How to Determine Your Skin Type

Hi, my name is Kristyna and I have been a licensed esthetician, aka skin care specialist, since 2008.  I decided to write this blog in order to help people with their skin’s needs and issues.  But enough about me, let’s talk skin.  

The first thing to determine in caring for your skin is what type of skin you have.  There are four skin types:  dry, normal, combination, oily, and sensitive.  In order to figure out which you have, simply grab a mirror, which shouldn’t be hard since most people spend an average of five days a year in front of one.  The second and last step, examine your pores.

You start by looking at the size of the pore from the center of the face (nose, chin, forehead) to the outside (cheeks).  Depending on what you see, it will tell you, your skin type.

1.        Dry:  You will notice little to no pores on the face and if anywhere, the sides of the nose.

2.       Normal:  Medium sized pores in the t-zone (nose, chin, forehead) that dissipate to a smaller size of the cheeks.

3.       Combination: Large sized pores in the t-zone that shrink to a medium size on the cheeks.  Normal and combination skin types are very similar.

4.       Oily:  Large pores all over face.

If you’re sitting there wondering how do I know what’s large and what’s little, don’t worry, because there are other ways to determine what type of skin you have.

Image from:  http://www.123rf.com

The other way is by texture and pimples.  You ask yourself two questions:  How does my skin feel to the touch (rough and flaky, smooth, or oily)? and how often do I breakout? 

1.       Rough and flaky:  this usually indicates dry skin and will most likely not have pimples.

2.   Smooth:  this is usually how normal and combination skin feels and is subject to the occasional breakout.

3.     Oily:  if you touch your face and rub your fingers together and it feels greasy, you have oily skin, which means you are definitely prone to breakouts.

There are other factors in determining on how to treat your skin, such as dehydration, sensitivity, acne, and aging, but we’ll get to that next week.