Is your skin dry in some areas and oily in others? Combination skin can be difficult to work with and often feels like a balancing act. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for this skin type, we have some skin care tips and tricks to help you find a happy medium. Read on to learn more about your combination skin and how to handle it.
5 signs that you have combination skin: the skin test
Because combination skin and oily skin are similar, people often confuse these skin types. Here are five symptoms related to combination skin. Are you that?
1. You have oily and dry patches of skin
To test for combination skin, wash your face, leave it exposed, and wait an hour. Does your skin look and feel oily in your T-zone, but normal or dry on your cheeks and jaw? If so, you likely have combination skin. This skin type is exactly what it sounds like – a combination of several skin types – and as a result, you'll notice both oily and dry spots on your complexion.
2. You experience light breakouts and dryness at the same time
Clogged pores are often the same Outbreaks. Because of the excessive oil production, combination skin often shows occasional and mild acne breakouts, especially with hormonal fluctuations such as monthly menstruation. These blemishes tend to be concentrated in the T zone, where the oil glands are most active, while the areas around the cheeks, jaw, and hairline feel dry to the touch.
3. You have larger pores on your nose, chin and forehead
Are you obviously noticing large pores on your nose, chin and forehead? Combination skin is characterized by overactive oil glands in the T-zone. As a result, the nose, chin, and forehead of combination skin are more prone to clogged pores. As sebum builds up in the pores, they need to expand to accommodate the excess oil, giving them an enlarged appearance. Fortunately, they can shrink back to their normal size (more on this below).
4. Your makeup looks uneven
Is your makeup sliding off your T-zone and sticking to your cheeks? It is probably a combination skin type. If your makeup is looking blotchy by noon, it is best to tweak your makeup Skin care for your skin type.
5. Your skin becomes oily in summer and drier in winter
For combination skin, your ratio of fat to dryness tends to fluctuate with the seasons. During the summer, heat and humidity increase sebum production, which makes the T-zone feel extra oily and your dry areas feel more feeling. "normal. "In winter, the opposite is the case: environmental influences suck moisture from your skin and your T-zone feels" normal "while your dry areas feel drier. If you identify with this skin type and are concerned about it Why you have combination skin in the first place, read on to find out why (hint: blame your genetics).
What is combination skin?
Combination skin refers to people with both dry and oily areas on their faces, confirmed Dr. Hooman Khorasani, Dermatological and Cosmetic Surgeon. This skin type is characterized by uneven oil production: more active oil glands in the T-zone and less active oil glands elsewhere. “Typically the oily area is the T-zone, which extends over the forehead and the bridge of the nose to the tip of the chin. This is where you can find sebum glands on the face, as well as larger pores that make this area oily, ”says Dr. Khorasani.
Dry combination skin vs. Normal combination skin
Sometimes your symptoms may not fit exactly as listed above, making you feel confused about whether you have combination skin. Well, you can further subdivide the categories into normal combination skin and dry combination skin. To see if you have For normal combination skin, check to see if you have an oily T-zone and if the skin on your cheeks feels "normal" – in other words, not dry. This is known as normal combination skin. In comparison, if you have an oily T-zone but dry cheeks, you are likely to have dry combination skin. With dry combination skin, you may have a shiny forehead or chin, but dry cheeks.
What causes combination skin?
Some possible causes of your combination skin are:
Genes
Combination skin, like all skin types, is genetically determined. In general, this skin type is characterized by uneven oil production: more active oil glands in the T-zone and less active oil glands elsewhere. Combination skin tends to have certain characteristics – oily skin (large pores, sheen, blackheads) on the forehead, jaw and nose, and characteristics of dry skin (flaking, dullness, fine lines and wrinkles) on the cheeks, jaw and hairline.
Hormonal influences
Skin problems can be exacerbated by hormonal and environmental factors that aggravate the symptoms of oily and dry skin. Your sebum glands (sebum) have receptors that respond to yours Hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. The more testosterone that is produced, the more oil is produced in the skin.
Environmental factors
Another important factor is the environment when dealing with heat and humidity. According to Byrdie: “Prolonged humid conditions cause the sweat glands to produce more sweat and the skin stays moist and shiny, while prolonged heat (low humidity) dries the skin and increases sensitivity (as the water content of the epidermis tends to reflect the level of moisture around him). "
How to treat combination skin
Understanding your skin type is important so we can choose the right products and skin care routines for your combination skin. Here are some easy ways to improve combination skin.
Find the best products for combination skin
The goal for combination skin is to treat both oily and dry areas for a clear, even complexion. You can do this by using the right products. As Dr. Khorasani explains, choose desiccants for the oily areas of our face (like gels and lotions) and moisturizing products for the dry areas (like oils and ointments).
Reduce breakouts with a BHA
Use a BHA scrub on the oily problem areas to clog pores and bring new skin to the surface. Similarly, you can use a to reduce excess oil Salicylic acid cleanser to reduce oil build-up and clogged pores.
Use blotting paper
If you feel areas of your face getting oily, have the blotting papers ready. They remove the shine and absorb excess sebum. Avoid rubbing the paper vigorously on the skin as this could irritate and disperse the oil instead of absorbing it.
Treat the dry cheeks against the oily T-zone separately
Since your T-zone is usually oily and other areas of your face are much drier, you'll want to treat each area with different products. Use a lightweight instead of putting the same moisturizer all over the place Moisturizer on your T-zone and a richer moisturizer on your cheeks for deeper hydration.
Do you have combination skin? We'd love to hear how you approach this tricky skin type. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on social media.
This post was originally published in January 2019 and has been updated for accuracy and completeness.