Skin types - how to identify your skin type?

Did you know that many of us use cosmetics unsuitable for our skin type? Poorly chosen preparations can only harm, not help. To avoid unnecessary pleasures, check what type of skin you have.

There are 4 kinds of skin:

- normal
- dry
- oily
- combination

NORMAL SKIN

It is most common in children, less common in adults, in whom it develops into dry skin over time.

Normal skin characteristics:

- Slightly pinkish, with a uniform flesh tone
- smooth, soft to the touch
- appears dull
- firm, taut
- well nourished and moisturized
- responds well to atmospheric factors
- tolerates care products well
- blood vessels are invisible on it
- is free from acne lesions, dilated pores, discoloration

Goal of care:

- hydration, oxygenation, nourishment
- avoiding agents with regenerative properties so as not to disrupt, but only to support its proper functioning

Note: during adolescence, normal skin tends to turn into oily skin, so it is so important to properly care for it

DRY SKIN

This is skin with a low water content in the epidermis. Water, which determines the moisture content of the epidermis, comes from the dermis. As it passes through the epidermis, it hydrates it and then evaporates into the environment.

In the formation of dry skin is important:

- deficiency of skin barrier lipids between the cells in the stratum corneum seals it, they form a protective barrier of the skin and retains water in it
- Deficiency of natural moisturizing factor (NMF) - Mineral moisturizing factor (NMF) components attract moisture to and bind it in the stratum corneum or upper layer of the skin, preventing dryness, roughness and skin damage

Dry skin features:

- uneven surface (accumulation of keratinized cells)
- rough
- dull
- small pores
- thin epidermis
- light pale color, often with a pink tint (translucent blood vessels)
- white scales, cracks, fissures, erosions may appear (lack of elasticity, brittle epidermis)
- accentuated wrinkles, ages quickly
- may react with redness to soap, water, external agents

Causes of dry skin:

1. Endogenous factors:

- congenital barrier disorders (e.g., fish scales, AD)
- age and associated epidermal barrier dysfunction
- disorders of sebum secretion - congenital or in the course of diseases
- skin sensitivity (inability to prevent irritants from penetrating the skin surface)
- hormonal factors

2. Exogenous factors:

- cachexia and dehydration of the body, for example, through diuretics (low water levels in the dermis)
- chemicals, detergents
- atmospheric factors, dry air, wind, sun, frost
- improper care, poor lifestyle, improper diet

Factors that exacerbate dry skin:

- the sun-UV rays damage the lipids of the epidermal barrier and interfere with the formation of the natural moisturizing component
- low environmental humidity-dry air increases the process of transepidermal water loss and interferes with the synthesis of nmf components
- frigid air- low temperatures are associated with low humidity and increase the escape of water from the epidermis
- inadequate care, contact with detergents- cleansers and detergents contain highly irritating substances that damage and wash out the protective lipids of the epidermis

Goal of care:

- deep hydration, nourishment, oxygenation
- reconstruction of the skin's lipid mantle
- reconstruction of the natural moisturizing factor NMF
- replenishment of intercellular cement components
- protection from sunlight, frost and wind
- avoidance of irritants

OILY SKIN

The main criterion for classifying the skin as oily is excessive activity of the sebaceous glands, practically on the entire surface of the facial skin. It mainly affects people in adolescence, although the problem is increasingly common in mature people. More common in men.

Sebum functions:

- A mixture of lipid substances contained in sebum, combined with secretions of the sweat glands and lipids of the upper layers of the epidermis, forms the water-lipid (hydrolipid) coat of the skin
- prevents water loss from the epidermis, protects against micro-trauma. It also protects the skin from unfavorable environmental influences and irritants.
- softens and smoothens the surface
- facilitates transport of vitamin E to higher layers of the epidermis, protecting it from oxidation
- has a slightly antibacterial effect

Features of oily skin:

- grayish, earthy (result of thickened epidermis)
- shiny, seborrhea occurs
- dilated pores arranged close together
- presence of blackheads (open, visible as black spots at the mouth of the hair follicle and closed in the form of lumps)
- resistant to chemical and atmospheric irritants
- responds with deterioration of its condition under the influence of stress, hormonal factors, gastrointestinal disorders and deficiencies of vitamins B E and H
- its appearance improves in summer (sebum liquefaction)
- ages late
- provides a substrate for the development of acne lesions (sebum in combination with exfoliated cells of the stratum corneum and altered ph creates an ideal medium for bacteria)

The causes of oily skin:

- genetic factors
- endocrine disorders-especially hyperandrogenism and excessive progesterone secretion in women, hypersensitivity of the sebaceous glands to androgens
- psycho-emotional factors (nervous tension, stress)
- external factors (nicotine, pollution)
- medications (male hormones, cholesterol-lowering drugs, antibiotics)
- disorders of the digestive system
- metabolic disorders
- inadequate diet (vitamin A,C,E,B2 deficiency)
- improper care
- age

Goal of care:

- softening of the thickness of the horny layer
- regulation of sebum secretion by sebaceous glands, closing of pores
- mattifying effect
- improvement of skin blood flow
- avoidance of care products with irritating effect, disrupting the natural bacterial flora and acidic ph or excessively degreasing the epidermis
- moisturizing, oxygenating
- bactericidal, disinfectant action
- soothing irritations

COMBINATION SKIN

People with combination skin are prone to both dryness and oiliness, so because of its unevenness, combination skin is the most difficult type to care for.

Features of combination skin::

- in the so-called T-zone, that is, on the forehead, nose and chin, the skin becomes oily, producing excessive amounts of sebum, it may even be prone to seborrhea, imperfections, enlarged pores, blackheads or pimples appear here
- dry zone- cheeks, temples, orbital area
- contact with water and soap causes significant irritation, a feeling of tension and burning
- often appears in people prone to oily skin

Causes of combination skin:

- disturbed water and lipid balance on the surface of the epidermis, excess sebum secretion is to protect it from the negative impact of external factors

Goal of care:

- double care, selected individually for each of the skin zones
- use of preparations that simultaneously moisturize and regulate sebum secretion