How To Know Your Skin Type (And Skincare Needs)

Skincare can be intimidating, but it is an art and a science that you can learn to accurately care for your skin. But the trick to caring for your skin is knowing your skin type, because this means that you can find the right products that work for you and combat potential issues without causing more problems.

There are five basic skin types: normal, oily, dry/dehydrated, combination, and sensitive, but some dermatologists also recognise two other skin types namely acne-prone and mature. Each skin type has its own set of unique characteristics and needs that can affect the look and feel of your skin and overall complexion.

Keep reading to find out what your skin type is as we’re covering all the basics about how to identify your skin type below, including tips for choosing the ideal skincare products and routines for each skin type.

Finding Your Skin Type

Your skin type is based on the amount of sebum (oil) that your skin produces. Skin’s oiliness can change over time and may also be influenced by factors such as stress, genetics, hormones, humidity, and the natural ageing process.

Once you know what to look for—using the common characteristics listed below—pinpointing your skin type can usually be determined through simple observation. 

Common Characteristics of Each Skin Type

Your skin is your body’s largest organ and it performs a variety of important and complex functions—from regulating your body temperature to protecting against germs. This is especially the job of your skin’s outermost layer (the skin barrier).  Composed mostly of lipids (such as ceramides), this protective barrier acts as the primary gatekeeper between your skin and external environment—keeping water in and harmful substances out.

Although a healthy skin barrier is essential for all skin types, it’s also important to remember that each individual’s skin is unique in many ways. This means that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach to achieving radiant, healthy-looking skin. However, there are a number of unifying characteristics to look out for that can help you answer the question “What is my skin type?”

Here are the main indicators to keep in mind when deciphering if your skin is predominantly oily, dry, normal, combination, sensitive, acne-prone or mature.

Normal Skin

How to Tell if You Have Normal Skin

Normal skin is skin that is balanced in texture and appearance – feeling neither too dry nor too oily. It is not prone to breakouts, flakiness, or feeling greasy or tight. Your skin doesn’t tend to react negatively to new products or weather changes. You also don’t feel like you need to constantly moisturise or blot oil from your face all day long. Your skin is firm, with minimal fine lines and wrinkles. People with normal skin typically have small pores, smooth skin texture, and are less prone to sensitivity or blemishes. However, despite the fact that normal skin doesn’t have any specific issues or concerns, it still requires proper skincare to look and feel its best.

Skin Care Tips For Normal Skin

Since normal skin typically does not experience almost any sensitivity, dryness or oiliness, your skin can tolerate most ingredients, so you can play with beauty products and have tons of fun experimenting with skincare products until you find exactly what works for you. The ideal normal skin care routine should help maintain your skin’s hydration by locking in moisture and supporting your skin’s protective barrier.

Oily Skin

How to Tell if You Have Oily Skin

Oily skin produces a lot of sebum that causes the skin to appear shiny (even glowy) and feel greasy, especially on the T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin). You’re likely not a stranger to blotting sheets or mattifying powders, and might find that makeup and skincare products don’t always stay put like you’d want them to. People with oily skin may tend to have less wrinkles, but they may also be more prone to enlarged pores, acne blemishes, blackheads, and whiteheads.

Skin Care Tips For Oily Skin

Just because oily skin produces more natural oils doesn’t mean that it requires any less moisture than other skin types. With oily skin, shine control is a top concern. Although there are benefits to having oily skin (like fewer wrinkles), you should avoid ingredients like mineral oil, petrolatum and alcohol. Products labelled “non-comedogenic” work great for oily skin as these won’t clog up your pores. Oil-free moisturisers are also your best friends (yes, you still need to moisturise!), as are exfoliants and clay masks. But overall, natural skincare products that contain Shea Butters are great for moisturising your skin. Be sure not to over-wash your face, as drying out your pores can cause them to produce even more oil to compensate. Supporting oily skin comes down to choosing the right products that nourish and hydrate, without clogging your pores or triggering breakouts.

