Skin Care Tips

As obvious from the name itself this type of skin combines characteristics of several skin types: usually oily on T-Zone (sometimes including not only forehead, nose and chin but cheek area as well) and dry or normal on the sides of the face and/or cheeks. That is why your approach to taking care of this type of skin should be also combined.
 
In your daily routine address the main problems of combination skin: visible pores, which are often clogged, pimples and black heads.

Cleansing:
 
Use a cleanser for combination/normal skin on the whole face, use a toner for deep cleansing of the oily part of the face. 
 
Moisturizing:
 
You can use a Pore Minimizer or Anti-Imperfection fluid/serum on the oily T-Zone to reduce appearance of pores and prevent break outs.
 
Apply moisturizer marked for combination skin or non-oily fluid (that is always lighter than "cream") to the whole face. If your skin in the T-Zone is very oily and on the sides of the face and cheeks very dry use 2 types of moisturizers: one light and oil free for the T-Zone and the second more rich for normal/dry skin on the rest of the face. It is best if your moisturizer has UV protection and anti-oxidants.
 
Protection:
 
If your moisturizer does not have UV protection apply Sun Screen. Choose your sun screen moisturizer very carefully and ideally look for a Fluid with UV protection marked for combination/oily skin.
 
Check out Estee Lauder moisturizers with UV protection. It works best for me!

Cleansing:

Do not over-dry the skin when cleansing. In order to avoid drying the skin avoid using bars of soaps or toners with alcohol. They will stress and dry your skin. Just stick to a mild cleanser that you like which is marked "for normal skin".
 
Moisturizing:
 
Normal skin is naturally moisturized. But it will benefit from a moisturizer if you choose a light, non-oily one with built in UV and anti-oxidant protection.

Main concern for dry skin is that it is prone to wrinkles and shows age sooner than other type of skin.

Note: Dry skin can be caused by weather. For example, if you have Normal Type of skin it can show signs of a dry type of skin in very cold weather. Other causes of dry skin include central heating and air conditioning that reduce humidity of the environment, hot baths and showers, harsh soaps and detergents.

Cleansing:

Use a very mild cleanser and preferably clean your skin once a day in the evening. In the morning you can just splash with cool water. Do not use tap water as it may contain chloride and be drying for your skin, use filtered or mineral water. It is recommended that you do not use a toner as it will dry your skin more. But if you do prefer to use a toner - choose a moisturizing toner with no alcohol added. After cleansing, pad your skin with a towel but do not dry it completely, leave it a bit damp and immediately apply moisturizer.

Moisturizing:

Moisturizing is highly important for the dry type of skin. Choose a thicker type of moisturizer in the form of creams not lotions. Oil-based moisturizers are more effective than water-based as they lock-in the moisture in your skin epidermis, the very top layer of your skin.
Apply moisturizer immediately after cleansing to a still damp skin.
Moisturizing creams may feel a little greasy, but less so than ointments or petrolatum. Lotions are the most popular moisturizer, but because they contain more water than oil, they are not as effective for dry skin. Humectants are a class of moisturizers which do not contain oil and may be classified as oil-free. These contain glycerin, propylene glycol, urea, hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid, and lactic acid. Humectants are also extremely effective, some, such as alpha hydroxy acids, actually improve the skin's ability to retain moisture.
Some other advice to improve the condition of the dry type of skin includes:
1.      Use warm water not hot and limit bath time
2.      Use a humidifier and keep your house cool as hot and dry indoor air can increase the dryness of your skin and cause itching and irritation. Some plants perform a similar job to a humidifier, keeping more moisture in the air. Water your plants regularly and you will see what a difference they can make.
3.      Avoid saunas and steam baths. They make you sweat and bring down the level of moisture in your skin. 

If you have oily type of skin you must be suffering from clogged pores, break outs and black heads. Besides oily skin tends to build up dead cells on the surface of the skin as a result it is thicker than other types and and has heavy texture and a coarse look to it.  
On the other hand due to the fact that the skin is always lubricated and that the oil helps to keep precious moisture locked in the epidermis this type of skin is less prone to wrinkling.
 
Cleansing:
 
Special attention should be paid to cleansing to prevent or minimize most of oily skin related problems. However do not over cleanse or use harsh products as this may strip your skin of oil and encourage oil glands to work overtime to make up for it.
 
Many cosmetologists recommend using bar soaps and hot water to dissolve and get rid of oil on the skin surface and in the pores. However this may result in drying and dehydration of the skin. Use a mild cleanser with no addition of oil, waxes or any other lipid agent that can worsen the oily condition of the skin. Another good idea for oily skin is to use a cleanser with salicylic acid, a beta-hydroxy acid that reduces sebum (skin oil) production and will help you to combat break outs. Also it can be beneficial if your cleanser has antibacterial properties/ingredients. Oily skin prone to break outs will also benefit from a toner with antiseptic.
 
Moisturizing:

To counteract any dryness or dehydration that might result from deep cleansing of the oily skin use a light oil-free moisturizer. You may also try an anti-imperfection moisturizer but use it only if it is not too drying for your skin. Avoid any ingredients that can clog pores and aggravate acne such as cocoa butter, olive oil, corn oil, acetylated lanolin, butyl sterate and any other comedogenic ingredients (ingredients that tend to clog pores and cause acne).
 
If your moisturizer does not come with sun protection, use a sunscreen, preferably gel type, that has minimum SPF of 15.
 
Diet:
The main recommendation for a diet would be to keep to a low-fat diet. Avoid oily foods: pork or foods cooked with too much oil. Also avoid highly seasoned foods.

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Click on the thumbnail below to watch. Enjoy!!!

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Find more information abut Skin Care by Age

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