What’s Your Skin Type?


Many women have a difficult time determining their skin type, making it even more overwhelming to choose the right makeup and skin care products! As a rule of thumb, it’s best to use a skin type test to determine exactly what skin type category that you fall into based on how little or how much oil your complexion regularly produces.

Rona Berg, in her Beauty, The New BasicsWhats Your Skin Type? book, details the five different skin types and tells how to make a quick skin type test.

Whats Your Skin Type?

Start by thoroughly cleansing your skin, and patting it dry completely. After that, blot rice paper on different spots in your complexion, and if the paper picks up oil, it will become translucent. This shows that you have an oily skin type, but if the paper doesn’t pick up any oil, you have dry skin. If the paper picks up oil in your t-zone area, which is the chin, nose, and forehead, then you have normal or combination skin.

Here is a quick overview of the different skin types:

  • Oily: Oily skin is normally shiny with larger pores, and it struggles with blemishes and blackheads.
  • Combination/Normal: This is a very common skin type that has medium-sized pores and an even skin tone. It will normally have a healthy color and complexion with a tendency to have dryness in the cheek area and more oil production in the t-zone.
  • Sensitive: This is a delicate and thin skin type with small pores. It is prone to rashes, allergic reactions, and redness.
  • Dry: This skin type will normally feel tight, especially after you have cleansed the skin. It is prone to flaking, redness, and fine lines, and women may often experience an ashy tone in darker complexions because of a buildup of dead skin.
  • Aging/Sun Damage: This is a skin type that can easily show wrinkles and feel tight. It also often has broken capillaries and a leathery texture because of sun damage.

P.S. Rona Berg is a book writer who’s covered the world of beauty for The New York Times Magazine, Elle magazine and other national publications. Her famous book Beauty, The New BasicsWhats Your Skin Type? is filled with step-by-step beauty how-tos, professional techniques, brand and product comparisons, and inside tips. Click here for more info >>Whats Your Skin Type?

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