How to Tell What Skin Type You Have

Before shopping for skin care products, it’s important to determine what type of skin you have. Why is this important, you ask? Not only are products often labeled with the skin type they’re suited for, but they contain ingredients that target specific skin issues. This means you could be using products that are formulated for an entirely different type of skin. Knowing your skin type will help picking products much quicker and easier. In this article, we’ll break down the various skin types, as well as any issues that commonly accompany that skin type. 

What are the different skin types? 

Normal Skin Type

If you’re blessed with normal skin, you seldom deal with blemishes, redness, or other imperfections. Normal skin is naturally healthy and radiant from within, without becoming overly dry or oily from the elements. People with normal skin are less prone to sensitivities, and can safely use most products. 

Dry Skin Type

Dry skin is dull and rough, and looks like it could use a healthy dose of hydration. Because dryness reduces your skin’s elasticity, you might notice tightness, cracking, or peeling. Unfortunately, the elements can exacerbate these issues. UV light, some types of medication, and even hot showers or baths can cause excessive dryness.

Best Skincare for Dry Skin

Give your skin the big gulp of moisture it’s craving with the Moody Sisters Hydrating Skincare Essentials Set. This cleanser, toner, and cream trio is fortified with ultra hydrating ingredients like honey, shea butter, oats, and lavender. 

Oily Skin Type

Oily skin is equally tricky to treat as dry skin. If you experience frequent breakouts, noticeably large pores, or patches of greasiness, you likely have an oily skin type. While it’s commonly accepted that oily skin occurs during puberty, there are plenty of other factors that can result in oily skin. These include poor diet, changes in the weather, and even stress. It’s important for individuals with oily skin to keep cleanse well, and to use healthy, natural products.

Best Skincare for Oily Skin Types

The Moody Sisters Clear & Tone Skincare Essentials Set includes everything you need to combat oily skin with ease. Featuring an invigorating charcoal face wash, a toning mist, and oil free moisturizer, this all-in-one set is the ultimate combination of products to fight oil and give your skin new life. 

Combination Skin Type

Combination skin can be challenging to treat, as you’re likely to battle with both dry and oily spots. Areas prone to excessive oil production such as the nose, forehead, and chin may notice shininess, while other areas like the cheeks tend to become more dry. If you typically get oily in your T-zone, or find yourself having to frequently change up your skin care routine, it’s quite possible that you have combination skin.

Best Skincare for Combination Skin Types

Treating combination skin is all about finding balance, which is why our Balancing Skincare Essentials set is an excellent option. The products in this set include a green tea face wash, toning mist, and lightweight moisturizer. They work together to even out your skin tone, eliminate unwanted oil, and soothe any sensitivities. Calming ingredients like green tea and aloe help to restore your skin’s natural pH balance from within, so you glow from the inside out. 

Sensitive Skin Type

Sensitive skin appears in a variety of different ways. Some people only suffer from some mild dryness or redness, while more severe cases might experience itching, burning, or inflammation. Most often, sensitive skin is triggered by an outside factor, such as diets, hormones, or even just the products you’re using. Try to pinpoint what triggers your sensitivities, and adjust accordingly.  

Best Skincare for Sensitive Skin Types

Whether you have normal or delicate skin, Pure & Simple skincare is made with ingredients such as calming Aloe and protecting Witch Hazel is multi-tasking and will effectively clean, tone, and hydrate.

Finding your specific skin type

You might already have a good idea of your skin type just based on the descriptions above. But if you’re still not sure, there are a few methods you can use to test what type of skin you have.

Bare Face / Observation Method

One of the easiest ways is the bare faced method. Simply put, cleanse your face thoroughly, and leave it bare of any serums, moisturizers, and makeup. After some time, you may notice some shine start to develop. Or, you may notice your skin feels parched, especially when you smile or laugh. These are typically good indicators of either oily or dry skin. If you experience some combination of the two, then you likely have combo skin. 

Oil Blotting Method

Another great method for finding your skin type is to test it out on an oil blotting sheet. For this method, you’ll want to pat your face gently with a piece of blotting paper. Once finished, examine how much oil the blotting paper absorbed. If you see little to no oil, you probably have dry skin. A small bit of oil in the forehead and nose region most likely indicates normal to combination skin. And of course, if the blotting sheet becomes saturated, you’re working with oily skin. 

We recommend testing your skin type every so often, as it can actually change over time and with the seasons. Aging, environmental factors, diet, exercise, and your skin care routine all contribute to the health of your skin. 

The Importance of Knowing Your Skin Type

Often we don’t realize how our day-to-day activities could be impacting our skin’s health, nor do we always give much thought to the products we’re putting on our bodies. But when it comes to maintaining healthy, glowing skin, the first step is always knowing what you’re working with. You could be making your skin’s sensitivities worse without even knowing. And the key to beautiful, youthful skin could be a matter of just changing one simple thing.

Once you’re certain of your skin type, you can care for your skin with confidence and ease knowing you’re nourishing it with the best products possible.

If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to reach out to the experts at Moody Sisters. Helping our readers to look and feel amazing is our passion, and we know that healthy skin is a huge factor that affects self-esteem. It’s time to start treating your skin like the magnificent organ it is!