Before you decide how to treat
your skin, it’s essential to know its strengths and weaknesses, then choose
products and treatments accordingly.
As you've seen, your skin is very
much influenced by many external (and internal) factors. If you've been blessed
with an unblemished complexion, live a stress-free life and possess peerless
genes, then your skin is probably perfect and needs little more than a wash
with a cloth. For the rest of us mortals, using plant-based skincare makes
visible improvements. Fortunately, almost all of us can balance, normalize and
improve our skin with appropriate plant-based skincare and some simple
lifestyle shifts. I've even witnessed those with naturally good skin being
truly amazed at how much better their skin looks and feels with judicious care.
Formulations such as sunscreens, moisturizers, eye creams and serums also help
to delay the ageing process and keep skin younger looking than if they are not
used. When choosing what to use on your skin though, it's important to know
your skin type.
Oily skin
Has large pores and shiny skin,
especially on the T-zone (the 'T' zone runs across the forehead, down the nose
to the chin, forming the letter T); skin tends to be thicker, with rough,
irregular texture and coloring; is prone to blackheads and spots; is very
common in teenagers and young adults, rare after the age of 35.
Normal and combination skin
Normal skin has medium-size pores;
looks clear, with even color; feels soft and bouncy to the touch; isn't tight
or greasy; doesn't feel uncomfortable or irritated; isn't essentially prone to
blackheads or spots.
Combination skin: The only
difference between this and normal skin is that combination skin, which the
majority of women are thought to have, has an oilier T-zone and may be prone to
breakouts there; cheeks tend to be normal, possibly a little on the dry side,
especially in winter.
Dry skin
Has fine pores; feels flaky or
rough, sometimes with red patches; feels tight and sometimes irritated after
washing, especially if you have used soaps or been in a dry atmosphere for some
time; fine lines develop early around the eye area.
Very dry/mature skin
Has fine pores; feels tight; has
visible wrinkles and broken capillaries; skin is slacker on the cheeks and
jawline; may have a leathery texture on very thin areas.
Sensitive skin
Has fine pores; tends to be thin
and is prone to broken capillaries; flushes easily; is inclined to rashes and
irritation; can extend to any skin type, including oily, but mostly affects
people who are prone to allergic conditions, in particular, eczema, asthma and
hay fever.
Testing skin type
Most people know what skin type
they are, but if you can't decide, either talk to a skincare consultant at your
favorite store, or try this simple test:
* Remove any make-up, rinse your
face with water, pat it dry with a clean towel and leave for 1 hour.
* Place a single layer of white
tissue (peel apart a tissue and it will give you two or three thin layers) over
your face and press it over the surface, pushing it into the corners and
crevices.
* Leave it for a few minutes, then
lift off and inspect the result.
* Oily skin: the tissue will stick
to sebum, pick up oily spots and become translucent.
* Normal/combination skin: it will
stick only to your T-zone.
* Dry/very dry skin: the paper
won't stick to any area of your face as you have very little sebum.
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