Skin Conditions Vs. Skin Types – Simplified.
The skin care game is booming, with no signs of slowing down. I don’t know about you, but I am here for it!! Everywhere you look, there’s a new product line, ingredient, or trend that just hit the market, taking it by storm. So many products, so little time to try them all – but that may be a good thing. Truth be told, you shouldn’t be using 100 products on your face while constantly adding in new things to try. There’s only so much your skin can tolerate before too much of a good thing turns bad.
When shopping for skin care, shop with your skin type & conditions in mind. It’s important to clarify that skin types and conditions are two different things. Your skin type is what you are born with, determined by your genetic makeup. Skin conditions, however, can be caused by a multitude of internal and external factors like your lifestyle, diet, medications, climate, and so forth.
For example, if you have sensitivity to heat (whether by foods or temperature), you experience a blotchy appearance, irritated skin, and sweat may develop. If you indulge in spicy foods, you might start to feel your skin becoming more inflamed. At that point, you’d categorize yourself as having “Sensitive Skin.” In reality, your choice of exposing your body to something that it cannot handle well has manifested in your skin experiencing sensitivity due to internal inflammation caused by excess heat.
Sometimes people confuse their skin conditions for their skin types. Remember, a skin condition is usually the result of a myriad of internal and external factors. Skin types are more black and white since they’re made up of your genes. However, skin types can gradually change as we age, due to changes our bodies go through.
Skin Types:
Normal Skin – This is pinnacle skin goals!! What we all wish we had, and pretend to have on social media…It doesn’t feel oily or dry, not prone to breakouts, even complexion, and normal pores. People with normal skin tend to tolerate most skin care ingredients well because their skin barrier is healthy. Being consistent in your skin care routine is essential to maintaining that natural glow going.
Dry Skin – Is skin that does not produce enough sebum (oil). Due to the lack of oil and build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of their skin, dry skin types usually have small pores, dull, dry, and flaky skin. To keep dead skin cells from building up, people with dry skin types should exfoliate 2-3x a week (physical or chemical), potentially more depending on their skin’s tolerance. Look for products that focus on preventing TEWL (Transepidermal water loss) and add moisture to the skin, with ingredients like shea butter, ceramides, and peptides, while avoiding products marketed towards oily skin types.
Oily Skin – Is skin that has an overproduction of sebum, giving the appearance of an oily complexion. Oily skin types tend to have larger pores on their face, sometimes extending to their neck and decollete, and are the most prone to having clogged pores which can lead to acne. To prevent the overproduction of sebum, look for products that use ingredients like salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil, oxygen, and CBD.
Combination Skin – Some people consider Combination Skin to be both a skin type and skin condition because it could be exacerbated by genetics and hormones; or the use of wrong products and environmental factors. Combination skin refers to experiencing different skin types at the same time, like an oily T-Zone and drier spots around the cheeks. The best way to treat combination skin is to find out what is causing the imbalance in the skin and treat those problems separately until you’re able to create a more balanced and uniform skin barrier.
What’s your “Skin Type“? Did you know there was a difference between “Skin Types” and “Skin Conditions“? Let me know below in the comment section!!
XO – Pachee
