Know Your Skin Type & Best Way to Prevent Skin Problems

Skin type is determined by the amount of sebum (oil) produced by the skin

NORMAL SKIN

 It has a fine even texture with a supple and smooth surface.

 It has a proper balance between oil and moisture contents and is therefore moist, and neither greasy nor dry

 It looks clear and does not develop spots and blemishes

 The pores of the skin are fine and barely visible

 It reflects good health and needs gentle treatment

DRY SKIN

 Dry skin flakes easily.

 It is prone to wrinkles and lines.

 The surface of dry skin is unable to retain moisture, as well as there will be insufficient produce on of sebum by the sebaceous glands.

 It often has problems in cold weather and ages faster than normal or oily skin.

OILY SKIN

 Over secretion of sebum is the underlying factor that makes the skin surface oily.

 Oily skin is prone to blackheads, whiteheads, spots, pimples and such skin will never be clear.

 This type of skin needs to be cleansed thoroughly,

COMBINATION SKIN

 It is a combination of both oily and dry skin with certain areas of the face being oily and the rest being dry.

In this type of skin, there are 2 Zones.

A) T –Zone ‐ [Oily or greasy] (forehead, nose and chin)

B) C‐ Zone – [Dry] (Cheeks and areas around the eyes)

SENSITIVE SKIN

 Sensitive skin has a fine texture and is very sensitive to climate changes.

 It reacts quickly to both heat and cold; therefore, it gets sunburns and windburns easily

 Commonly dry, delicate and prone to allergic reactions, temperature changes, detergents and cosmetics.

Things to do to keep your skin healthy

CLEANSING

Cleanses the skin deeply and enables the skin to breathe easily

Cleansing is essential for removing dirt, makeup and other impurities that clog the skin

Cleansing avoids clogging of the pores (Clog: Pores closed with dust)

Cleansing opens the pores in the dermis layer

Always consider your skin type first while choosing a cleanser

You should avoid cleansing with soap (soap which is not water soluble).

This is because skin is slightly alkaline and soap is acidic; thus, it disrupts the skins naturally acidic protective film

Your cleanser should not strip your skin of its natural oils and it should easily rinse away oil.

Creamy cleansers suitable for dry skin

Cleanse skin at least twice a day with a mild, non‐irritating cleanser

Note: Formation of blackheads, whiteheads or pimples is possible even with normal and dry skin if the oil glands are blocked without proper cleansing.

Best Cleansers

1] Lemon grass or neem cleanser for oily skin

2] Peach cleanser for dry skin

3] Use cleansers that have a PH balance

TONING

 Toning is necessary to clean up any dirt or grime accumulated in the pores that the cleanser (as per first step) misses. The toner is also used to remove any residue from the facial cleanser that we may not have rinsed out properly.

 The toner helps to restore the natural pH level and leaves your skin clean, clear and ready to be hydrated.

 Toning closes the pores, tightens the skin and keeps it from being exposed to many environmental pollutants.

 After cleansing the pores, the dermis layer remains open, so if we allow the pores to remain open, the oil and sweat glands in the dermis layers will start producing more oil and sweat. To avoid this, toning is important.

There are 3 basic toning lotions:

1) Astringents: They have the special ability of closing the pores. In general, they are very healthy for all types of skin.

2) Skin tonics: They are milder than astringents and used in removing the sticky residue of non‐washable cleansing creams.

3) Skin Freshness: They make the skin feel cool and refreshed.

Best toners

1] Tea Tree toner – For oily skin. It is also an bacterial

2] Chamomile - Makes skin tone even, minimizes pores. It protects skin pigment

3] Green Tea - Improves skin complexion

MOISTURIZING

 Your skin should be treated with a day me moisturizer that provides a broad spectrum sunscreen

 At night, using a more intense moisturizer helps to rebalance and normalize your skin as you sleep

 As we grow older, both of these however decrease in ac vity; therefore, we need a moisturizer

 All skin types need moisturizing twice a day

 You should be careful to choose a moisturizer that suits your skin type

 A moisturizer contains micro sponges that absorb unwanted oils in the skin

 During the summer, apply gel‐based creams

 During the winter, apply night creams

 Apply nourishing creams during the winter season

 After crossing 30,start applying an ‐aging or collagen‐based creams, which retain collagen and fibers in the skin.

PROTECTION

 To protect skin from UV rays, apply creams that contain SPF 15

 Apply gel‐based SPF 15 creams after applying moisturizer

 If the moisturizer contains SPF 15, then applying protection cream again

 Compact powder, which contains UV protection acts as a protective barrier to the skin