Before you choose your skin care products, it is important to know your skin type. Just as each one of us is a unique individual, with a unique personality, so is our skin.
Skin types vary depending upon factors such as:
- Water content, which affects your skin’s comfort and elasticity
- Oil (lipid) content, which affects your skin’s softness
- Sensitivity level
- Genetics
Knowledge about your skin type will help you make the best decision about the right products and the proper skin care routine you need to follow. The five basic skin types are categorized as: normal, dry, oily, combination, and sensitive, with each having particular characteristics and requiring a specific type of care and/or treatment.
One of the simplest ways to determine your skin type is to use a simple test with a clean facial tissue (or blotting paper) to wipe your face in the morning as soon as you wake up. Press a separate piece of tissue onto each area of your face- chin, centre of cheeks, outer cheeks, centre of forehead, outer forehead and nose. Examine each tissue and look for oily residue or flaky skin residue.
Here is how you can interpret the results and identify the proper skin care routine.
Normal Skin
If the tissue does not reveal any traces of oil, then your skin belongs to the normal category. Normal skin is not too dry and not too oily.
It has:
- No or few imperfections
- No severe sensitivity
- Barely visible pores
- A radiant complexion
Congratulations! You have the ideal skin type. Even with a minimal care, you will have a healthy complexion well into your advanced age. Watch out for dryness and fine lines appearing in the early to mid 30’s.
Dry Skin
If your skin is dry, the paper will be clean but the skin on your face will feel flaky, dry and tight after you have wiped it.
Dry skin can produce:
- Almost invisible pores
- Dull, rough complexion
- Red patches
- Less elasticity
- More visible lines
Watch Out: Dry skin can easily develop a sallow tone, wrinkles and fine pores and it is easily prone to ageing and irritation. It might still look great on a young person, but to keep it healthy, it needs to be regularly moisturised. Apply a moisturizer while the skin is still moist, to lock the moisture in.
Oily Skin
If you have oily skin, the tissue will have spots of facial oil on it, corresponding to the areas of your cheeks, nose, and forehead.
Oily skin can produce:
- Enlarged pores
- Dull or shiny, thick complexion
- Blackheads, pimples, or other blemishes
Oily skin is problematic – it usually looks greasy, thick, coarse, shiny and has enlarged pores. It has a tendency to break out into acne. A good thing, though, is that oily skin is not prone to ageing and wrinkling. Wash your face twice a day and use a gentle cleanser.
Combination Skin
If your skin is the Combination Skin variety, like that of most women, the tissue will have traces of oil coming from your T-Zone (nose, forehead and chin) but will be clean in the areas that touched your cheeks.
Combination skin can produce:
- Overly dilated pores
- Blackheads
- Shiny skin
A combination skin type can be dry or normal in some areas and oily in others. Dry zones, usually located on the cheeks and around the eyes, should be treated with rich creams and moisturisers. Oily areas, usually on the forehead and nose, will benefit from frequent and thorough cleaning.
Sensitive Skin
You don’t need a Tissue Test for this. Sensitive skin tends to be usually very dry, feels tight, and becomes inflamed and irritated easily. If your skin reacts to certain products with any of these, you have sensitive skin.
- Redness
- Itching
- Burning
- Dryness
This is the most challenging and fragile type of skin, which needs a very special type of care. We recommend using a hypo-allergenic product as these would have a safe level of active ingredients.
QNET Recommends
Our Physio Radiance range of skin care products are designed for all – male or female, young or mature, and most importantly for all skin types.
How is that possible?
Physio Radiance has a unique formulation helps your skin self-regulate and self-repair at a cellular level. Physio Radiance ReplenisH- is a unique multifunctional active ingredient complex that works effectively on all three levels of skin physiology: the cellular, inter-cellular and whole-organ levels. It is also hypo-allergenic and parabens-free, making it ideal for any skin type, including sensitive skin.
Whatever your skin type, we recommend the use of Physio Radiance Replenish Pack on a daily basis. Cleanse your skin with the Comfort Emulsion Cleanser, followed by the Remineralising Toner Lotion, Extreme Anti-Oxidant Serum and Radiance Enhancer Day & Night Fluid, to help balance skin hydro-lipids levels (Water & Oil) and add resilience and firmness to the skin.
A good skin care routine goes beyond looking good for a day. Take the proper steps to set yourself up for long-term skin health. Remember, your skin will thank you later!
