Facial skin care: how to determine the type and choose the right products

A skin type test is the first step to mindful skin care. If you do not know your type, you can choose the wrong products and worsen your skin condition.

I advise you to check it on a weekend, when you don’t need to rush anywhere!

Briefly step by step:

• In the morning, wash your face with a mild cleanser. ⠀
• Blot with a clean towel. Do not use any cosmetics. ⠀
• After 2 hours, apply a thin plain paper towel to your face. ⠀
• Press the tissue briefly with the palm of your hand on the forehead, nose, chin and cheeks. ⠀

Evaluate the result:

• dry skin: no greasy spots on the napkin
• normal skin: mild oily patches on the forehead, nose and chin
• combination / combination skin: pronounced greasy spots on the forehead, nose and chin
• oily skin: oily spots on the forehead, nose, chin and cheeks

Caring for dry skin

Dry skin requires the most gentle treatments. She has a damaged protective hydrolipid barrier, but it can be restored with the right care:

1. Cleansing  should be gentle. Milk or micellar water is good for removing makeup. Gently cleanses the foam with moisturizing ingredients such as D-Panthenol, aloe vera gel, glycerin. The less the product is washed, the better!
2. To help the skin restore its pH (acid-base balance) faster, use a hyaluronic acid toner. On the surface of the epidermal layer, it forms a thin film that protects to evaporate moisture and also protects the skin against dreadful environmental factors.
3. Look for ceramides and lipid-reducing components in creams – they are now your best friends. They lock in moisture in the skin, thereby preventing the destruction of the hydrolipid mantle. 
4. In early spring, creams with a denser texture should be used. 
5. Dry skin is thinner and especially susceptible to premature aging, therefore, for active care, use serums with a complex of antioxidants.

Caring for normal skin

Congratulations! You are a happy owner of normal, or rather perfect, skin. For longer caring of the beauty, there are several tricks for care:

1. Instead of aggressive SLS and SLES alkaline gels, use soft foams or micellar water.
2. To maintain optimal water balance, regularly use moisturizing cosmetics. And exclude alcohol tonics and one-component clay masks from care, as these products dry the skin.
3. Experiment with night masks, they will refresh your face!

Oily skin care

Yes, excess sebum production makes the skin shiny. However, this has its advantages: abundant sebum formation does not allow moisture to leave and helps to keep the skin youthful longer. The rules of care in this case are as follows:

1. It is necessary to replace aggressive cleaning with a more gentle one. Soaps and alkaline cleansers will only worsen the situation as they break the lipid barrier. And the skin, in order to quickly restore it,  will begin to increase the production of sebum. And you get a vicious circle. To stop this process, it is better to use low-foaming gels. 
2. Ignoring moisture is one of the main mistakes. Yes, moisturizing oily skin is counterintuitive. But this is necessary to stop the excessive production of sebum. Oily skin needs water no less than dry skin: lack of moisture enhances the work of the sebaceous glands, and peeling provokes clogging of pores. When choosing a cream, give preference to light gel textures. 
3. Give up alcohol-based cosmetics. The judgment that oily skin should be “dried” is erroneous. Alcohol tonics cause the skin to lack moisture to produce more sebum. Better to use acidic or moisturizing toners.

Combination skin care

Combination skin care is the most common. With it, different parts of the face behave differently: for the T-zone, increased sebum secretion is characteristic, and the skin on the cheeks, on the contrary, is prone to dryness. Skin care Tips:

• Two-phase cleansing works well for combination skin. Choose hydrophilic oil without mineral oil and soft foam.
• Exfoliation is necessary when there is a tendency to clogged pores and inflammation. Use AHA and BHA products to remove dead skin cells from the epidermis. This will help regulate sebum production and prevent acne breakouts.
• Use clay-based cleansing masks. They reduce sebum production and prevent bacteria from growing in the pores. Apply this mask to the T-zone and rinse it off before it dries. 

And finally! Sun protection is important. Sunscreens are needed for all skin types, and even in the cold season (if you spend more than 30 minutes outside).