Overview

There are five main skin types: normal, dry, oily, combination and sensitive. Skin type is the category people use to describe how oily, dry, or sensitive their skin is. After understanding your skin type, you can formulate a skin care plan to keep your skin healthy. Each of them has unique characteristics, and understanding them will help you better take care of your skin.

Your skin type will depend largely on how well your natural skin barrier is functioning, especially when it comes to moisture and water content.

What causes different skin types?

Skin type can vary for a variety of reasons. While it’s heavily impacted by genetics, it’s also influenced by other factors, including age, hygiene, weather, and underlying conditions. 

How can you figure out your skin type?

Different skin types have varying characteristics. They have different water and oil content. They also have different degrees of sensitivity.

Normal skin

If your skin feels hydrated and comfortable, but not greasy, your skin may be normal. People use the term "normal skin" to describe skin that is not particularly oily, dry, or sensitive. This type of skin produces enough sebum to keep the skin evenly hydrated without becoming oily. 

Normal skin is balanced—feeling neither dry nor oily. It is not prone to breakouts, flakiness, feeling slick or tight. Pores are generally small, the skin's texture is smooth, and it is less likely to be prone to sensitivity or blemishes.

Dry skin

Skin may feel taut or show flakes of dead skin. It is associated with dull complexion, red patches, small pores and peeling, cracking, itchiness, or irritation. Moisturizing is important for this skin type. If there is not enough moisture, the skin is easily affected by the weakened skin barrier, causing the area to dry out and ultimately accelerating the aging process of the skin. 

People with dry skin may lack some natural moisturizing factors that help the skin retain moisture, and may produce less sebum than other skin types. If there is not enough moisture, the skin is easily affected by the weakened skin barrier, causing the area to dry out and ultimately accelerating the aging process of the skin. 

Many factors can cause dry skin, including sun exposure, hot showers, and excessive exfoliation with products such as salicylic acid or glycolic acid. Women are more likely to have dry skin than men. Any skin, regardless of type or ethnicity, will become dry with age. People with dry or oily skin may also have sensitive skin, although this is more common with dryness.

Oily skin

If your sheets show an abundance of oil all over your face, you have oily skin. Skin is characterized by the grease on the tissue. It is also common for a person with oily skin to have large pores and a shine. It is more often seen in young people, caused by overactive skin glands secreting excess lipids. It is due to or made worse by puberty (hormone imbalance), stress, excess heat, or humidity.

People with oily skin should wash their face with mild cleansers and use non-comedogenic skin care products that will not clog pores. Certain acne medications can also treat excessive sebum production.

Combination skin 

There is no universal definition of combination skin, and some dermatologists, including Baumann, believe that this is not the real type of skin - oily or dry. You may have dehydrated skin, oily skin, combination skin, or all of the above. The T-zone can be slightly oily, and the rest of the face can range from normal to dry. Typically, combination skin looks like a greasy T-zone — forehead, nose, and chin — with dry skin elsewhere on the face.

People with combination skin often find that harsh chemical treatments, such as those containing benzoyl peroxide, will further dry out dry areas of the face and increase sebum secretion in oily areas.

Sensitive skin

Sensitive skin is caused by a decrease in the barrier function of the epidermis, it is often referred to as a skin type, but you can have oily and sensitive skin, dry and sensitive skin or normal and sensitive skin. Regardless of which type of skin you have, if you have sensitive skin, it may be red, feel like it's burning, itching or dry.

Sensitive skin is easily irritated. It can take some trial and error to find products that work for your sensitive skin.  opt for gentle, soap-free cleansers that are non-comedogenic and fragrance-free to limit any risk of irritation.

If you have very reactive skin, this could be a sign of an underlying medical condition such as eczema or rosacea. If people have special concerns, they can take additional steps to care for their skin and see a doctor or dermatologist for further advice. Treating both dry and oily areas means finding the perfect combination skin care method that's strong enough to exfoliate without irritating your skin.

Takeaway

If your skin looks shiny , you may have oily skin; if it looks tight, flaky, or scaly, you may have dry skin. If the luster is only in your T zone, you may have combination skin; if your skin feels hydrated and comfortable, but not greasy, your skin may be normal. If you find a small amount of forehead and nasal oil on the ink pad, your skin is probably a normal combination.

Understanding your skin type is an important first step in discovering the most effective way to care for your skin. While all skin types benefit from the use of products such as cleansers and moisturizers, which ones you use depends on your skin type.

Even if your skin is tamed, that doesn't mean it can't handle dry, oily, sensitive or mixed periods from time to time. Your skin may be tight, paper-like, or have fine lines when you pinch your skin. For those with dry skin, you may need to reapply your moisturizer throughout the day, especially after showering, bathing, or washing your hands.

DISCLAIMER       

Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice.