Skin Types: Do You Have Combination, Oily, or Dry Skin?

There are five basic skin care types: oily, combination (normal), sensitive, dry, and sun-damaged. Which one are you?

Discovering what type of skin you have can aid you in choosing products that help it look and feel healthy. There’s a simple test to help you out and different approaches to skincare you’ll want to follow once you find your match.

Your skin type is determined by how much—or how little—oil your skin produces. Genes, diet, stress level, hormonal fluctuations, medications, and your skincare regimen all determine how much oil your skin produces.

You may find that your skin type changes frequently—from dry to oily to normal—all in the course of months. This is normal. Women are especially prone to changes throughout life because our hormones are continually shifting.

In her book, “Beauty: The New Basics,” Rona Berg suggests you take the “skin test” to tell what skin type you have. To do this, wash your face, pat it dry, then take a few pieces of rice paper or lens-cleaning tissue paper and press it on different spots on your face.

If your skin is oily, the paper will stick, pick up oily spots, and become translucent. If the paper doesn’t stick or pick up any oils, your skin is dry. If it sticks only in your T-zone (forehead and down your nose to your chin), then you have combination (or normal) skin. Most women actually have combination skin.

Oily skin is shiny skin, especially in the T-zone. You may have enlarged pores and may be prone to blackheads and breakouts due to overproduction of the sebaceous (oil-producing) glands.

The good thing about oily skin is that it ages better than dry skin. That’s because the oils keep the skin plump and this allows fewer wrinkles to form. Oily skin is common in young women but as they age, many find that their skin becomes drier, especially after age 35.