Know Your Skin Type
Know the difference between normal, dry and oily skin.
Before knowing your skin type, you need to know that there are primarily five types of skin care: sensitive, oily, combination, sun-damaged and dry. Based on how much oil gets produced by your skin, you can determine your skin type. According to the book titled “Beauty the New Basics” by Rona Berg, you can find out your skin type by the following methods:
Go for the “skin test.” Cleanse your face and pat it dry. Then, take some pieces of either rice paper or tissue paper that’s used to clean lens. Compress this paper on various parts of your face. The paper will get attached to the skin if it is oily, absorb a bit of oil from the oily spots and turn out to be translucent. If your skin is dry, no such thing will happen. However, if the paper gets attached in your t-zone (nose, forehead and chin), then it means that you have combination skin, often called normal skin. Combination skin is prevalent in almost 70 percent of women.
The following are some of the characteristics of these five categories of skin types:
Type 1: Oily skin: has a tendency to shine, have enlarged pores, blemishes and blackheads.
Type 2: Combination/normal skin: has a smooth and uniform tone, pores of average size, fine circulation and a tendency to become oily at the t-zone and dry at the cheeks.
Type 3: Sensitive skin: is fragile and thin, has fine pores, reddens easily and is prone to frequent allergies, rashes and broken capillaries.
Type 4: Dry skin: feels taut, particularly after cleansing, tends to develop red patches, fine wrinkles and flakes; women may have an ash colored or dull skin tone due to the buildup of dead skin.
Type 5: Sun-damaged skin: feels taut, has noticeable wrinkles, broken capillaries and loose skin tone with leathery feel, particularly around the jaw line and cheeks.