Dry Skin

How to Tell if You Have Dry Skin

Dry skin generally produces less natural oils than other types of skin. This may cause it to appear dull and become rough, flaky, or even scaly. It often feels tight or less elastic, noticeably dehydrated, may be prone to showing more visible fine lines, and may become itchy or irritated. Generally, dryness and dehydration are two separate concerns, but they have similar symptoms. 

Dryness is caused by a lack of oil in the skin and its symptoms include flakiness, sensitivity, itchiness and cracks. It may be caused by lifestyle and environmental factors or a chronic condition (in case of eczema or related conditions). Dehydration on the other hand is the result of your skin not retaining enough moisture. Your skin may feel tight, have a papery appearance or show small, fine lines when it is pinched together.

Skin Care Tips For Dry Skin

The best skincare routine for dry skin should include gentle, soothing, and hydrating ingredients that help maintain the skin’s protective moisture barrier, such as ceramides. Avoid excessively long, hot showers, moisturise multiple times per day (especially after washing your hands or bathing), and opt for natural skincare products that are fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, and alcohol-free like the range of products from Kanda.

You should also try to keep the air in your home warm and moist to help your skin heal, and avoid using harsh soaps or products containing citrus oils or lots of fragrance. If your skin is dehydrated, on the other hand, be sure to look for water-based products, as oil-based products can actually make your skin condition worse. Most importantly, be sure that you’re drinking enough water daily.

Combination Skin

How to Tell if You Have Combination Skin

If you’re having trouble figuring out what type of skin you have, it’s likely that you have combination skin. An easy yardstick for assessing is to confirm if your skin is dry in certain areas, while oily in others. Combination skin is most easily defined by an oily T-zone (the strip across the forehead and the line down the nose) and dry or normal skin on the rest of the face. This skin type can vary during different seasons of the year, and due to various factors, such as stress or hormone fluctuation. 

Skin Care Tips For Combination Skin

Effective cleansing and hydration are key to care for skin that’s oily or normal in some places and dry in others. To craft a daily regimen for combination skin, be sure to include the Kanda Facial Oil, Body Balms, Facial Toner and Shea Soap in your skincare routine for combination skin. You’ll want to stay away from the same ingredients as oily and dry skin, such as alcohol-based products. The key with combination skin is balance. So, isolate problem areas with spot treatments and use toners or balancing cream to even out the skin.

Sensitive Skin

How to Tell if You Have Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin is often referred to as a skin type because it’s possible to have oily sensitive skin, dry sensitive skin, or normal sensitive skin. Regardless of which type of skin you have, if you have sensitive skin, it may often appear red and feel like it’s flushed, burning, itching, or dry. It could also present symptoms like frequent rashes and bumps, or stinging or burning after using a skin care product. These symptoms may be related to having skin that is more vulnerable to external irritants and may be triggered by certain ingredients like dyes or fragrance, as well as environmental factors, allergens or genetics.

Skin Care Tips For Sensitive Skin

If you have sensitive skin, you need to be careful when choosing cosmetics, as you’re more prone to irritation, redness, stinging, burning or acne breakouts. You may be able to determine what triggers your sensitivity and avoid cleansers, moisturisers, or other products containing those specific ingredients. You can also alter your environment to reduce your exposure to triggering agents. But generally, you may need to avoid fragrances and irritants like alcohol or antibacterial ingredients. Look for products with fewer additives, and seek out those with calming, healing or anti-inflammatory properties like the full range of products from Kanda. Sometimes, using the wrong products can cause your skin to become sensitised, even if your skin type isn’t truly sensitive so you need to be mindful.

