What’s Your Skin Type? The Basis of a Good Skincare Routine
We, humans, love categorizations. It makes our life easier to think in black-white terms. Nuance complicates our lives, and as we struggle more with staying focused, yes or no questions are very tempting.
But skincare isn’t black and white. There IS nuance. Although I’ll describe the traditional skin categories, remember that these are just guidelines. And that we’re way more than just a type of skin!
Finding the right skincare routine takes a bit of patience and a willingness to try different things, until you find what works for you. This is because our needs are unique, and as much as companies want to create products that solve all of our issues, this is impossible. So even if something has all the right indications that will work for your skin, if you try it and it's not living up to its promise, don't get discouraged!
Importance of understanding your skin type
But there IS power in better understanding our skin (hence why I wrote this journal). Getting to know your skin is important because this will determine the types of products that will work best for you.
If you know what your skin needs and what it works well with, you can make better-informed decisions when it comes to taking care of it.
Skin type will also influence the products you use: from the ingredients they contain to the order or applying them, and even to the texture and feel of the products that work best for you.
Skin types
The most basic classification of skin is determined by the size of your hair follicles. What we refer to as pores, are actually hair follicles and their visibility relates to the type of skin you have
Dry: your hair follicles (aka pores) are very small and almost unnoticeable.
It tends to feel tight and uncomfortable, especially when you skip moisturizer
Moisturizer absorbs very rapidly
Prone to rough patches
Oily: hair follicles are larger and more visible to the naked eye
Makeup doesn’t stay well throughout the day
More prone to acne and breakouts (but not exclusive)
Visible shine, even right after cleansing
Combination: hair follicles are more visible in part of your face (typically the T-zone, which is the center of the forehead, nose, and chin — or for some people the nose and right next to the nose on the cheeks), and the rest of your face has smaller and less noticeable pores
You might also see an additional category: “normal.” But I really dislike this and don’t believe this is a skin type. There's no definition of normal skin, because if I'm naturally oily, then my normal skin is oily — and I just use products to ensure it's healthy. So I focus more on describing it as healthy skin.
It's also often described as skin with few to no imperfections, and I'm sorry but PERFECT SKIN DOESN'T EXIST!
When you're just getting started with skincare, a basic and simple classification system can be very beneficial so thinking in these black and white terms of why type of skin you have can be helpful. Just be careful not to blindly follow any guidelines! Ideally, you will learn to understand your skin and find the right products, based on ingredients and what your skin needs, not on what type of skin the product is marketed for.
The grass is always greener on the other side, but one type isn't better than the other one. The issue is that society plays a huge role in determining what is perceived as "ideal" but each type has benefits and drawbacks. For example, dry skin may not experience the dreaded shine, but fine lines can be more prevalent early on. And currently, the trend is dewy skin, therefore dry skin is at a disadvantage. But these trends change and so what's perceived as ideal changes with it. Bottom line is — strive for healthy skin that works for you, not ideal or perfect skin based on random standards!
What's not a skin type
Here's another layer to add to the complexity of this topic. We often mistake conditions in our skin as types. Conditions such as dehydration and sensitivity are not a skin type because anyone can experience either (or both!). You can have oily skin and experience dehydration; you can have oily skin and be sensitive; or dry and be sensitive.
Dehydration
Sensitive
Acne
Hyperpigmentation
Aging
How to identify your skin type
Find a day and some time for you to experiment — give yourself at least 1-2 hours when you can be relaxed at home
Wash your face with a gentle cleanser
Leave your skin bare
Check your skin after 20 min and see how it looks and feels: is it oily? does it feel tight?
Do another check an hour later as well. You can also test with a blotting paper. Press it next to your nose: if nothing comes on it or it doesn't stick, high chance your skin is dry. Contrary, if you see grease on the paper, then you're oily
Pay attention to other areas of your face and see how they feel and react.
Be mindful that a lot of people will find that different areas of their faces present with different types and conditions. Take note of this. Do you have an oily forehead but a dry nose? Dehydrated on your cheeks? Do you notice more hyperpigmentation on one side of the face than on the other? Paying attention to these factors can help you find targeted solutions. You can mix and match your products! But I digress, and this may be a step further than what we're trying to get to here. Maybe a topic for another blog post?
Remember that many other factors can contribute to how your skin feels. This simple test can give you a guideline, but it's not clear cut.
Flaws of categorization
Limiting ourselves to small buckets of categories puts us at high risk of failure. There are so many variables that can play a role in our skin and thinking in such limited ways is not beneficial. I'll turn myself blue from repeating this, but we're unique individuals, and so is our skin. But it is helpful to some extent to understand to better achieve our goals: healthy skin.
This old school category system (oily, dry, combination) was apparently developed by Helena Rubinstein*. So there isn't that much science to this classification other than an easy way to market products.
The good news is that as the industry is evolving, so is our approach to it. New and broader perspectives have surfaced, which can really help us better understand our skin. Dr. Leslie Baumann developed a more descriptive rating system that differentiates on skin oiliness, skin discoloration, wrinkle-prone skin, and sensitivity. Resulting in a total of 16 skin types.
Additionally, as professionals in esthetics, our experience and knowledge also shapes the way we treat skin. We know that there’s no one size fits all and we focus on finding the most personalized approach to caring for your skin. Or at least I do!
Many other factors will contribute to how your skin is responding and how your type "behaves." For example, living in highly polluted areas, your hormones, stress levels, and even the products you've been using. In this case, the type of skin may be deceived. Overall, our skin type remains pretty stable throughout our life. But if changes do occur, these will occur over the course of a long period of time, not overnight. However, as we experience different life circumstances and environments, the needs of our skin will vary.
