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Understanding Skin Types – What sort of Skin do you have?

Each one of us desires beautiful and youthful skin. Most of the time, the root cause of ‘bad skin is a lack of proper care. ‘But I do take care of my skin.’ some of you might argue. But do you take care of your skin according to its type? Do you know what type of skin you have?

Well, skincare only works if the products you use work with your particular skin type and not against it. Firstly, we have to determine your skin type, and then we’ll guide you through the process of taking care of your skin. There are many skin types and colours, but we’ll stick to the main four skin types to keep things simple.

Balanced Skin

Balanced skin is the one that is neither too oily nor too dry. It hits the perfect balance.  You will have very few to no skin imperfections, no visible pores, no sensitivity, and your skin will age beautifully

Oily Skin

If you always carry blotting sheets and powders in your bag, chances are you have oily skin. Your skin will produce excess oil at times throughout the year. People with oily skin sometimes struggle with acne, enlarged pores, blackheads, and shiny complexion. Don’t worry as we can keep the oiliness in check by using the right products.

Dry Skin

As evident from the name, dry skin produces less oil and lacks radiance and vitality. If your skin feels tighter after washing your face and you feel a constant urge to moisturize, chances are you have dry skin. Prominent lines, premature ageing, redness, rough skin patches and lack of elasticity are issues people with dry skin sometimes deal with.

Combination Skin

You have got the best and worst of both worlds. If you have combination skin, your skin will appear oily in the T zone and dry on the cheeks. Enlarged pores, mild acne, blackheads and shiny t-zone are some of the most common issues people with combination skin deal with. Caring for combination skin is slightly different as you might have to use different products for different skin areas.

The Fitzpatrick Scale – Another Way to Classify Your Skin. The Fitzpatrick scale classifies the skin by its reaction to sunlight.

How does It Work?

The Fitzpatrick skin type, also known as phototype, is based on the skin’s melanin pigment. The melanin pigment determines what colour skin we have; white, brown, black etc. As a result of this pigment, all the phototypes react differently to sun exposure. This constitutional characteristic that we all have by the time we are born is the bases of this scale.

Type 1

Skin: Pale skin, typically describes as ivory

Eyes: Light coloured eyes; green, blue and grey

Hair: Hair colour is typically red or light blonde

Reaction to the Sun: People with type 1 skin typically don’t have a tan. Their skin usually forms freckles when exposed to sun. In the case of excessive sun exposure, the skin may burn and peel.

Type 2

Skin: Pale skin, typically classified as white

Eyes: Dark Coloured Eyes; green, blue and grey

Hair: Hair colour is typically blond

Reaction to the sun: People with type 2 skin tan very rarely. They typically develop freckles when exposed to the sun. In case of excessive sun exposure, skin burns and peels.

Type 3

Skin: People with type 3 skin generally have golden undertones and have light to beige complexion

Eyes: Eye colour can either be light brown or hazel

Hair: Hair colour typically ranges from dark blond to lighter shades of brown

Reaction to the Sun: This skin type is prone to tanning and burning and might also develop freckles.

Type 4

Skin: People with type 4 phototype have olive or light brown skin.

Eyes: Medium to dark brown eyes

Hair: Medium to dark brown hair

Reaction to the Sun: People with type 4 skin will become tan with sun exposure. In some cases, the skin might burn as well.

Type 5

Skin: Dark brown skin

Eyes: Eye colour varies from dark brown to black

Hair: Hair colour varies from dark brown to black

Reaction to the Sun: This skin type never really freckles and tans very easily. It most likely will not experience skin burns.

Type 6

Skin: People with Type six skin have deeply pigmented dark skin tones; dark brown to black

Eyes: brownish-black eyes

Hair: Hair colour is black to jet black

Reaction to the Sun: People with this skin type never burns and tans darkly

Based on the description of all these six skin types, you can easily determine which skin type you are as per the Fitzpatrick scale.