Priority #1 in optimizing your skincare routine? Determining your skin type to maximize your results. To prevent you from wasting any more time or money on a regimen that isn’t working for you, let’s get right to it.
What Are the Five Skin Types?
According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), there are five primary skin types: normal, dry, oily, combination, and sensitive. Let’s break them down.
Normal: Normal skin has a perfectly balanced pH, which means it’s neither too oily (acidic) or too dry (basic), it’s just right. It generally appears healthy overall and feels hydrated and comfortable. Some visible signs include:
- Smooth, even texture
- Small pores
- Minimal sensitivity
Dry: Dry skin can feel uncomfortable, tight, and even sometimes itchy. Because its root cause is an imbalance of natural oils, it tends to be more sensitive to certain ingredients (think acids and alcohols) and in extreme cases, it can even cause cracks and abrasions, which can be very painful. Some visible signs include:
- Flakiness, peeling, or rough, uneven texture
- More pronounced lines and wrinkles
- General dullness
Oily: Oily skin occurs with the overproduction of sebum, AKA skin’s natural oil. No matter the underlying cause for this imbalance, the excess oil can clog pores, cause blemishes, and more. Some visible signs include:
- Shiny or greasy appearance
- Enlarged pores
- Breakouts and acne
Combination: Combination skin, as its name suggests, is a mix of both dry and oily skin types. Depending on the severity, you may notice many of the visible signs listed for both or only a few. Some visible signs commonly include:
- Shiny or greasy appearance in the T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin)
- Dry, tight patches, often on cheeks
Sensitive: Sensitive skin is very reactive to specific harsh ingredients, irritants, and allergens and when not treated with proper care, it can itch, burn, and be uncomfortable. Oftentimes, this skin type can be due to underlying skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, or acne, but not always. Some visibly signs include:
- Redness and irritation
- Rashes and hives
- Flaky, peeling skin
How to Identify Your Skin Type
While sensitive skin is often the easiest to detect, that’s not always the case for the other skin types without obvious visible signs. If you’re having trouble identifying your skin type, try using blotting paper, which can be purchased at your local pharmacy or beauty supply store.
Simply cleanse your face and wait about 30 minutes so your skin can return to its natural state. Gently press a single sheet on your T-zone and take note of how much oil is absorbed. Use another sheet and repeat the same process on your cheeks. If both appear relatively “dry” or only small amounts of oil, you’ve likely narrowed your options down to having normal or dry skin type. If the T-zone sheet appears oily and the cheek sheet appears dry, you may have combination skin. Finally, if both sheets have an excess of oil, there’s a good chance you have an oily skin type.
Of course, to most accurately identify your skin type, it’s best to consult with a dermatologist, especially when extreme skin concerns are involved, like redness, peeling, acne, and more.
The Common Solution: Exfoliation + Hydration
Thankfully the solution is simple, no matter your skin type. Regardless of whether you have normal, dry, oily, combination, or sensitive skin, there is ultimately one formula that will help you achieve and/or maintain healthy, balanced, and radiant skin: exfoliation and hydration.
Each product in our four-step regimen was uniquely designed with a combination of gentle exfoliation and powerful hydration. This process of removing the “bad stuff” (i.e. dirt, debris, and dead skin cells) and replenishing it with the “good stuff” (i.e. hyaluronic acid, vegetable collagen, squalane, polyglutamic acid, and other nourishing actives) helps to balance your complexion for transformative results. The results have been proven on all different skin concerns — see for yourself.