A new(ish) approach to skin types: Baumann Skin Type Solution
Nothing in life is black or white. And the skin is no exception. Rather than categorizing in such a limited capacity as it was traditionally done, Dr. Leslie Baumann developed a more descriptive rating system. The Baumann Skin Type Solution measures four factors in the skin (and it takes more of a spectrum approach):
Oily vs. dry
A difference in how she measures oiliness and dryness is based on the health of the skin barrier, the outer layer of skin.
Resistant vs. sensitive
According to Dr. Baumann, 40% of people have some sensitivity condition. There are four subtypes for sensitivity: acne, rosacea, stinging, and allergic, which are all based on inflammation!
Pigmented vs. non-pigmented
This has nothing to do with skin color, but rather, how likely you are to develop dark spots. I love this one because there’s a difference between the color of your skin and how your skin reacts to the sun.
Tight vs. wrinkled
How your skin appears will depend on both intrinsic factors (things like genetics) as well as extrinsic (sun exposure, smoking, lifestyle habits)
I like that she encourages those who fall under tight to incorporate some of the measures that people with wrinkled skin may benefit from (prevention is QUEEN!)
Based on these categories, there are 16 types where anyone can fall. It’s a bit more complicated to determine because it’s more robust, but she claims that once you figure out your skin using this system, you can customize your skincare and treatments more efficiently and successfully.
As you can see, this different approach sort of conflicts with what I said above about what’s NOT a skin type. However, my understanding of this system is to approach skincare based on your current needs. And these needs and goals will change throughout your life, so reassessing what works best and what’s needed most is important for everyone.
A few tips for different skin types and conditions
You know that the basic skincare routine includes a cleanser, moisturizer, SPF. What type of product you use may vary depending on your skin type or needs.
What to look for in your cleanser:
Dry skin: I recommend an oil-based or a cream/milk-based cleanser that won't strip away the natural oil of your skin and won't deplete your skin of moisture. Avoid foaming ones!
Oily skin: you don't want to deplete your skin from ALL oil, but you might be able to handle gel cleansers better.
If you're sensitive, I recommend a similar product to dry skin types. Also, try to identify what ingredients cause sensitivity and avoid those specifically
Combination skin: listen to what your skin needs most. For example, if you find that it's well moisturized, a gentle cleanser will be fine and tolerable.
What to look for in your moisturizer:
Dry skin: look for heavier moisturizers with ingredients such as either oil, glycerin, lanolin, hyaluronic acid, beeswax, or shea butter.
Dehydrated: because this is a condition to the skin, it's trickier. You may be oily but still dehydrated (for example). As you learn more about your skin, you'll be able to differentiate between dry and dehydrated. For dehydrated skin, look for ingredients that are more humectant heavy (glycerin, hyaluronic acid)
Oily skin: YOU STILL NEED TO MOISTURIZE. Might only need to moisturize at night, but don't skip it. You will want a lighter moisturizer that is more water-based. And it might simply be that you use a serum to moisturize.
Sensitive: it's important to identify what you're sensitive to. But in general, good ingredients to look for are those that help strengthen the skin barrier to reduce irritation, such as ceramides and niacinamide
Combination: my recommendation is to treat is as oily skin (without overdrying it), and add additional moisturizer (might be a heavier one) in the areas dry patches of the skin
For your SPF: basically, anything that you’ll wear!
Additionally, based on what other concerns you have (call them conditions or different factors, as per Baumann), you can incorporate products with specific ingredients to address them.
Dark spots:
For topical treatments, you want to incorporate skin brightening ingredients into your skincare. Using serums, gels, or creams with retinoid or hydroquinone can help fade dark spots. AHAs, azelaic acid, and niacinamide will also help brighten as well as inhibit skin pigmentation
Acne:
The most common ingredients to look for when treating acne are benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, AHAs such as glycolic, mandelic, and lactic acid, azelaic acid, and the OG retinol. Any of these can be in your face cleanser, your moisturizer, or additionally in serums or gels.
Fine lines & wrinkles:
The biggest ingredient that also has the most amount of scientific data behind its efficacy is retinoid and all of its derivatives. From OTC ones (Retinyl esters, Retinol, Retinaldehyde, Adapalene) to prescription ones (Tretinoin, Isotretinoin, Tazarotene). There are many factors to consider when thinking about incorporating this into your routine, but it all comes down to how much can your skin tolerate and how much will you protect your skin from potential side effects.
Antioxidants are also important when looking for rejuvenation: think about vitamin C, vitamin E, resveratrol, green tea, etc.
Peptides: this is also very popular in products targeting aging, however, there's less conclusive data. Efficacy depends on the type of peptide, with the most results-driven being Pal-KTTKS (also known as matrixyl).
P.S
There are traditionally three classic skin types: oily, dry, combination.
We've evolved this idea to a more inclusive approach and acknowledge that skin is unique and a lot more needs to be factored in
Conditions are not types of skin (acne, dehydration, sensitivity, aging, hyperpigmentation, etc. can be experienced by any type of skin). These also fall under a spectrum and can change throughout life.
Understanding your skin better is a crucial step in building your skincare routine: the types of products and ingredients you incorporate will all depend on both your type and the concerns you're looking to address
The goal is always to maintain healthy skin. This will look different to each one of us — yay for celebrating our uniqueness!
P.P.S
Regardless of your skin type, everyone needs SPF!
Resources:
Cosmetic Dermatology Principles and Practices by Leslie Baumann and Edmund Weisberg
The Skincare Bible: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Great Skin by Dr. Anjali Mahto
Milady: Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary by M. Varinia Michalun and Joseph C. DiNardo