5 Basic Skin Care Types

# Type 1: Oily Oily skin tends to shiny with enlarged pores, and is prone to blackheads and blemishes. You might experience some tightness.

# Type 2: Combination/normal This skin type has medium pores, a smooth and even texture, good circulation, healthy color, may tend toward dryness on the cheeks while being oily in the t-zone.

# Type 3: Sensitive Sensitive skin tends to be thin, delicate with fine pores. It flushes easily, is prone to broken capillaries, is frequently allergic and can be rashy.

# Type 4: Dry Dry skin feels tight, especially after cleansing. You have a tendency towards fine wrinkles, flaking and red patches. In women of color, skin may appear ashy or dull from dead skin buildup.

# Type 5: Aging or sun-damaged This skin also feels tight with visible wrinkles, slack skin tone -- especially around the cheeks and jawline -- with leathery texture and broken capillaries.

Five Basic Skin Types

There are five basic skin types. They are

1. Normal skin
2. Dry skin
3. Oily skin
4. Combination skin
5. Sensitive skin

Normal Skin

It has a fine even texture with a supple and smooth surface. It has a proper balance between oil and moisture contents and is therefore moist and neither greasy nor dry. The pores of normal skin are small and the overall skin tone is even. It looks clear and does not develop spots and blemishes. The pores of the skin are fine and barely visible. It reflects good health and needs gentle treatment.

Dry skin

Dry skin has a dry parched appearance and has a tendency to flake easily. It is prone to wrinkles and lines. It is due to the inability to retain moisture as well as the insufficient production of sebum by the sebaceous glands. Dry skin often has problems in cold weather and ages faster than normal or oily skin. Constant protection is very important. It needs a moisturiser during the day and a good cream at night.

Oily skin

As its name implies, oily skin is slightly to moderately greasy. This type of skin is caused by the over secretion of sebum making the skin surface oily. The excess oil on the surface of the skin attracts dirt and dust from the environment. Oily skin is also prone to black heads, white heads, spots, pimples and such skin will never be clear. This type of skin needs to be cleansed thoroughly.

Combination skin

This type of skin is very common. As the name suggests, it is a combination of both oily and dry skin with certain areas of the face oily and the rest dry. Usually there is a Central greasy panel consisting of the forehead, nose and chin and a dry panel consisting of cheeks and the areas around the eyes and mouth. The greasy central panel is referred to as T - Zone. In such cases, each part of the face should be treated accordingly - the dry areas as for dry skin and the central panel as for oily skin and use skin care products made especially for combination skin.

Sensitive skin

This type of skin has a fine texture and is very sensitive to changes in the climate. They show the disadvantage of bleaching, Waxing, threading, perfumes, temperature extremes, soap etc and for men sun, perfumes, shaving cream etc. Avoid products with dyes, perfumes, or unnecessary chemical ingredients that may irritate skin.