How to know your skin type?

If there is one subject that should not be mistaken when talking about male beauty, it is knowing your skin type. How many messages do I receive every week on my social networks asking me: how do I know my skin type?

Why do you need to know your skin type?

Knowing your skin type is a determining factor before choosing your treatment, whether it is a face serum, a moisturizer, and even a face cleanser. You should not apply a special product for oily skin on dry skin. At the risk of making your skin even drier and thus having the opposite effect to what is desired. So before choosing a skincare product or setting up a specific men's beauty routine, it's important to make sure it's right for your skin type.

Skin type can change

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But beware, our skin type is changing! You don't necessarily have oily skin all your life. Just as you can have skin that becomes sensitive over the years. Our skin type changes according to age, hormones, lifestyle, climate, pollution... several factors come into play.

The different skin types

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He points out that there are four types of skin: dry skin, oily skin, combination skin and normal skin. We also find mature skin, which comes with age, and sensitive skin, which can occur with the use of certain products on the skin or a change in temperature.

It is our genetic heritage that determines our skin type, but many external factors can have a strong influence on our skin type. The external factors are:

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• our hormones,

• climate and temperatures,

• UV,

• chemicals we put on our skin,

• our lifestyle, which involves food, tobacco, stress, sleep...

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So, although we have a skin type at the start, it can change depending on our way of life. Hence the fact of having an irreproachable hygiene will have a strongly positive impact on the quality of our skin.

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Preliminary point: all skin types can be dehydrated

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This is a point I want to raise before talking about the different skin types because we tend to confuse dry skin with dehydrated skin. You should know that all skin types can be dehydrated, even oily skin! The difference between dry skin and dehydrated skin is as follows:

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• dry skin lacks sebum

• dehydrated skin lack of water

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Article to read: what is sebum ?

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Thus, having dehydrated skin is not a type of skin, but a specific problem that the skin encounters and that will have to be solved by applying a moisturizer for the face and for the body. Fine lines of dehydration can also appear at the corners of the eyes on dehydrated skin.

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1st type of skin: normal skin

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The normal skin type is the type of skin that anyone would dream of having. Because having normal skin is in fact having skin that is perfectly balanced. It is a type of skin that is neither too dry nor too oily, which has a good balance between the production of sebum and the hydration of the skin.

How to recognize normal skin?

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The normal skin type is easy to recognize because the skin has no imperfections (pimples, blackheads, whiteheads) and it is skin that is soft, well pulped and of a beautiful color. No shine appears on the chin, nose or forehead. It is a skin that does not provide any itching of the tugging type.

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2nd type of skin: dry skin

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People who have dry skin as a skin type have less sebum production than those with normal skin. However, the sebum, with the sweat and water coming from the deep layers of the epidermis, constitutes the hydrolipidic film, which acts as a barrier on the skin to protect it from external aggressions. As the sebum is missing, then the hydrolipidic film is too thin. Thus, dry skin is skin benefiting from less protection against external aggressions. The hydrolipidic film also helps to make the skin more supple.

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It is therefore important here not to apply care for oily or combination skin on dry skin, these care will regulate the little sebum that you have on your dry skin. And thus further weaken the hydrolipidic film.

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How to recognize dry skin?

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Dry skin is skin that, due to the lack of water, will be rough. You will also feel tightness, itching, it will be less flexible. Many people who have dry skin also have a relatively dull complexion. People with dry skin have far fewer pimples and almost no blackheads or whiteheads on the famous T-zone.

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In extreme cases, people with very dry skin will experience flaking, with the skin peeling off and creating like small dandruff. Bearded men can easily tell if their skin is very dry by brushing their beard: the appearance of dandruff in the hairs of the beard is then an element to take into account to moisturize your skin.

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Generally, people who have dry skin also have dry elbows, as well as knees and heels.

Read here the article on recommended care for dry skin .

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3rd type of skin: oily skin

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Oily skin is a type of skin that is characterized by more sebum production than normal skin. In case of significant production of sebum, this is called seborrhea. A person can suddenly have oily skin in the event of hormonal changes (we are talking about adolescence?) or taking medication.

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How to recognize oily skin?

Ah the famous oily skin! The one that is certainly easier to detect:

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• sometimes you just have to touch it to know that the skin is oily, by feeling it with your fingertips. Of course, this case appears in extreme cases of seborrhea (high production of sebum).

• oily skin can be seen with the naked eye, the skin glows slightly (even a lot, but we are here in extreme cases).

• the texture of oily skin is thicker, the pores are dilated and can be seen easily.

• it is a skin that is a real fertile ground for pimples, whiteheads and blackheads on the T zone.

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Read here the article on recommended care for oily skin .

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Read the article: routine adapted to oily skin , my selection of products

4th type of skin: combination skin

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This type of skin is a combination of the two previous skin types, dry skin and oily skin. It can also be a mix between normal skin and oily skin.

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How to recognize oily skin?

Combination skin is skin that will be dry on certain parts of the face (mainly temples and cheekbones) and oily on a large part of the face (chin, nose, forehead, i.e. on the T zone). He may also have skin imperfections on certain parts of the face (blackheads only on the nose for example, and not elsewhere on the face). It is therefore necessary to moisturize part of the face and regulate sebum on others, which is not necessarily obvious.

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Read here the article on recommended care for combination skin .

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Special case: sensitive skin

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Sensitive skin, anyone can have this type of skin: dry skin, oily skin and combination skin. It is easy to determine if you have sensitive skin because it will be reactive, even intolerant. Redness may appear on the face, feelings of tightness or burning. These are also skins that are more sensitive to allergies, to climatic variations (especially in winter and the onset of cold). The skin will thus react according to external factors, but also according to the application of certain products that are too aggressive for the skin.

Read here the article on recommended care for sensitive skin .

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You now have a better knowledge of the different skin types, so you can better choose the treatments that will be adapted to your skin type. If you ever have any doubts, do not hesitate to go to your dermatologist who can do a thorough examination of your skin.

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Now that you know how to determine your skin type, you will have to learn how to apply your skincare products in the right order so that your facial beauty routine is the most effective!

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Read the article: in what order should you apply your face care ?

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