Understanding Combination skin
Combination skin is varied, being dry or normal in some areas and oily in others, such as the T-zone (nose, forehead, and chin). Dry areas usually persist around the cheeks, jaw area, and hairline. The condition of your skin may fluctuate between seasons. Your skin may feel dry during the winter months and sticky during the humid summer season. People with this skin type may also experience related issues, such as tightness or sensitivity on dry areas of their face. You might be surprised to know that combination skin is one of the most common skin types. Although it's possible to have completely oily or completely dry skin, chances are you have a combination of the two.
4 Signs You Have Combination Skin
Combination skin is found to be common in people. Here are some tell-tale signs to identify whether you are dealing with such a skin type.
1. Large pores: The skin type combination is usually accompanied by large pores and oily patches. The sebaceous glands beneath the skin produce excess sebum. Impurities can easily clog your pores, and your skin develops large pores and unusual shininess in some parts of the face.
2. Dull skin: If you possess combination skin, you probably undergo excessive shine in the skin that is caused due to unbalanced sebum production in the skin. Normally, this occurs most noticeably around the forehead and T-zone. If there are oily places on your face and dry, then you would be having combination skin type.
3. Blackheads and whiteheads: When oil gets trapped in your pores, it merges with dead skin cells and other debris, leading to a plug. When this plug is exposed to the air, it causes blackheads. When it is closed, it causes whiteheads. Having constant outbursts of blackheads or whiteheads means your skin falls into the category of combination skin type.
4. Itchy scalp: You heard it right, combination skin generally makes skin dry and itchy. Many people with combination skin experience dry, flaky patches on their scalps. Such issues generally result in the formation of dandruff on the scalp, which leads to hair loss. So, if you experience dry patches, you probably have combination skin.
Symptoms of oiliness may include:
- Radiant skin
- Blackheads and Whiteheads
- Large visible pores
- Acne & Dry patches
Symptoms of dryness may include:
- Flaking
- Redness
- Feelings of stiffness or roughness
How to treat combination skin
Addressing both excess oil and dryness can seem like a daunting task, so we’ve put together our top suggestions and routine steps below for healthy combination skin.
- Wash your face with a cleanser every day
Begin with a mild yet effective water-soluble cleanser. It can be a creamy foaming face wash or gel cleanser. This should effectively cleanse impurities, debris, and makeup without the skin feeling tight, dry, or greasy. If a little extra cleaning is required, you may need to start by using an emollient cleansing balm, which will help break down makeup and sunscreen, and then a water-soluble cleanser will whisk away all debris.
- Use a clay mask
Clay, just like charcoal, is absorbent. It can soak up and trap excess oil on the skin's surface and just inside the pore. It can be washed off easily, which helps to reduce the shiny look of oily areas on the face, especially the forehead. If soothing and hydrating ingredients are formulated into clay masks, they can help address excess sebum while hydrating the skin. For combination skin, apply an oil-absorbing clay face mask after cleansing to the areas that are problematic.
- Apply toner
Apply a hydrating, soothing non-irritating toner filled with a healthy amount of skin-replenishing ingredients and antioxidants. A well-formulated toner for combination skin really can help nourish dry skin and minimize oiliness at the same time-and won't make the dry areas drier or the oily areas oilier. Skip this step at your own peril for this skin type.
- Try exfoliating
Use a gentle, non-abrasive, leave-on BHA (salicylic acid) exfoliant. This is the best choice to gently but effectively exfoliate combination skin. A BHA exfoliant helps skin shed dead cells normally without abrasion (no scrubs or stiff cleansing brushes), unclogs pores, reduces oily skin while at the same time gently smooth out rough, dry, flaky skin and brings back a healthy glow. You can play around a bit with a variety of different textures to feel what works well for your skin, but from a jumping point, most love a gel exfoliant or a weightless exfoliant as liquid.
- Use moisturizer
Moisturize and protect skin against sun damage. No skin is immune to broad-spectrum sunscreens rated at SPF 30 or higher used daily. This is the one daytime step that diminishes the early signs of aging now and into the future. A feather-light formula is the perfect sunscreen for combination skin across the face (and don't forget to apply to the neck!). At Paula's Choice, we formulate daytime sunscreens with moisturizing agents to create multitasking products. If your dry areas need more hydration than a multitasking formula can provide, apply another moisturizer or antioxidant serum first to those areas. Then follow with the sunscreen over that.
Use a night time moisturizer that is gel or serum-like in texture and contains antioxidants, skin-replenishing ingredients, and skin-restoring ingredients. These are crucial to sooth the skin, diminish excess oil on the surface of the skin, and hydrate dry areas, including around the eyes. Apply another layer around these dry areas with an emollient serum or facial oil, relieving the dryness and soothing those areas of extra nutrient-enriched hydration.
- Watch your makeup ingredients
Combination skin can really throw your makeup routine for a loop. The formulas that work on your T-zone might not work on the borders of your face. In order to give your makeup the best chance of staying all day long and not becoming both oily and flakey, prime dry areas with a hydrating moisturizer made for makeup application and oily areas with a mattifying primer.
When it comes to foundation, you can opt for applying natural finishes, that is, those whose finish won't look matte or glowy. Remember to always set your T-zone with an oil-absorbing powder or powder foundation for even results.
What products work on combination skin?
When it comes to choosing the best products for combination skin, focus on oil-absorbing or matte-finish formulas for the oily areas of your combination skin; go with more emollient products over the dry areas.
For the oily areas, use the lighter weight formulas—products with a gel, thin lotion, or liquid texture. These types of textures layer well, so you can use them over the entire face. You would then only need to add an emollient facial oil, serum, or moisturizer over the dry areas, including around the eyes.
Can combination skin turn into normal skin?
If using the wrong products is causing your skin to be dry in some areas and oily in others, it will be well worth it to eliminate those products from your routine and make the right substitutions to get your combination skin back on the "normal" track.
By "normal" we mean that the dry areas feel more hydrated and smoother, and the oily areas look less greasy. You may notice that pores appear larger when you are experiencing oily conditions, but this will appear smaller when the environment is less greasy.
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