Combination skin is a scenario under which two or more types of skin coexist in your face at the same time. In most cases we find that other parts of the face are dry and flaky, while the T-zone, or the central part of the face – the forehead, nose and chin, are oily. Combination skin may also be a condition where wrinkles and breakages or rosacea and dry skin are present in the face at the same time.
Tips to take better care for your combination skin
- Clean your face everyday – Always clean your face with a gentle and water-soluble cleanser. It will prevent your skin from getting irritated and dry. In case your face is a combination of oily and dry skin, a gel-based mild foaming cleanser should be used. On the other hand, if you have a dry skin and rosacea with sun damage, you should use a lightweight lotion cleanser. Whatever is the composition it should not be harsh to your skin. You must consciously avoid using bars, whether soaps or cleansers. The ingredients used for the production of bars can clog the pores of the skin of your face and make it itchy and irritable.
- Use a Good Moisturizer – You must regularly moisturize the dry portions of your face which lie outside the T-zone. However, you must be careful not to use it on the oily portions of your face. Moisturizing the oily sections would worsen the situation all the more.
- Try to give your skin a normal look – The basic goal should be to minimize the gap between the oily and dry skin and bring about as much balance as possible. You must try to normalize it as it would add to your convenience. The sooner it would happen, the better it is. Neither would you have to take care of the different parts separately, nor would you have problems while applying make-up. In the process, you would need certain products which specifically act towards normalizing skin types. Products with alpha hydroxyl acids (fruits acids or AHA’s) or retinols are suitable for treating combination skin types. Retinols contain vitamin A derivatives. These help you to achieve better and even looking normal skin types.
- Use AHA based creams – They are quite important for combination skin as they act as catalyst for regeneration of the cells. They help in burning off the top damaged layer of the skin and expose the healthier new skin which lies underneath. The AHA creams have water-binding properties. It assists them in enhancing skin elasticity. This in turn eases the tightness of the dry areas of your skin. However, remember that if you start using AHA creams you must continue doing so. The cells would regenerate at a slower pace, if discontinued, which means that your skin would go back to its original condition once again.
- Control the shine – An important part of the care regime is to control the shine. The oily portions of your face tend to shine more when oils get accumulated inside the pores. Therefore, while buying make-up, always check whether they read “oil absorbing.” Such makeup would absorb the oils from your face and stop them from shining.
The presence of combination skin in your face can make you feel uncomfortable, frustrated and embarrassed at the same time. The first step towards treatment would be to identify that you have combination skin in the first place. You must identify the areas in your face which are segmented and learn what the different types present are. You need not worry, just a bit of extra care would help you get back your normal skin.
You must treat each type of the skin on your face separately:
- In case of a mix of oily and dry skin it is better to use a matte foundation, but ensure that you put a hydrating serum on the dry area first.
- If your eye contour is dry, it is better to use a rich moisturizer around the eyes. For the portions of the face which are less dry, it is better to use a lotion-textured moisturizer while for the oily areas a simple toner would be sufficient.
The rule of thumb for caring for combination skins is to apply products with extra moisture in the dry areas and oil-fee products in the oily zone. Use sunscreen all the time, all the seasons. Ensure that the sunscreen has the UV protection and is applied along with foundation and powder. This mixture is perfect for the combination skin. Once or twice a week, use masks to cleanse the skin. Use clay mask in the oily areas and a moisturizer based in the dry ones. Ensure that the mask does not contain drying agents.
Yes, your combination skin would require that extra care and attention. But you need not bother too much. A little bit of gentleness and care would help you get beautiful looking skin.
