You are buying this and that skincare products because of the hype and the attention it gets on social media, right? However, do you even know your skin type in the first place?

Most of us started using skincare products without knowing our skin type. We just randomly bought the products available on the market and followed the recommendation of our friend’s ‘it skincare product.’ But wait, after purchasing this magical product, it gave you the opposite reaction; instead of giving you the healthy glowing skin that your friend claimed to achieve, it burned your face and gave you clogged pores, right? It is all because everyone has a different skin type, and the product that worked for your friend perfectly will not work for you. Therefore knowing your skin type is requisite before falling into the trap of trending products available on the market.

Finding your skin type is the first step to skincare. Understanding your skin will help you search for the best product. After knowing your skin type, you can start with choosing products. So, let’s find out the factors that affect your skin type, the different skin types, and how to know and figure out your skin type.

Factors that affect skin type

Multiple factors affect your skin type. Firstly genetics plays a crucial role in determining your skin type. The other factors can be climate, lifestyle, medications, hormones, and the products you use. But know that your skin type does not remain static forever. As you age, your skin type might change.
Your skin type will also vary according to the weather and seasons; you might have oily skin during summer but dry skin during winter. Therefore, don’t conclude that you are set for life and need to use the same product forever. We must accept that our skin changes all the time and should be ready to incorporate new products into our skincare regime, which might take some time to give out results but will undoubtedly be worth the wait.

Different skin types

There are many skin types. As you see, everybody has a unique skin type. However, it is generally categorized into four main skin types: normal, dry, oily, and combination. The sensitive skin type and acne-prone skin type are the subcategories. These subcategories can be in any of the four skin types, i.e., any of the  skin types can be sensitive and acne prone. But for the normal skin type, you are less likely to experience all these issues and even get away with them if you take care of your skin consistently.

Oily skin type

You might feel greasy, look shiny and be prone to acne if you have oily skin. As the name suggests, oily skin types are skin types in which the body produces too much natural oil or sebum. This oil production is necessary since it keeps our skin healthy, but when it’s in excess production, the problem arises as it leads to clogged pores and causes pimples.

Dry skin type

You will feel itchy and tight on the skin if you have dry skin. You will also see more fine lines, dullness, and flakiness. Unlike oily skin types, where there is excess production of natural oil, dry skin types produce an inadequate amount of oil, which is necessary for healthy skin.

Combination skin type

This skin type is a combination of two types, i.e., dry and oily, so if you have an oily T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin area) and dry c zone (cheek area), you have combination skin type.

Normal skin type

There is always one lucky person in the group.
Like, who gets to have the most flawless skin without much effort? Well, my dear, that’s you. Your skin’s oil production level is balanced, and everything seems to be going smoothly with you. However, you are not exempted from doing your skincare routine as your skin will eventually be damaged if you don’t take care of it.

Common subcategories of skin type

Sensitive skin

Know that sensitive skin is not a skin type, as you can have sensitive skin in any of the four mentioned skin types. You have sensitive skin if your skin reacts quickly to skincare products and ingredients. You will see redness and experience irritation, burning, and itchiness. It means you have delicate skin that must be taken care of cautiously. Your skin is like a very picky eater who is very specific about her food. So, feeding the right ingredients becomes essential. But don’t worry, there are a lot of suitable ingredients and skincare products for sensitive skin types available on the market.

Acne-prone skin 

Dealing with acne is complicated and dealing with it frequently is even harder, right? If you regularly handle this annoying acne issue, you have acne-prone skin. The symptoms might be pimples, irritated and inflamed skin, and lumps under the skin, which could be pretty painful.

How to find out your skin type at home

The Bare Face Method

To find out your skin type at home, you can wash your face and leave it for around thirty minutes without applying any of your skincare products. After waiting for half an hour, you can analyze your skin.

• You have dry skin if you feel tight, flaky, and itchy.
• You have oily skin if you feel greasy and oily all over your face.
• If you notice oiliness and greasiness on your t-zone and a dry patch on your cheeks, you have combination skin,
• If you don’t feel tight and itchy,  with less shine and oiliness on your face, and feel like your skin is quite balanced, then you have normal skin.

Blotting sheet method

There is also another method that you can follow to figure out your skin type, which is the blotting sheet method.

• First, wash your face with a gentle cleanser.
• Pat the water dry with a clean towel and leave it for around an hour
• After an hour, place the blotting sheets on different areas of your face like the forehead, nose area, cheeks, and chin.
• Remove the blotting sheet and see how much oil is accumulated.

If the sheets have no oil, you have dry skin. If the sheet is full of oil, you have oily skin. If the sheets from the t-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) have oil with no oil from the sheets of your u-zone, then you have combination skin, and if there is less oil on the sheet, looking relatively even, then you have normal skin.

Once you know and understand your skin type, you can start with your skincare journey!