Basic Information and Tips For Combination Skin

Normal skin usually has a healthy glowing texture with no visibly dry or oily patches of skin. A minimal amount of skin care is required to keep the skin healthy. Daily cleansing is always recommended for all types of skin. A night moisturizer is always good to ensure that the skin stays in a good condition with a healthy glow.

Combination skin, characterised by an oily central panel (forehead, nose and chin) and dry cheeks, is the most common skin type. To keep oiliness and dryness under control, the skin needs to be cared for as two distinct types oily and dry. There are many products on the market that provide a balance of ingredients designed to cope with the demands of combination skin.

Most combination skin problems can be traced back to the T-zone. The T-zone is the part of the face that begins at the forehead, moving downward to the nose, mouth area, and the chin. It’s called a T-zone because this pattern is shaped like the letter T. In case you have such a skin type, know that the only way to deal with this kind of skin is to treat each portion separately. Let’s read on how to do it!

What causes combination skin?

This skin type tends to develop with time, especially in those skins that were oily during puberty. In your teens, sebum is usually stimulated by surging hormones; in your 20s, oily skin in the lower half of your face the jawline and chin is generally caused by hormonal factors, such as stress, the Pill and menstruation. The oily and dry patches of combination skin do change with age, so it’s worth assessing your skin type regularly so that you can adjust your beauty routine accordingly. Most people will notice that combination skin changes with age, the seasons, the environment and hormonal fluctuations.

How To Care For Combination Skin:

For Oily Areas:

Oily skin is much more prone to outbreaks. This is because of a heightened production of sebum (oil) by the sebaceous (oil producing) glands too much sebum can cause a blockage in the duct, leading to inflammation and pimples.

Sebaceous glands are unevenly distributed. They are more concentrated on the scalp, forehead, along the nose and on the chin and less concentrated on the cheeks, neck and around the eyes. As a result, oily skin tends to be oily only in patches. The amount of oil that an individual makes is determined by his genetics.

Honey as Best Facial: The best available facial mask is honey. Use warm cotton to open the pores, smear on honey, leave it for 15 to 30 minutes and then rinse it off with lukewarm water followed by cold water to close the pores. Initially, use it for 3 days in a row and then once in a week.

Egg Yolk: The best homemade facial mask is raw egg yolk. Just apply the raw yolk onto the face and neck, leave it for 30 minutes and rinse with normal cold water. Egg yolk contains high vitamin A. The mask is very effective in healing blemishes.

For Dry Areas:

• Avoid alcohol-based cleansers and other oil preventive products on the dry areas.
• Do not scrub the dry and normal parts of your face for those would further dry them. When scrubbing the dry areas, mix a little lotion or cream with the scrub and then rub on the face to avoid dryness.
• Apply a moisturizer to the dry areas so that the patches are not formed.

General Tips:

• Treat oily and dry areas differently. Generally this kind of skin is just a little oily and a little dry. As such, there is no need to panic. You can use normal skin masks to care for your skin type, but in case the skin is facing extreme dryness or oiliness, it is advisable to treat the areas differently.
• Make sure you wash your face at least twice a day and use only mild cleansers for doing so. Get a soap-free cleanser. Harsh soaps or alcohol-based cleansers contain oil production reducing agent, which can be pretty bad for the dry part of the face.
• After cleansing, use some good moisturizer for the dry parts. Even the sunscreen that you use to fight the sun exposure should be oil-free.
• Some people with combination skin may benefit from a combination of two masks used once a week. A clay mask is applied to the oily area and a moisturizing mask which is applied to the dry areas.