All my fellow Katy Perry fans sing it with me!

Cuz you’re hot then you’re cold

You’re dry then you’re oily

You’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re out

You’re oily with moisturizer, flaky without it though

…. Yeah not my best remix.

I’m starting to wonder if Katy Perry’s ‘Hot N Cold” song was about a bad relationship or actually about Combination skin lol.

In today’s post I’ll talk about:

• How Do You Know Your Skin Type?
• Combination Skincare Routine (my own and other’s via research)
  • AM Routine
  • PM Routine
  • Honorable mentions: Acne, Anti-aging, and dry skin tips
• Like, Comment, Subscribe

How To Know Your Skin Type

The American Academy of Dermatology recognizes five official types of skin:

Sensitive skin may sting or burn after product use

Normal skin is clear and not sensitive

Dry skin is flaky, itchy or rough

Oily skin is shiny and greasy

Combination skin is dry in some areas and oily in others

-The American Academy of Dermatology

Combination skin can be determined if you have an oily T-zone (this includes forehead, nose, and chin) while the rest of your face is flaky, itchy or dry. You can also have oily vs dry skin on different parts of your face, it’s not just limited to the T-zone. In general, if you seem to have two or more textures on your skin, you have Combination Skin.

Something that can be mistake as Combination skin is when your entire face looks oily, but feels tight and dry. This is when you have excessive dry skin, and your sebaceous glands over produce sebum to make up for the dryness. I will make a post on this in the future.

To test out what skin type you have, you can wash your face with a gentle foam cleanser and wait 10-30 min. Without any products, your does your skin feel? Tight, oily, normal? This is the quickest and simplest way to tell your skin type.

You can also test your skin type with oil blotting sheets. This is helpful to know where your skin has more sebum than the rest. If you already know you have combination skin, this can help with knowing where you have different textures too.

Recommended Skincare Routine for Combination Skin

According to Skin Vision, people with Combination skin should use products on different parts of their face to create balance. For example, if you have dry/normal cheeks, you may want to use mild or moisturizing cleansers there and a heavier moisturizer and on your oily T-zone use more Niacinimide products to control oil production and lighter, oil-free moisturizers.

There’s no need to worry. It might not be easy, but it’s definitely possible to find a routine that softens dry patches and combats shininess. It doesn’t matter what percentage of your skin is oily and dry, or if your dry and oily patches aren’t in the most common areas — the approach is the same.

Healthline.com

Healthline’s recommends these general skincare routines, change them up to what fits for you!

AM Routine: this should focus on balancing the skin

1. Light cleanser to remove build up
2. Use an Alcohol-free toner. Toners remove any oil-based build up and also restore pH levels of the skin
3. A hydrating serum. A Serum with Hylauronic Acid will work well for dry patches of skin
4. Moisturizer. For Combination skin, use a thicker, creamier formula for dry parts and an oil-free and light moisturizer for oily
5. Sunscreen should be light-weight and oil-free. At least SPF 30
6. If you use Makeup, choose light-weight and oil-free formulas

PM Routine:

1. Makeup Remover. Micellar Water is the gentlest makeup remover
2. Night time Cleanser to remove any day-time build up and impurities
3. Exfoliant up to only two times per week to remove dead skin build up. This will help acne prone skin and reduce look of large pores. Can use chemical exfoliants or physical
4. Face Mask up to one time per week. Try multi-masking, where you put different masks on different parts of the face. Use clay mask on oily skin and moisturizing masks on oily skin.
5. Serum, treatment, and moisturizer. Use your stronger products at night.

Honorable mentions:

1. Acne Prone tips: Use salicylic acid cleansers. Don’t skip out on double cleansing if you use makeup. And use a toner to remove excessive oil that causes blemishes.
2. Anti-aging: Don’t forget to treat your neck with the same products as your face. Don’t forget sunscreen!!!
3. Dry skin: Hydrate the heck out of your skin. Drink tons of water and eat a lot of water-based fruits. Use thick, creamy moisturizers on dry patches. Avoid products that have alcohol and dry out your skin.

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