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[W509]What Is My Skin Type

by Richard Bean, Ric

The Term "Skin Type" Refers to two things: how much sebum your skin produces, and where this sebum is most heavily produced. To find out your skins type, you can do the tissue test: Simply wash your face with a gentle cleanser, wait 15 to 30 minutes, and then hold a facial tissue against your face for 5 seconds.

Different skin types

If you have oily skin, you're probably aware of it already, but if you need confirmation, do the tissue test. Oily skin will cause obvious oil stains on most of the tissue. This type of skin is the result of too much sebum being produced. The constant flow of sebum stretches pores, so the skin may also have large pores. The complexion often looks shiny, and because excess sebum can mix with makeup and dirt to clog pores, oily skin is vulnerable to breakouts.

Normal skin is the ideal. It produces enough sebum to keep skin supple, but not so much that skin looks slick. If you have normal skin, the tissue test may produce light oil stains, but nothing more.

As we get older, our skin naturally produces less sebum, which is why more mature skin is so often dry. Yet young skin can also be dry if it doesn't produce enough oil to keep the epidermis moist. Depending on how dry the skin is, it may have a rough texture or be prone to flaking. And because not a lot of sebum travels through pores, the pores will probably be small. If you have dry skin, the tissue test will show no oily stains.

Combination skin

Quite a few of us have large pores and lots of oil around the nose, chin, and perhaps forehead. But we also have normal or dry skin under the eyes and on the cheeks. This is known as combination skin. If you have it, the tissue test will show oil stains in your oily areas, but will remain dry elsewhere. To treat combination skin, address the two zones separately, giving the oily bits the sebum-absorbing care they need, and moisturizing the dry or normal bits.

Not all skins are the same. Some are oily, some are dry, some are sensitive, and others are a combination of oily and dry, oily and sensitive, or dry and sensitive. You might even have a skin type that is all three - oily, dry and sensitive. Knowing your skin type is one of the most fundamental issues in any skin care regime. This is because your skin can respond differently to different types of treatments - not all skins are the same.

Basically the person with oily skin has overactive oil-secreting glands. All skins contain glands just beneath the surface of the skin which secrete oil to constantly moisten and nourish the skin. Sometimes however persons may develop overactive oil glands due to a combination of one of more reasons. Some persons may indeed have naturally oily skin, while others would develop this problem if they are subject to a series of harsh skin treatments - whether it is medical treatments, acne irritations for a long period of time, or simply being exposed to the sun for long periods of time at a single time. The person with the oily skin may simply experience mild shines during the course of a routine day, or that person may have severely oily skins which may need to be addressed several times during the routine day.

The dry skin on the other hand is the opposite of the oily skin. The oil glands under the skin may not be as efficient in releasing oil onto the skins surface for one reason or another, depriving the skin of its basic moisturizing essentials. Dry skin may also be the result of natural problems within the glands, or they may arise from over-sensitization to skin treatments.

Combination skin oddly consists of both dry and oily skin problems. The person with this type of skin must therefore take care to exercise both the proper moisturizing procedures but at the same time not to overdo it. Oil-free moisturizers are the best bet for such skin types, and matte makeup is always recommended to keep the shine away.

Proper skin care and even makeup applications are very much dependent upon the skin type of the person experiencing the treatment. This is essential because the wrong type of skin care for the wrong skin could make the skin problem even worse by instigating flare-ups and outbreaks, in addition to causing skin sensitivity. With makeup applications, the wrong makeup application for the wrong skin care could have the same effect. For example, for oily skins, you would definitely want to stay away from oil-based makeup and oil-based skin care products.

You would also need to pay closer attention to the finishing effect of your makeup to ensure that your makeup is sufficient to maintain a matte (oil free) look all day long. On the other hand, for dry skins you would definitely need to pay attention to skin moisturizing on a regular basis, and consider carefully the types of astringents that you use to clean the face.

Article Source : Make Up And Beauty

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Both Richard Bean & David Yu are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Richard Bean has sinced written about articles on various topics from Types of Cancer, Hair Removal and Medicine. Read out for . Check out and. Richard Bean's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.

David Yu has sinced written about articles on various topics from Skin Care, Aging and Hair Styles. David Yu writes about. David Yu's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.