What skin type are you and what does it mean?

In the confusing world of skincare, it can be quite overwhelming trying to decide where to start. Or completely frustrating when you expect your skin to transform once you brought that expensive product that caused more congestion on your face than you started with.

So instead of going out and maxing out your Afterpay on expensive skincare blindly, let’s do some actual assessment of your skin. Buying what your friend uses and recommends is also not the way to go. You shouldn’t assume that those products will suit you either; your skin is uniquely yours.

After researching and putting my own knowledge based on friends and family to use, I’ve put together some guidelines to help determine your skin type. I stress the word guideline because obviously there’s no strict labelling here. Your skin can change based on several different factors. Environmental factors, stress, allergens, diet, and age can play huge roles in determining what your skin needs. Take the time to analyse your skin and see how its doing. A flaky nose? Bumpy chin? Or oily forehead? The sooner you recognise these things, the sooner you can treat and prevent them.

So, what is your skin type:

NORMAL Skin

- Few pores surrounding the T-zone

- Little to no breakouts

- Slightly oily in the morning and end of the day

- You hardly react to products (red, stinging, or rashes)

Basically, you’ve won the skincare lottery. You could put just about anything on your skin and it would thrive. You’ve probably sailed through life with little breakouts, and soft, bright skin.

Skincare focus: Maintain healthy skin through cleansing, hydration, and sun protection. Add a facemask here and there for fun.

DRY Skin

- Little to no visible pores and blackheads.

- Prone to flaky skin.

- Your skin feels tight after cleansing

- Can sometimes feel itchy from dryness

- Hardly experience any oil.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel this one so badly as it is my skin type, so I understand the pain. Essentially, your skin needs to be nourished and beaten to a pulp with hydration. Any products with more of an oily base will be right for you, as it will assist with protecting the barrier of the skin. Exfoliation is also key, to keep the skin’s turnover cycle and those pesky dry patches away (1-2 times a week). To top it off we are also more prone to visible signs of aging (fine lines). It’s not all bad though, we have small pores, hardly ever get oily during the day, and rarely get acne. So, keep your dry little head up!

Skincare focus: Be attentive to hydration; gentle cleansers, toners, serums, and thicker moisturisers will do you a world of good. Look for products that will bring back moisture to the skin and protect the skins barrier function. Sunscreen is also a must to further protect your weak skin barrier.

OILY or ACNE-PRONE Skin

- Constantly experiencing breakouts and blackheads

- Medium to large visible pores

- You are oily in the morning

- Oil also builds though-out the day

Taking a complete 180 from your dry-skinned friends, your skin has plenty of oil and some more on top of that. This means your skin will be very healthy barrier-wise and you’ll look youthful for longer. Regrettably, this also dictates that your more prone to acne and excess oil.

Skincare focus: Reduce the amount of acne by keeping on top of exfoliation (key tip; look for salicylic acid in the ingredients- It's well-known for reducing acne by exfoliating the skin and keeping pores clear). However, not harsh exfoliators with beads as it can make micro-tears on your skin, leading to infection and more acne. Cleansing is also of vital importance; use a gentle oil cleanser to help remove your natural sebum at night and your normal cleanser day and night. Using light products and gel moisturisers will be better for your skin and not add oil to it. Sunscreen may be scary since it adds to the oily look, but mattifying ones are now available. Acne can actually darken permanently with sun, so protect it.

P.S. HORMONAL ACNE

If you experience a lot of acne but don’t feel like you fit into the oily category, then it might be hormonal.

- Your acne doesn’t respond to topical products (surface)

- Gathers around the chin and below the cheekbones.

- Your acne is more than not cystic, deeper and more painful than regular pimples.

- Can flare up during or the week before your period.

If this is the case, please talk to a dermatologist and have your hormone levels checked. This can help to adjust your lifestyle to balance your internal and external, and hopefully help with your acne.

COMBINATION skin

- Your T-zone is prone to oiliness and has visible pores

- The rest of your skin however can be normal to dry.

o Meaning you could be dealing with acne and dryness and the same time.

To put it simply your skin is very indecisive. If you feel you can relate to some of the dry and some of the oil descriptions above your probably combination.

Skincare focus: I recommend you use targeted treatments for different areas of your face. For example, if you use a thicker moisturiser on your cheeks and a gel moisturiser on your T-zone to combat your dryness and oiliness.

SENSITIVE Skin

- You have to be very cautious about what products you use.

- Brands your familiar with is probably QV, Avene, Cetaphil, La roche posay, and other pharmacy brands.

- Your skin turns red, stings, and may even come out in a rash easily.

For this type of skin, I would recommend being very vigilant about the ingredients in your products. Fragrances and dyes for example can be irritating to the skin. The pharmacy brands are normally pretty safe, they probably charge an arm and a leg for the most basic moisturiser. This is where Korean skincare comes in. Because the market over there is so saturated with different brands, all the products have to be formulated with great ingredients. Also, Koreans have naturally sensitive skin due to the pollution. So most Korean brands are made with this in mind. Definitely do your research before buying but the sensitive brands I love are Acwell, Klairs, and some COSRX products.

Skincare focus: Whether your skin is oil or dry, the first port of call is finding gentle skin-care products with great ingredients. Avoid harsh to medium exfoliation to avoid breakouts and added redness.

Hopefully this guide has helped with assessing which skin-type you are. As of right now I plan to write product guides for each skin type. But if your really busting to go out there are buy, SOKOGLAM.com is Korean skincare website where you can browse based on your skin type. Happy shopping x

Bridie Conroy