Acne-Prone Skin

How to Tell if You Have Acne-Prone Skin

Acne-prone skin is often referred to as a skin condition rather than a skin type but we thought to include it here as it is common. If you frequently break-out (or experience the skin flare-ups that never seem to go away), you likely have acne-prone skin. This means that your pores tend to clog easily, making you more susceptible to whiteheads, blackheads or pustules than other skin types. You can have oily or dry skin and be prone to acne.

Note that not all blemishes on your skin might necessarily be acne. In fact, a common skin concern called rosacea is often referred to as “adult acne” because it can cause acne-like symptoms. Other symptoms of this condition include flushing, prominent blood vessels, thickened skin and stinging or burning. (If this sounds more like your skin, scroll back up to the “Sensitive” section instead.)

Skin Care Tips For Acne-Prone Skin

Use cleansers or gentle cold-pressed soaps like Kanda’s Neem or Tea soaps, specifically formulated to treat acne, as well as exfoliants and moisturisers that will help minimise breakouts. Gently cleanse your face to avoid trauma to existing breakouts, and use topical gel to treat and lighten acne scarring. Look for acne-fighting ingredients like salicylic acid, clay, benzoyl peroxide or retinol.

Mature Skin

How to Tell if You Have Mature Skin

Just like the acne-prone skin, mature skin is often referred to as a skin condition rather than a skin type. While not everyone’s skin ages at the same pace, the signs are fairly universal. You might notice a wrinkle here and there or more dryness than you had in your younger years. For more mature skin, you may notice sagging, dark spots, dullness and dehydration.

Skin Care Tips For Mature Skin

Mature skin requires enhanced skin care to tackle past and future damage. There’s no wrong time to create an anti-aging routine with restorative treatments, which can boost collagen, as well as protect against environmental aggressors and cell turnover. This Revitalising Facial Toner was specially formulated with anti-aging ingredients and will be a great addition to the skincare routine of people with mature skin. Other natural skincare products to include in the skincare routine of people with mature skin include this Baobab soap, Mango Body Balm, Minty-Lemon Body Oil, Facial Oil.

How Can I Identify My Skin Type at Home?

If descriptions of the different skin types didn’t help you come to a conclusion, there are multiple tests you can perform at home to help you determine your skin type. There are generally two tests that you can perform at home to help you understand what kind of skin you have in just 30 minutes: the blotting sheet method and the “watch and wait” method. Here are more information about the two methods:

The “watch and wait” method

This test allows you to understand your skin type by observing how your skin behaves after cleansing.

• To commence the test, wash your face with a gentle cleanser or a gentle cold pressed soap, then gently pat it dry.
• Wait 30 minutes.
• If your skin appears shiny throughout and until the 30 minute mark, you likely have oily skin.
• If it feels tight, flaky or scaly, you likely have dry skin.
• If the shine is only in your T-zone, you probably have combination skin.
• If it feels hydrated and comfortable, but not oily, you likely have normal skin.

The blotting sheet method

Blotting sheets absorb oil when pressed to the skin —and you can use them to help you understand what type of skin you have.

• Just like in the previous test, start with washing your face with a gentle cleanser or a gentle cold pressed soap, then gently pat it dry and wait for 30 minutes.
• Press blotting sheets to various areas of your face, then hold the sheets up to the light to see the oil markings.
• If the sheets soaked up an abundance of oil from all areas of the face, you have oily skin.
• If they absorb little to no oil, then you probably have dry skin.
• If they show only a small amount of oil from your T-zone, you have combination skin.
• If they only show minimal oil from every area of your face, you most likely have normal skin.

It’s important to remember that any skin type can be sensitive or prone to acne breakouts and all skin types will eventually become mature, though those with normal skin may be less likely to experience either sensitivity or acne breakouts. However, with the right products, you can care for your skin while addressing concerns like sensitivity and acne blemishes. When in doubt, visit a board-certified dermatologist for a personalised skin assessment and guidance on the best skincare routine for your skin type.

For help choosing the right natural skincare products for your specific skin type and concerns, contact us today for a chat and guidance.