How to know your skin type? Easy ways to understand your skin type

Many factors influence our skin type. Our skin type can change depending on several environmental, hormonal, or genetic factors. This article will help you navigate and understand your skin's overall behavior and give you a better idea of your skin type. This blueprint will also help you choose the best products that suit your skin and other care methods.

Read throughout and find out which type sounds most like your skin. These descriptions generally apply to facial skin but feel free to apply some of these basic principles to body skin to understand your skin type better.

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Easy ways to know your skin type

1. Pay attention to how your skin feels

Notice how your skin feels right after you wash your face (cleansing) and ten minutes after you wash your face and have not applied any face cream. The texture and feel of your skin on any given day will reveal a lot about its type and what skincare routine you should follow.

Combination skin: If your skin is oily and dry in different locations and you notice two or more types of texture on your face, it means you have a combination skin type. Combination skin usually feels oily in the T-zone (the area that includes your forehead, nose, and chin) but dry everywhere else.

Sensitive skin: Sensitive skin usually feels itchy, patchy, dry, and sometimes sting. As a general rule, if you apply any product and feel inflammation rising or your skin temperature rising, the product does not suit you. If you still want to use that product, pick a sensitive skin version and do a patch test to see if it fits your skin type.

Normal skin: Normal skin feels even and balanced. It’s neither too dry nor too oily or sensitive.

Oily skin: If you feel like you are constantly reaching for the oil blotting sheets, you probably have oily skin. Oily skin will feel greasy and shiny all over.

Dry skin: Dry skin will feel tight and dry. It is usual to be flaky and crack, especially in the winter months.

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2. Notice your pores

The size of your pores determines a lot about skin type. Their tendency to get clogged is a significant indicator as well.

Combination skin: If pores are large and often clogged around the nose but are small and unnoticeable on the cheeks and other areas of the face, this is a sign of combination skin.

Sensitive skin: Normal to large pores, but this can differ based on a possible reaction to a product or other irritant.

Normal skin: Pores that are unnoticeable.

Oily skin: Often struggle with large pores easily clogged with sweat and oils the body secretes.

Dry skin: Typically small pores that often feel tight.

Different routines basis Skin Type (Image via Canva)

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3. After cleansing

Combination skin: After cleansing, combination skin will often feel clean, refreshed, and oil-free around the nose area but tight and dry around the cheeks.

Sensitive skin: Sensitive skin will often feel clean and a bit dry after washing, but the cleanser may trigger itching and irritation to occur. When this happens frequently and with a range of products, it is a sign of sensitive skin.

Normal skin: People with normal skin will feel clean and clear after cleansing. They might still require a little moisturizer, but overall, the skin doesn’t feel too parched or sensitive.

Oily skin: After cleansing, oily skin will feel clean and oil-free, almost the only time it feels that way. Shortly after cleansing, oil will return.

Dry skin: For dry skin, cleansing can dry out the skin and make it feel taut and dehydrated.

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4. The need for moisturizing

Almost everyone needs a moisturizer to keep their skin healthy and hydrated, but how often you need it can indicate how good your skin is at staying hydrated and what type of skin you are dealing with.

Combination skin: People with combination skin will frequently need to apply moisturizer to some areas of their face that are drying out (often the cheeks) but will rarely need it on other, oilier regions (like the T-zone).

Sensitive skin: Sensitive skin usually requires moisturizer somewhat frequently, but it’s hard to find one that doesn’t irritate the skin and cause a reaction.

Normal skin: People with normal skin won’t need to apply moisturizer very often throughout the day as the skin stays fairly moisturized.

Oily skin: For people with oily skin, moisturizers tend to make their skin even oilier so they don’t need them very often throughout the day.

Dry skin: Dry skin demands a lot of moisturizer throughout the day, and it is especially needed upon waking or after cleansing the face.

Understanding your skin type is the first step towards achieving a healthy and radiant complexion. By paying attention to how your skin feels, observing your pores, and noting the post-cleansing effects, you can identify whether you have a combination of sensitive, normal, oily, or dry skin.