRATED skin type. (It is oil dry and water dry.) Dry skin is the most common skin type or skin condition that people encounter. Healthy skin has well hydrated skin layers with balanced oil and a good skin barrier, that keeps the moisture in and the irritations out. In case of dry skin the glands do not produce enough moisture to protect the epidermis or the upper layers are compromised so water evaporates too fast. When the sebum production is less than normal or got compromised the skin gets dry and the barrier function becomes weak.

Dry skin feels thin like paper and rough. This feeling of thinness is caused by the lack of lipids that the skin needs to retain moisture and to build a protective barrier against external influences. Dry dehydrated skin is therefore very sensitive to weather conditions, prone to irritating and ageing. Because there is little oil on the skin the pores are smaller. Dry skin is prone to develop fine lines and wrinkles, cracked lips and dry, reddish patches.

The most important skin care product for dry skin is the moisture supporting beauty products like oil based moisturizers applied together with hydrators. Dry dehydrated skin will most probably need both types of lotion or one that combines the best of both worlds.

Moisturizing and oil is the best remedy for dry skin and natural oils like argan oil, coconut oil, shea butter can do wonders for the dry skin. Dryness causes the skin to flake which can result in a dry, greyish layer sitting on top of your skin. Gentle ( very gentle) exfoliating products can remove the dead flakes and revitalize the skin giving it a healthy glow. Anti-aging, nourishing serums are also good for the dry skin type.

Hydration comes mostly from the inside so dry skin can be a sign of not drinking enough water and not consuming water rich foods like cucumber, watermelon, strawberry, apple, etc. Outside skin hydration can come from products containing glycerin for example that absorb water from the atmosphere and keep in on your skin. Natural products that help are aloe and cucumber.

NOTE. Hot water is not a friend of dry skin so it is best to shower in warm water and apply lukewarm water to the face. It is better the take short showers if you have dry skin rather than long, hot baths. Hot water washes of oil from the skin and when your skin is dry it isn’t able to rebuild that oil barrier any time soon. The skin is exposed and loosing too much water from the other, deeper layers.

Dry Hydrated Skin Type (oil dry, water rich skin). It is a healthy well hydrated skin. This type is a sign of usually good lifestyle habits and good health and can do well with using a little bit of olive oil, argan oil, coconut oil for moisturizer. Oil is the protective barrier for the skin so it needs to be replenished regularly in small quantities. It is the balanced version of the dry skin, a healthy dry skin that needs attention mostly when weather conditions become very hot or cold.

 Oily Skin

This type of skin has a greasy shine and a soft, oily texture. It is usually water dry but oil rich skin. The glands produce too much oil, the pores are often enlarged and visible, and blackheads and whiteheads are re-appearing frequently. Oil has to get out because it is in excess so the skin is pushing it out continuously through the pores and the whiteheads. Oil on the surface is sticky so irritants, dust and other things from the air stick to it easily making blackhead formation a typical thing. Make-up doesn’t stay too long. The only real benefit of this skin type is that it does not age quickly.

The cleanser is the most important cosmetic product for this skin type and milk cleansers can work well on oily skin. A common mistake is to think that, if you have oily skin you need to dry it. In reality the opposite is true. Oily skin is most typically the result of the combination of the genetic factors coupled with some form of skin dehydration. The glands mistake the lack of water for lack of oil so they compensate with more oil. Oily skin therefore needs proper hydration so the glands don’t get the impulse to produce the extra oil. Hydrating cleansing oils can be used for cleaning oily skin as they can remove impurities without drying the skin.

The severely dehydrated oily skin is a skin type that looks like a mixture because it has the flakes and roughness of the dry skin but it also develops a greasy shine. It is oily but it feels rough and hard. When there isn’t enough hydration in the skin the extra oil produced can harden to the walls of the pores, which makes extraction of white and black heads difficult.

This unbalanced skin function can be a result of many things like continuous stress, smoking or physical conditions. It is indicated to visit a dermatologist if it is something typical. You can help your skin regain its balance by introducing skin hydrating routine in your daily skin care and increasing hydrating from the inside too. Drink more water and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.

It also helps to analyze the environments where you spend a lot of time as long, direct exposure to sun, or staying in poorly ventilated heated and/ or air conditioned spaces can affect the skin quickly. Use humidifiers to ad moisture to the spaces where you spend long times or at least moistures and hydrated your skin more regularly than you usually would.

Hydrated Oily – The oily hydrated skin is very close to normal skin and it can be looked upon like a healthy , balanced form of oily skin. Your genetics are responsible mostly how your skin reacts to conditions but it is your lifestyle that determines the frequency of those conditions. People with hydrated oily skin have good lifestyle habits that benefit their health and they have good ( not extreme) environmental influences. Hydrated oily skin looks smooth and healthy. It needs extra care in the cleansing so it will stay clean without loosing its moist and water. Oily skin in general has a good barrier function and

Combination Skin

Combination skin – Combination skin type is the combination of dry and oily skin areas on one face. The usual combination is oily T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) with dry or normal areas around the eyes and cheeks. It is basically a combination dehydrated skin when it looks problematic because combination hydrated skin looks pretty much healthy.

This skin type is generally healthy, except a little excess oil in the T-zone. The best is to hydrate both from the inside and the outside and use two different products to serve the needs of each area. Clear the pores regularly in the T zone using micellar water or milk based cleansers. Use mild cream or natural oils in the drier areas.

Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin is most recognizable after the dry, itchy, red spots appearing in several areas on the face. It can be accompanied by flakiness but that is not necessary. Being extremely sensitive this skin types gets irritated easily from exposure to heat, cold, cosmetic products, strong emotions or stress. Care should be taken even with natural cosmetics not to over stimulate the skin. It is a fragile, irritated skin that needs extra attention and care so it is best to seek out professional advice.

Conclusion

The health of your skin is more important than the cosmetic skin type category it falls into. Cosmetic skin types categorize skin based on oiliness from dry , through normal and combination to really oily skin. The oiliness of your skin depends on your genetic inheritance and the built up effects from your lifestyle and routines.

Hydration is key when it comes to skincare. Stay hydrated from the inside by developing healthy, skin toning diet habits and by drinking plenty of water.

Cleansing and moisturizing is important for all skin types for maintaining a healthy oil balance in the skin barrier. A healthy skin barrier will most likely result in hydrated skin except when diet and other chemical influences compromise the moist production and retaining function of the skin itself.

Credits, further readings, good resources

P1 cookie-studio ; P2. Teksomolika

Holistic Vanity, Balanced Skin, Healthline,