- How to recognize combination skin
- How does combination skin develop?
- What types of combination skin are there?
- Oily combination skin Characteristics
- Dry combination skin Characteristics
- What should avoid facial care routine for combination skin?
- What does non-comedogenic facial care mean?
- following substances are considered particularly comedogenic:
- Carefully remove makeup from combination skin
- Proper cleansing for combination skin
- Moisturization for combination skin with natural products
- Sunscreen
- Proper exfoliation
- Conclusion
Would you like to hydrate your skin while avoiding the annoying shiny effect on your nose, forehead, and chin? Does your skin appear very different in texture and needs on the nose and cheeks? Many people don’t fit neatly into the “oily skin” or “dry skin” categories. If your T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) tends to be oily, but your cheeks and the rest of your face have normal or even dry skin, your skin probably belongs to the “combination skin” category.
Finding the perfect skincare routine for combination skin can be a challenge: the products chosen must meet different needs in different areas. Instead of going crazy treating each area completely differently depending on its need, try to keep your skin as balanced as possible. As? With a skincare routine that meets the needs of your face, while offering cleansing, hydration, and luminosity.
How to recognize combination skin
We talk about combination skin when the facial skin has areas where the skin is oily and others where the skin is dry: in some areas, there is therefore excessive production of sebum, in others the sebaceous glands do not produce enough. Many factors contribute to skin type but, most of all, it is genetics that counts.
How do you recognize combination skin? The most common way is to check the T-zone, which goes from above the eyebrows to under the nose (if I were to trace it, a “T” would come out): if it shows the typical signs of oily skin, but the cheeks are dry, most likely you have combination skin.
However, it’s possible to have combination skin with a slightly different pattern, so it’s helpful to know other ways to spot it. Wash your hands well and start touching the skin of your face: if you notice roughness, irregularity, and flaking, you have found an area of dry skin; if you feel an oily sensation and an uneven texture, you have found an area of oily skin. Another method is observation: looking in the mirror, oily skin will appear shiny and surrounded by redness; dry skin presents instead.
How does combination skin develop?
Combination skin develops with age. There is young combination skin from 20, 30, or mature combination skin from 40. As we get older, the different levels of skin moisture decrease, and the two skin zones of combination skin become more similar. Combination skin is most pronounced when we are young and the older we get, the more moisture and correspondingly less deep cleansing is needed.
What types of combination skin are there?
When it comes to combination skin, there are two tendencies: combination skin with a tendency towards dryness or combination skin with a tendency towards oily skin. These tendencies usually depend on age, but can also be a sign of hormonal fluctuations. In addition, these two types either have or do not have blemished cheeks. These blemished cheeks with inflamed areas usually occur when the skin there lacks nourishing moisture.
Oily combination skin Characteristics
- enlarged pores on the nose, forehead, and chin
- oily, shiny skin
- visible blackheads and local (inflammatory) blemishes
- The tendency towards yellowish skin color
- Tendency to oily, impure, and inflamed skin, also on the cheeks
- fewer blemishes and inflamed areas on the cheeks but possibly red veins
Dry combination skin Characteristics
- also enlarged pores, blackheads, and minor inflammations
- oily skin mostly in the T-zone
- dry and tight spots on the cheeks and possibly also the forehead
- fewer blemishes and inflamed areas on the cheeks but possibly red veins
Cosmeticians generally classify facial skin as combination skin, as it has been proven that facial skin is of different thicknesses due to different levels of fatty tissue. For example, the skin around the eyes and cheeks tends to be dry and lacking in moisture, whereas the nose, chin, and forehead (the T-zone) quickly become oily.
The starting point for clear skin and a flawless complexion is a carefully coordinated facial care routine for combination skin. Of course, you need a bit of time and patience to develop it, but once you have found a routine that you feel comfortable with, you should stick with it for a long time.
This also applies to the products you use. Don’t change your products too often; if you find something that works for your skin, then stick with it! A routine helps the skin to adjust to the products. If you constantly change and try new products, you stress your skin or overstimulate it, which can cause blemishes.
What should avoid facial care routine for combination skin?
Face creams/masks that are too greasy or a facial toner/cleansing gel/cleansing foam that is too aggressive are bad for your combination skin. Strong cleansers dry out the skin, causing the T-zone to produce even more sebum and break out in spots. Care that is too greasy also contributes to skin impurities, because the dry facial area needs moisture and not fat.
You should also avoid comedogenic products. Non-comedogenic care for combination skin can help regulate shiny and slightly oily areas of the skin and clean combination skin deep down to the pores. Many skincare company products work with non-comedogenic care ingredients.
What does non-comedogenic facial care mean?
The term comedogenic comes from the Latin “commodore” which means “to eat”. This is where the term “blackhead” (lat. Komedo) comes from. Comedogenic ingredients refer to ingredients that cause pimples and blackheads and can damage your combination skin.
