Combination skin is combination of oily and dry parts. Most of the time, the oily areas are in the T-zone near the forehead, nose and chin. The rest of the face including cheeks falls under the dry zone. As combination skin requires treatment for both oily and dry areas, drafting a perfect skin care routine is a tough task. Here, we have shared, all information about combination skin type to help you devise a skin care regime.
How to check your skin type
To know the category of your skin, simply take soft paper tissues and wipe the T zone and cheek zone. If the T zone is oily while the cheek is dry then you surely have a combinations skin.
Causes
The causes behind combination skins are also random. They can be due to hormonal changes during teenage or can be stress-response to hormonal changes during menstruation or intake of birth control pills. The lipids in skin tissue and the weather triggers the secretion of oil leading to a combination skin.
Skin care tips
There is no specific tips and quick ready care package for combination skin. However, if you are sincerely following these steps, you may notice a significant change.
1. Cleanser
Cleanser for dry skins will increase the oil content of T zone and vice versa. However, foaming or gel based basic cleansers work well. They just clean the excess oil and dirt of your skin. There are many medicated cleansers available in the market but ordinary foaming gel cleanser can be chosen if you do not want to go for costly medicated gels.
2. Regular exfoliation
It keeps the skin fresh and prevents dryness and pore blockage. Regular exfoliation also prevents skin darkening, blackheads or acne. You can use orange peel with Papaya, olive extract, Ginkgo Biloba and pineapple juice for gentle exfoliation. It can be home made easily. However, you can find both herbal and medicated exfoliating scrubs for combination skin in the market.
3. Moisturizer
When you have exfoliated your skin then you should proceed towards moisturizing your skin. This is the trickiest part of the skin routine. You need to stress on moisturizing the dry areas more than the oily areas. However, you need to apply moisturizer to the oily parts too as improper hydration there will lead to unwanted oil secretion. You can choose to moisturize the dry areas twice a day but you need to moisturize the oily areas at least once a day. If you are not satisfied with your moisturizer, then never hesitate before replacing them. You can use rosemary and Aloe based moisturizer or you can buy medicated moisturizer for combination skin from the market. You can also try the moisturizer mask for treating your skin time to time. These masks are very potent in hydrating your skins.
4. Use sunscreen lotions
If you live in a cold area, always try to avoid direct wind contact to your face. You also need to protect your skin from unwanted ultraviolet radiation from sun. Both UVA and UVB are harmful for your skin. You can choose either SPF 15 or SPF 30 depending upon your sun exposure. In extreme cases, like outdoor picnics or field trip, you can opt for higher SPF. You can use moisturizer-based sunscreen for this purpose. You also need to protect your skin from acne. You can use essential oil of Lavender for preventing skin infection and proper hydration. The essential oil has high water retention capacity and antibacterial property.