How to Identify Your Skin Type: A Practical Guide

Most people categorise their skin type once in adolescence and never revisit that classification. The problem: skin type changes with the season, diet, stress, age and the products you use. Using the wrong routine for the wrong skin type is the most common reason why skincare doesn't work.

The Most Frequent Diagnostic Mistake

Confusing oiliness with oily skin. Visible oiliness by end of day can be oily skin (genetically high sebum production) or dehydrated skin (any skin type with water deficit that produces more sebum to compensate). The correct intervention is opposite:

  • Genuinely oily skin → regulate sebum with niacinamide, zinc; avoid heavy occlusives
  • Dehydrated skin with compensatory oiliness → hydrate intensely with lightweight humectants; oiliness reduces when hydration is restored

The 5 Types and What Really Defines Them

Normal Skin

Balance between dry and oily zones, minimal pore visibility, even texture. It's the least common type — not the universal standard that advertising suggests.

Dry Skin

Reduced sebum production. Distinguished from dehydration: dry skin has insufficient lipid barrier (genetic); dehydrated skin has water deficit (circumstantial).

Oily Skin

High sebum production. Shines in the morning, enlarged pores, prone to comedones. Doesn't need to avoid hydration — needs non-comedogenic hydration.

Combination Skin

T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) oily; cheeks normal to dry. The classic mistake: using oily skin products all over the face, drying out the cheeks.

Sensitive Skin

Reacts to ingredients, temperature or stress with redness, burning or stinging. Sensitivity is not an independent skin type — it coexists with any of the types above.

The Prebiotic Serum is the universal entry point — it rebalances the microbiome and barrier regardless of skin type, before introducing more specific actives.

Prebiotic Repair Serum →

The Correct Test (Better Than the Tissue Test)

  1. Cleanse with gentle cleanser — nothing after
  2. Wait 60 minutes in normal environment
  3. Observe: oily T-zone with dry cheeks = combination | shiny all over = oily | tightness/flaking = dry | comfortable, no shine = normal | redness/burning = sensitive

Routine by Confirmed Type

FAQ

Can skin type change?

Yes. It changes with age, season, stress, diet and the products you use. Reassessing every 6 months is good practice.

Regardless of skin type, SPF is non-negotiable. 80% of visible ageing is photo-ageing — not the passage of time.

Mineral SPF50 →
Back to blog