What’s your skin type?

How many times have you heard the question ‘What’s your skin type?’ when shopping for your skincare or foundation.

During my 9 years working at MAC Cosmetics, one of the key questions we were taught to ask every customer is ‘what is your skin type?’. This question stumped many people and for good reason, it can be difficult to know what your skin type is especially because it can and usually does change month to month based on several different factors. The big ones are your period, the weather and using the incorrect skincare products to start with. These are all massive contributions to your skin type changing so it’s important to be able to recognise how your skin is changing and use the correct product accordingly.

So let's talk about skin types, how many are there and what are their characteristics? Think about it as “the basic” fall into 4 main skin types, Oily, Dry, Combination and Normal. You can put yourself into one of the main groups but still experience other concerns which can fall into “subcategories”, Sensitive, Dehydrated, Textured, and Acne pron. So how do you spot the differences?

Dry. Skin is uncomfortable and feels tight, cracked and itchy immediately after washing and remains throughout the day if no skincare is added to reinstate moisture. Some lightweight skincare products like lotions will absorb quickly and skin will continue to remain tight or flaky. You may also notice foundation can absorb throughout the day as your skin is trying to drink up the moister within the foundation, this then leaves your foundation base looking patchy and lacklustre with areas that appear textured as the foundation grabs to the dryness. If you suffer with skin conditions like eczema then these symptoms will read true to you. Thick creams and oils complement and relieve these symptoms the best.

Oily. Skin can feel slippery to the touch soon after washing your face, Skin will develop a high amount of oil without any additional skincare products being applied. Usually, you will have high shine and excess glow that moves your makeup around soon after application, which means you're continuously adding powder throughout the day to die down the glow. You may not believe that your skin can overproduce extra oil because it lacks oil from your daily routine, I know confusing! But the main take-home is DON’T just use mattifying products on your skin, maybe introduce an oil in the evenings to give your skin the hydration it needs without looking like an oil slick throughout the day. Lotions and gel-based moisturizers complement the best.

Combination. This is probably the most common skin type I’ve experienced at work. Most combination skin is that typical oily T zone (forehead, nose and chin) and dryness around the outside of the face like cheeks and jawline. The trouble with finding skincare for this category is finding the right balance as you're fighting with two opposite skin concerns. I find what works best is applying a serum over the entire face to hydrate all areas but not overdo it, then a cream patted around the outside of the face and neck to give a hydrated plump look. When applying makeup glowy products can be applied on the cheekbone area but powder-based products are needed more to the centre of the face as that area will go shiny quickly. Gel and water-based products support this skin type the best.

Normal. None of the above categories is noticeable, it's evenly balanced with not too much oil being produced and not too much dryness. This skin type is less prone to blemishes and enlarged pores. Makeup will last long throughout the day with little to no movement.

When shopping for skincare I make a general rule that my day and evening products should fall into my main skin type, and then treatments and add-on products should form around the sub-category concerns. This will ensure you don’t waste money on products that are incompatible with your skin type. With all that being said I hope this post has given you more clarity about skin types and helped give you a better understanding of your own.

Below are a few recommendations for each skin type, these products I’ve used on multiple occasions and adore.

Dry skin: Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Face Cream

Oily skin: Origins Make A Difference Rejuvenation Treatment (Gel ultra-hydratant)

Combination skin: Boots Ingredients Hyaluronic Acid Moisturiser

Normal skin: Hadalabo Tokyo Super Hydrator