A composition that does not clog the pores of the skin is therefore referred to as non-comedogenic. Non-comedogenic facial care can be found mainly in pharmacies, but numerous perfumeries also have non-comedogenic care products in their range.
following substances are considered particularly comedogenic:
- Perfume – found in almost all perfumery products for the ‘good smell’
- Algae extract – often found in rich creams and masks
Oil-containing active ingredients:
- Cocoa Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Microcrystalline Wax (mineral oil)
- Mineral Oil
- Paraffin oil
- Wheat Germ Oil
- vaseline
Silicone-containing active ingredients:
- Cyclomethicone
- Dimethicone
- Methicone
- Polysiloxane
Don’t panic, combination skin simply has specific needs in terms of sebum regulation and hydration. It is therefore necessary to compose a tailor-made beauty routine with natural beauty products and appropriate treatments.
Carefully remove makeup from combination skin
Removing makeup is an essential step in taking care of your combination skin. It aims to remove the day’s makeup, blocking the pores of the skin and preventing it from breathing, but also to prepare it to receive future treatments.
To remove makeup from combination skin, we prefer aqueous textures to milky textures. They are ideal for gently removing makeup, without drying the skin. Say goodbye to makeup remover milk, opt for gentle micellar water with decongestant cornflower floral water or a light and refreshing makeup remover jelly. We favor make-up removers and cleansers based on hazelnut or jojoba oil, vegetable oils with sebum-regulating and balancing properties, particularly recommended for combination, oily and acne-prone skin.
Proper cleansing for combination skin
Cleansing is the second essential step in taking care of combination skin(or the first if you don’t wear makeup). Unlike removing makeup, cleansing is an action aimed at ridding the skin of impurities accumulated during the day, pollution, perspiration, or even excess sebum. No question of stripping the skin, favoring gentle cleansing which respects the skin’s hydrolipidic film, a protective layer acting as a real barrier to external aggressions.
It’s important to remember not to dry out the skin – even though your t-zone may feel greasy and shiny. The oily area of the face also needs moisture so that the skin does not dry out, which in turn leads to an even faster sebum secretion. Therefore, choose a mild cleansing product, preferably an emulsion, gel, or foam, to preserve moisture and balance the skin in both dry and oily areas. If you find your t-zone greasy and shiny, it’s a good idea to use an exfoliating cleansing foam that removes dead skin cells and unclogs clogged pores while removing makeup.
Oil
It is common for combination skin that the cheeks feel dry on the surface and have dry areas. It is important to moisturize dry areas. Nourishing oil moisturizes and gives a natural glow. Avoid applying the oil to oily areas of the face – it may give a shiny and greasy feeling.
Eye cream
The skin around the eyes is sensitive and puffy dark circles are a common problem. By using the eye gel, you moisturize the delicate eye area while the gel cools and reduces the signs of puffiness.
Moisturization for combination skin with natural products
Hydration! Contrary to popular belief, combination skin needs hydration every day. Although they tend to shine naturally. We favor light and fluid textures, rich in water and non-greasy, boosting the skin’s natural hydration and stimulating cell regeneration, to apply morning and evening. Particular attention is paid to the eye contour, a sensitive area of the face requiring suitable products.
Sunscreen
It is one of the important things to consider in your skincare routine for combination skin. SPF 30 or more is suitable for the summer season. In the winter season, a foundation cream with a SPF is enough. But for the summer, a specific and separate sunscreen is required. Sunscreens have both protective and cosmetic properties. They contain organic substances that absorb light, inorganic substances that reflect it, and moisturizing ingredients to leave the skin soft and healthy. Sunscreen can be in different formulations for different categories. For combination skin, lotion-type sunscreen is more suitable rather than cream, gel, or spray.
Proper exfoliation
Once a week, it is strongly recommended to integrate a gentle exfoliant into your natural facial routine. This treatment will aim to rid the skin of dead cells and restore radiance to the complexion by refining the skin texture. A “chemical” scrub will be more suitable for combination skin than a “mechanical” scrub.
Mechanical scrubs contain small abrasive grains that stimulate the sebaceous glands, which are responsible for the production of sebum. This type of exfoliation is too harsh for combination skin and may cause the opposite reaction than expected. The chemical exfoliation acts on the skin through active ingredients which stimulate the dermis, without attacking it.
You can do this either with a mechanical exfoliation – with exfoliating granules or with an enzymatic exfoliation such as a foam containing BHA acid. If your problem is enlarged skin pores, it is good to focus on enzymatic exfoliation with, for example, BHA acid. Avoid exfoliating your facial skin in areas that you feel are dry and sensitive. This may irritate and damage the skin barrier.
Conclusion
Combination skin is probably the most demanding skin, as it requires special facial care tailored to the skin’s different needs. People with combination skin should make sure that creams and cleansing gels do not dry out or strain the skin excessively. Oil-free products with natural ingredients are particularly effective for the care of combination skin, as they soothe and strengthen the facial skin at the same time. Daily cleansing, suitable sun protection, and a healthy diet also help to balance the different parts of the face.
