If you’re a little unsure, though, you’ve come to the right place: Here, a quick skin-type quiz to I.D. your complexion, with derm advice for picking the right products. Happy browsing… For example, if you know your skin runs dry, you wouldn’t necessarily treat it with an oil-absorbing charcoal mask; rather, you might gravitate toward a nourishing face oil to lock in moisture. And if your skin reads acne-prone? Chances are you wouldn’t opt for heavy coconut oil, as it has the potential to clog pores. BHAs are far better for keeping breakouts at bay. Become familiar with your skin type, and you can save time (and money) discovering what works best for your skin and what can lead to acne or irritation down the line. Chronically dry skin is also a telltale sign you have a compromised skin barrier, as water can easily evaporate from a weakened barrier and leave the skin parched. Your skin also may become naturally drier as you age since your skin’s natural oil production1 and structural components—like collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid—start to decrease and break down as you grow older; as such, locking in as much moisture as you can is a must. Translation: Having acne-prone skin means you’re more prone to breakouts, perhaps due to factors that are simply out of your control (like genetics). Oily skin is often also acne-prone, as sebum can become trapped in the pores and lead to breakouts, but this is not always the case. “Just because your skin is oily does not necessarily mean it is acne-prone at all,” says Downie. You may just have more shine, simple as that. And for what it’s worth, any skin type can also run sensitive (be it oily, combination, or dry), but since a weakened skin barrier typically goes hand in hand with dryness, those two skin types seem to be a common pair. As for moisturizers, opt for a rich, butter-thick moisturizer (our favorites here) rather than a light water cream. You may even want to top your moisturizers with an oil to make sure water stays housed inside. You may also want to incorporate some AHAs or BHAs to help unclog pores, as well as ingredients like tea tree oil to kill acne-causing bacteria and soothe inflammation.
Mattifying moisturizers are your friends, here, as are ingredients like charcoal and clay to help draw excess oil from the pores. “Just because some areas of your face might produce excessive oil, that doesn’t make your skin ‘oily,’ so one must make sure not to treat combination skin with harsh, overdrying skin care products,” Aguilar adds. You may even want to multi-mask or multi-moisturize to treat different areas. In terms of ingredients to look for, she touts hyaluronic acid and squalane as sensitive-skin-approved players. Anything that helps support the skin barrier, like ceramides, shea butter, and colloidal oat, are solid choices, too.
