What is combination skin, and how to deal with it?

by Ahsan Sohail
What is combination skin, and how to deal with it?

If you feel that some parts of your face are oily and some are dry, then you must have a combination skin type. In this condition, your skin is dry form some parts of your face, and some parts of your face, including your t-zone and moving towards your face, nose, chin, and forehead, are oily. In case you have some other skin issues such as breakouts, wrinkles, and rosacea on your face. These might be the different indications for you to have combination skin. Taking care of skin if it is either dry skin or oily, is more comfortable than taking care of combination skin. On the combination of skin, you have to use different products on different parts of your skin. When it comes to taking care of combination skin, first of all, you must learn what combination skin is. It can help you in figuring out the perfect balance for your skin type. 

What exactly is a combination of skin?

You can only take care of your skin in a proper way if you are well aware of your skin type. Combination skin is a mixture of oily and dry skin. Your face is oily and flaky dry at the same time. Some parts of your face act like oily skin, and some like dry. More specifically, your T-zone is oilier as it is the center part of your face. And most of the skin oil-producing glands are present exactly here. While on the other hand, cheeks, and eyes, part of your face is the driest. Hydrating masks result in too much hydration, and absorption masks result in too much absorption. 

It is often hard for people having combination skin to develop a proper skincare routine and take care of their combination skin in an effective way. It might be difficult, but it is not impossible. You just have to be consistent in whatever you do to see the best possible results.

How to comprehend that you have combination skin?

Here are some things that can help you figure out if you have combination skin:

  • Right after washing your face, your skin is normal. But after 20 minutes, some parts of your face start getting oily while others are still dry. 
  • You have visibly large pores on your nose as compared to those on your jawline and cheeks. It is really hard to deal with large pores as there is no proven remedy or technique for treating or minimizing large pores. 
  • Using oily skin moisturizer makes your nose all nice and cool but dries out your cheeks and other facial parts. While using dry skin moisturizer makes your cheeks all good, but your T-zone becomes greasy and oil sick. 
  • You have dandruff problems. But this does not prove that every person having combination skin also have dandruff. But you might flaky or dry scalp.
  • Weather determines the condition of your T-zone. When the weather is hot, your T-zone is greasier, oily, and shiny. While when the weather is cold, your T-zone is drier and takes much time to get greasy. 
  • Your face gets breakouts and dry patches at the same time. It happens because your skin is dry from some parts and oily from others. So some parts get patches, and at some parts, you breakout.

What kind of skincare products are best for combination skin?

No one size approach works for combination skin. Considering your skin is a combination of two skin types, you have to pick skin products depending upon how much dry your skin is from some parts and how much it is oily from others. Only then will you be able to develop skincare for yourself explicitly depending on the condition of both areas of your face. 

The oily parts of your face will need products that are not shinny and gives a well matte finish. These products are of great help in control. Using matte finish products make the dry parts of your face drier. Hence you will have to moisturize those parts a little extra. Products such as moisturizers and creams having emollients in them work perfectly with these areas. However, do not use these products on the oily parts of your face as they will make those parts more greasy and sticky. 

Products that you will be using on the oily parts of your face must be very lightweight. Products having a gel-like or watery consistency with, of course, a more considerable amount of active agents, are best to be chosen for oily areas. Start with applying these products all over your face and then apply some extra moisturizer or cream on the dry parts only. 

The fundamental rule is to create a perfect balance. For that firstly you have to learn what areas of your face need what kind of products. Now let’s have a look at what type of skincare works best for combination skin and how you 

What skincare to carry for combination skin?

Now when you know how you can identify that you have a combination skin type. Following is a skincare routine that compliments the needs of your combination skin. Following these guidelines can help you greatly in achieving your combination skin goals.

  • Facial cleanser:

Either you work, or you stay at home, dirt will still find its way to surface your face developing the impurities and oils. Keeping your face clean from these impurities and dirt particles is the key. Wash your face with any gentle cleanser at least twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. One thing you must remember while choosing a facial cleanser is that it must aid to mattify the oily parts and T-zone of your face without overly drying others. In this case, micellar water can be an excellent option for combination skin.

  • Exfoliation:

Exfoliating twice a week helps in getting rid of all the dead skins from your skin. Dead skin cells keep developing and can make your complexion dull. So it is necessary to exfoliate every week. But also make sure not to over-exfoliate. Everyone’s skin is different. It might take some time for you to get to know how much exfoliation your skin can bear. You can use a scrubber suitable for all skin types for exfoliation as you are dealing with more than one type of skin.

  • Moisturizer:

A significant population with combination skin believe that they don’t need to put on moisturizer because of their skin type. No! If you have combination skin and you think the same, then you are wrong. All kinds of skins, including combination, need moisturizing. It’s just that you have to pick up the right product for your skin type. Oil-free moisturizers work best for combination skin as they don’t get your T-zone more oily and shiny. 

  • Avoid touching your face:

It is much easier to say than strictly following it. We all tend to touch our face multiple times a day. Which is not a good thing. Our hands carry hundreds of germs and dust particles. When we touch our face, they transfer from our hands to our face and tend to clog our pores. So try to avoid touching your face as much as can as it is only beneficial for yourself.

  • Blotting papers:

Sweaty face with much oil makes you look extra glowy. But don’t worry. Blotting papers are on the rescue. These are easier to carry everywhere you go and fit nicely in your bag. Blotting papers help to get rid of the excessive oil from your face in the mid-day. Gently dab them on the oily parts as these papers absorb all the extra oil and sweat without ruining your makeup. You can quickly blot away all the oil from your face without any fear of getting your makeup off.

  • Get into a deep relation with your Broad-spectrum Sunscreen:

This skincare step is essential not only for combination skin but for all kinds of skin types. The best way to take care of your skin is to put on enough amount of broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 15 or higher on your face every day. If you don’t have time to reach for separate products, you can have a moisturizer with SPF in it so that you don’t have to apply two things separately.

This is one of the most important parts of skincare because of skin exposure to sunlight results in early aging and wrinkles. Always wear your SPF before going out, and additionally wear shades in the sun, cover the exposed areas. Try to limit your time of being directly under the sun. This way, you can properly get to take care of your skin.

  • Face masks:

The face is very friendly with the combination of skin. Moreover, if you are multi-masking. Multi masking is a technique of applying different masks at the same time on the different parts of the skin. It is a perfect way to take care of various skin issues at a time. 

Taking care of your skin is a great way to love yourself. Following these steps can help you get the perfect skin goals. But remember, all skins and complexions are beautiful in their way. 

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