Understanding Your Skin Type

Our skin requires 2 types of hydration: oil and water. This is why we have oil glands and sweat glands: the oil to act as a natural moisturiser, and the sweat to hydrate the skin. When the oil glands and sweat glands work in tandem, your skin is properly moisturised and hydrated, resulting in normal skin - yay!

However, there are many reasons our oil glands and sweat glands can go out of whack:

• Weather - hot and humid weather can trigger our oil glands and increase sebum production, resulting in oily skin. Conversely, cold air and high winds can strip your skin of much needed hydration.

• Hormones - young people undergoing puberty will experience an increase in sebum production, especially when they are physically active and do not engage in hygienic practices.

• Habits - if you enjoy taking hot baths, you are inadvertently drying your skin out. This is worsened if you do not dry your body properly and allow water to evaporate from your skin!

• Skin care products - not using the right skin care products can lead to overly dry skin. Many people treat cleansers as a basic product that doesn’t need to be chosen with care; ironically, it is the most important product that will not only strip your skin of its moisture and cause your skin pH to go below the required 5.5 to 5.7.

Dehydrated vs Dry Skin

Many people often confuse dehydrated and dry skin - they are not the same!

Dehydrated skin refers to skin lacking in water - just as we need to drink water regularly, our skin needs a constant supply of water to keep it radiant and healthy. Dehydrated skin can result in a variety of problems for the skin: lack of radiance, fine lines, soreness while applying products on the skin, flaking and peeling skin. This however, is only the start of your problems if you suffer from dehydrated skin. It can also subsequently lead to:

1. Sensitive skin - just as our bodies react negatively when we do not drink enough water, our skin can become sensitive if it remains dehydrated for a prolonged period of time. This is due to an imbalanced skin pH - our skin needs to remain at a pH between 5.5 to 5.7 - and anything lower than that will lead to sun sensitivity, redness, warm and painful skin and even pigmentation.

2. Combination skin - acne and pimples while experiencing tight, dry skin. This can be frustrating - especially if you do not know how to cure it properly. It may seem contradictory - you need to hydrate your skin with a moisturiser for dehydrated skin without increasing sebum production, which can worsen acne and pimples!

3. Premature ageing - while ageing is a natural process for our bodies to undergo, we definitely do not want the signs to appear earlier than they have to! Without proper hydration for the skin, however, signs of ageing will definitely appear early - fine lines and wrinkles, laughing lines, sagging skin and lack of firmness.

In essence, water is the number 1 answer to good, radiant skin - and simply drinking it is not enough! You need to moisturise your skin for hydrated, healthy skin.

On the other hand, however, you may experience dry skin if your oil glands are not producing enough sebum to act as your skin’s natural moisturiser. This can be easily solved by using the right moisturiser for your skin type ;)

Oily Skin

On the contrary, if your oil glands produce too much sebum, your skin becomes oily. This can result in the much dreaded acne, pimples, shiny skin, open pores and congested skin. Oily skin often results from hot weather, hormonal changes and ironically, lack of hydration. Your body is smart - but it can sometimes backfire. Instead of producing more water to counter dehydrated skin, it produces more sebum to protects the skin. This can lead to oily skin if the oil glands overproduce sebum!

Therefore, as we have preached again and again, using the right moisturiser to keep your skin hydrated will ensure your sweat glands and oil glands remain in balance for healthy, radiant skin!

Sensitive Skin

As we mentioned earlier, dehydrated skin can lead to sensitive skin. It is important, however, to distinguish between sensitive skin and reactive skin.

• Sensitive skin: people born with sensitive skin have thinner skin and their blood vessels are more easily inflamed - which can lead to redness under the skin. They may also experience broken capillaries - the blood vessels are thin and can burst when it expands too much, which is then visible due to their thin skin.

• Reactive skin: skin changes due to skin care usage - some products contain active ingredients which can cause tingling or itchy sensations. This is a natural process of using the skin care products and it does not mean that you have sensitive skin, your skin is simply absorbing and reacting to the active ingredients you are feeding it.

Using the right skin care products and treatments for sensitive skin is essential to strengthening and protecting the skin against external aggressors. Some people avoid using skin care products because they have sensitive skin - which can lead to dehydrated skin and increased sensitivity! Understand what causes your skin sensitivity and using the right treatment to strengthen your skin is key to stronger, less sensitive skin ;)

Ageing Skin

This is not a skin type; after all, it is a natural process for humans to age. However, we included it in this chart because it affects your skin and becomes visible when we turn 25. As we age, our skin tend to become increasingly dehydrated - resulting in fine lines, wrinkles, laughing lines, lack of firmness, sagging skin and pigmentation.

Thus, it is important to prevent visible of ageing by taking care of your skin early on. Typically, signs of ageing and the treatment required follows your age group:

• 25 to 30 years old: fine lines, wrinkles and lack of radiance - targeted treatments for your respective skin type (oily, dry, dehydrated and sensitive) to keep it healthy and radiant

• 30 to 40 years old: laughter lines, crow’s feet, forehead lines and slight lack of firmness in the skin - hydrating treatments that prevent and treat existing wrinkles

• 40 to 50 years old: lack of tonicity in the muscle and face shape looks droopy - regenerating and nourishing treatments and boost the skin’s firmness and tonicity

See our previous post on 4 Massage Exercises to keep your face looking youthful and slim!

This is why we emphasise the importance of understanding your skin: not just by looking at it, but looking at your daily habits, lifestyle and skin care routine. This will help us to determine your skin type, what is causing the problem and how best to treat it for long-lasting healthy, radiant skin.

If you experience any of the symptoms above and are not sure how best to tackle it, let our trained skin care therapists help! Book an appointment at 63370060 for a complimentary consultation and tell us how you want to see your skin change ;)

You tell us the change and we help you see the change.