How To Identify Your Skin Type

I have noticed that friends, clients and some lovely Instagram followers I speak to are often confused about what skin type they have and are sometimes misdiagnosing themselves and then using the wrong products (which is very easily done!) In this post, I am going to outline the characteristics of oily, dry, combination and normal skin and also touch on a couple of different skin conditions.

Skin Types

Oily skin

Oily skin is caused by the sebaceous glands over producing sebum. An oily skinned person will normally have visible, large pores and there will be a shiny appearance on most areas of the face. Someone with an oily skin will often have blackheads, spots and blocked pores but on the positive side, oily skin normally looks plumper and ages better than other skin types.

Dry Skin

A dry skin will normally have very small pores, feel tight and often have flakiness and/or rough patches. Dry skin tends to look dull and will have more pronounced lines than other skin types. Dry skin is caused by the sebaceous glands under producing sebum.

Normal Skin

A normal skin will have small pores, no shiny appearance anywhere on the face, no flakes and rarely have breakouts. This skin type is very rare!

Combination Skin

This is the most common skin type and means that someone has a combination of the skin types above. It is very common for people to be oily on the forehead, nose and chin (t-zone) and then have normal or dry cheeks.

Skin Conditions

The most common skin condition is dehydration and it can affect any skin type, even oily. Dehydrated skin is lacking water (whereas dry skin is lacking oil.) Dehydrated skin often feels tight and can look crepe so people often think that they have dry skin and use oils but they actually have dehydrated skin and need to be using hydrating products to boost water levels.

Lots of things contribute to dehydrated skin – in winter it’s central heating, in summer it’s air conditioning, drinking alcohol, smoking, dry air, too much caffeine, too much sun exposure…I could go on.

Another common skin condition is sensitivity and this can also affect all skin types but is more often found in dry skins. A sensitive skin will become red and irritated due to particular skincare ingredients or environmental factors such as pollution, cold weather etc.

I hope this was useful and helps you identify your skin type and conditions. My next post will be product recommendations for different skin types and conditions so keep an eye out for that one!

Lauren x