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Understanding your individual skin type and its needs are essential to creating an effective skincare routine that works for you. For example, you’ll want to avoid anything too oily for combination skin, steer clear of potential irritants for sensitive skin and opt for hydrating formulas if your skin is naturally on the dry side. Let’s take a look at how you can identify your specific skin type and the ingredients it needs to look its best.
Your skin type - whether normal, dry, oily, combination or sensitive - is generally determined by your genes. Hormones and external factors like environmental aggressors, stress and lifestyle can all play a part though, and your skin’s needs can also change as you get older.
The most important things to consider in regard to your skin type are its moisture and oil levels and sensitivity. Pore visibility, skin texture and radiance can also be helpful when trying to identify which skin type you have.
Normal skin
As the term suggests, there’s nothing out of the ordinary here. Normal skin types aren’t too oily or too dry and have no obvious blemishes or sensitive patches. Normal skin, which is often common in young people, is balanced and characterised by a healthy-looking, radiant complexion. You can make sure it stays that way with a relatively simple and straightforward skincare routine.
Dry skin
If you have dry skin you aren’t alone. This common skin condition occurs when your skin doesn’t retain enough water and can be the result of a number of things such as using harsh skincare, your age, a change in humidity or even having a hot bath. As well as water, dry skin also lacks oil. These factors can lead it to feeling rough, itchy and tight. You may also notice that wrinkles and fine lines are more obvious. On the plus side, pores are often less visible if you have dry skin.
Hydrating ingredients and formulas are essential for giving dry skin a much-needed moisture boost. Our CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser is formulated with hyaluronic acid and three essential ceramides (ceramides 1, 3 and 6-II) that you’ll find in all our products. The formula to attracts hydration to the skin’s surface and also helps to replenish the skin’s natural barrier.
For all-day hydration, apply a richer cream moisturiser such as CeraVe Moisturising Cream. Its formula utilises a patented Multivesicular Emulsion Technology delivery system which releases moisturising ingredients over the course of 24 hours.
Oily Skin
The oil within the skin is called sebum and too much of it can lead to clogged pores, excess shine, blackheads and spots. If you have an oily skin type, you may find that your skin produces more sebum when your hormones change, you’re stressed or there’s a change in humidity.
How to control sebum production? Start by using a gentle mattifying cleanser morning and night to help control shine and unclog your pores. Exfoliating ingredients like salicylic acid in our CeraVe SA Smoothing Cleanser can also help to remove oil, dirt and makeup. Follow with our lightweight non-comedogenic Moisturising Lotion that provides up to 24-hour hydration without clogging your pores.
Combination skin
If you often have dry patches and breakouts appear at the same time, you’ll need a skincare routine that’s suitable for combination skin. Although it’s not always the case, you may find that parts of your face are oilier than others like the T-zone – your forehead, nose and chin – and your pores tend to be larger around the nose and smaller in other areas. As with other skin types, hormones, stress, climate and environmental aggressors can also affect combination skin.
When it comes to caring for combination skin, balance is essential. You’ll need a cleanser that gently clears the oil from your T-zone to prevent clogged pores and spots forming, without stripping moisture from your naturally drier areas. Our gentle Foaming Cleanser cleanses and purifies while replenishing the skin’s natural barrier, thanks to its ceramide-enriched formula. Hyaluronic acid-enriched formulas, like our lightweight CeraVe Moisturising Lotion, can also help to provide hydration for drier areas without clogging pores.
Sensitive skin
Sensitive skin is believed to occur when the skin’s barrier function is weakened and becomes more vulnerable to external irritants such as the sun and pollution. This can lead to itchy skin, flaking, redness and skin feeling tight and uncomfortable. A skincare routine that helps to maintain the skin’s natural balance and barrier function can help to reduce its sensitivity.
Look for gentle, fragrance-free formulas that won’t cause irritation and soothing ingredients like niacinamide. Keeping skin hydrated can also help it to feel more comfortable. Our rich CeraVe Moisturising Cream was created with dry sensitive skin in mind, enriched with ceramides and hyaluronic acid, it hydrates and strengthens the skin’s barrier function.
