Determine Your Skin Type: A Quick At-Home Experiment

“I use this cleanser every day and still have breakouts all over my face. Why so? Do I need to get a different product?” Probably yes… but don’t rush to buy whatever you see in the beauty stores! Some cosmetic formulas might not suit your skin and even worsen your condition. Act wisely and determine your skin type first. It is not that difficult and doesn’t require a medical degree. Scroll down to learn how to do a simple three-step experiment.

Table of Contents

• How to Determine Your Skin Type?

• Additional Parameters For Skin Classification

• Wrap It Up

How to Determine Your Skin Type?

1. Wash your face with a cleanser (preferably a gentle gel or mild foam).

2. Pat dry your skin with a towel and leave it for two hours.

3. After two hours, take two sheets of blotting paper. Gently press one to your T-zone and the other to your cheeks and evaluate them in the light:

• Your skin is normal if you have faint marks all over the paper

• You have an oily skin type if you find pronounced marks on both sheets

• Your skin is dry if there are no traces of oil on the sheets

• You have combination skin if you notice strong marks from T-zone

Additional Parameters For Skin Classification

Now you know the basics, and it’s time to dive a little deeper into the subject! There are other parameters that characterize the skin: levels of sensitivity, pigmentation, and elasticity. For example, you may have oily skin that is wrinkled (aging) with numerous sunspots (pigmented) and quickly getting red and irritated (sensitive). Consider these three parameters to get a complete picture of your skin type.

Sensitive vs. Resistant

• Your skin is sensitive if it easily gets red, flushed, or irritated

• Your skin is resistant if it doesn’t show signs of inflammation

Pigmented vs. Non-pigmented

• Your skin is pigmented if you develop solar-induced patches

• Your skin is non-pigmented if you have even tone without dark spots

Aging vs. Tight

• Your skin is aging if it has wrinkles, and produces less collagen and elastin

• Your skin is tight if it produces enough collagen and elastin to provide volume

Wrap It Up

To put it simply, you can define your skin type by the level of oil secretion and the strength of the skin barrier. Stress, diet, or hormones may affect the skin, but they can’t change its type. Genetic predisposition is the only main determining factor. This means there is no way to turn your dry skin type to oily and vice versa. So, knowing your skin is the first and the most important step to understanding its needs.

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