The Importance of Knowing your Skin Type

Many people assume that your daily touch-ups and regular blotting are factors of having an oily skin type. However, this particular oiliness could potentially mean that your skin could fall into the category of ‘Combination’.  Combination Skin means that there are two or more skin issues occurring at the same time, usually oily and dry.

Most people fall into one of the following skin types: Normal, Oily, Dry or Combination. According to New York Dermatoligist Dhaval Bhanusali MD, she explains that the most common Skin type is Combination. Usually the determining factors are an oily T-Zone, including shine on the nose, chin and forehead, large pores and dryness/flakiness surrounding the outer cheek areas.

As there is more oil producing glands in the central face, most people tend to be oilier in this area, which explains why the T-Zone is more prone to blackheads. The outer cheek areas do not have such active oil glands, resulting in more inflamed and drier patches.

A true oily skin type will have oiliness/shine all over their face, and not just prominence in the central T-Zone; they will also be much more prone to acne than people with combination skin.

Not sure whether you have Combination Skin? One way to test is to wash your skin with a gentle cleanser, pat your skin dry and wait for 10-15 minutes.  Most likely, your face will appear greasy/shiny and you will have very noticeable pores around your T-Zone, and your cheeks will feel dry and tight.

Knowing your skin type is crucial in determining which products would be the most beneficial. Using the wrong products can actually make your skin worse than improving your skin in the first place.

Some products are too harsh for the skin and contain drying ingredients such as Sulfates, which can heighten dryness without treating the concern. This ingredient is found mostly in cleansers, washing your face with a Cleanser containing Sulfate strips the water from your skin and creates a build up of dead, dry cells.  This is why it is important to always check what is included in your Skin products, to see whether you are causing more damage than good.

Here at Skin Medical we choose a Skin Care Regime that is tailored to your exact skin type. We specialise in Medical-grade skincare, containing higher concentrations of active ingredients than over the counter products, these penetrate the deeper layers of the skin to provide real results!

To book a free skin consultation with one of our experienced practitioners or to find out more about any of our treatments or products, please contact the Manchester city centre clinic on 0161 839 7663 or submit an online enquiry.