Before starting a skincare routine, there is one essential first step: determine your skin type!
Observe your skin throughout the day. Is your skin shiny and oily by lunchtime, or feels tight and dry to the touch? Whatever the case, these characteristics are indicative of your skin type.
The 5 basic types of skin
Oily skin:
‘Oily’ is used to describe a skin type with heightened sebum production. This over production is known as seborrhea. Those with oily skin tend to notice a great deal of shine on their face, and may deal with terrible acne breakouts.
Dry skin:
Your skin feels tight and you have have dry patches that may feel irritated.
Your pores are almost invisible, you can have premature wrinkles and your skin is regularly irritated.
Sensitive skin:
Sensitive skin types may exhibit the characteristics of dry skin, oily skin, or combination skin, but they also deal with a great amount of redness and irritation.
Combination skin:
Combination skin features two or more different skin types on the face, and typically presents with dry and flaky skin on portions of the face, with excessive oil on others.
Normal skin:
It can be hard to define normal skin types and characteristics, as they are made up of a degree of expectations. ‘Normal’ is a term widely used to refer to well-balanced skin.
Which products work well with your skin type
Now that you know which skin type you have, let's talk about creating a skincare routine and which ingredients work well together.
Acne-prone skin
You may have acne-prone skin in addition to another skin type, such as dry, oily, combination, normal or sensitive. Acne can be caused by clogged pores, the spread of bacteria, stress, hormones and genetics. If your skin is also dry and/or sensitive, then some products may be too harsh on your skin, such as those containing alcohol. We recommend that you avoid products with lanolin, as well as scrubs, which can cause further breakouts.
Using a breakout eliminator will help you target the bacteria causing your breakouts, as well as detoxify and rejuvenate your skin. This will also help with other problems that go hand-in-hand with acne, such as redness, scarring and irritated skin.
Dry skin
You may also have dry skin that is flaky and leaves uncomfortable patches on your skin. If this is the case, then we recommend products that are moisturising and will nourish your skin.
These may include hydrating ingredients such as Vitamin B3, Sodium Hyaluronate and Macadamia Oil.
In addition to using a day cream with SPF and night cream with potent vitamins, we recommend that you also pay attention to your eyes and lips. Using a hydration concentrate will make sure that you target specific areas that are in need of intense hydration. This will also improve the look of fine lines and wrinkles, as well as help with sensitivity.
Sensitive skin
Lastly, you may have sensitive skin. Skin that is sensitive may react negatively to certain ingredients, causing irritation, redness and itchiness. You may find that you are allergic to specific ingredients. We suggest that you are gentle with your sensitive skin.
Some ingredients that we recommend for those with sensitive skin are Sodium Hyaluronate, Avocado Extract, Macadamia Extract, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin B.
Sensitive skin may feel difficult to work with, especially if your skin is prone to harsh reactions. A Vitamin B3 complex will be gentle on your skin, while also helping with fine lines, wrinkles, breakouts, scarring, redness, broken capillaries and uneven skin tone.
Finding the right skin care routine isn't just about a number of steps to follow but finding the products that are right for your skin. For more information, we encourage you to browse our Australian skincare products and the ingredients that compose them.