Before you can develop an effective skin care routine, you need to know what type of skin you have. Many people have what’s called a combination skin, meaning that it’s oily in places and dry in others.
This is easy, but it’s important - using the incorrect product on your skin may aggravate problems. Poor cleansing of combination skin may make it seem oilier than it really is. Using astringent preparations on normal skin may make it dry.
Here’s what to do: wash your face, then wait for an hour, without applying any skin care product to it. Then press a tissue to each of the following areas of your face: your nose, cheeks, chin and forehead.
If no oily residue is left on the skin, you have normal skin.
If all the areas reveal an oily residue, then you have oily skin.
If skin particles remain on the tissue or can be seen on the your skin, you have dry skin. Remember that if your dry skin’s condition doesn’t improve after being moisturized, you may have dermatitis. If so, you should see your dermatologist.
If some areas of your skin – say, your T-zone, or forehead, nose and chin - yield an oily, you have combination skin. Combination skin is very common.
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