Your Ballantyne dermatologist can determine skin type
Your Ballantyne dermatologist will tell you that the most crucial part of caring for your skin comes down to understanding your exact skin type and how it adapts to certain seasons and circumstances. Your skin is the biggest organ in your body and is as intelligent and complex as your lungs, heart, liver, and other organs. Using treatments and cleansers that are too harsh may send a signal to your skin that more oil is needed. On the other hand, applying a moisturizer that is too heavy or thick can cause a decrease in your skin’s natural oil production, causing even drier skin. Taking the time to learn the specifics of your skin’s needs will help you choose the best options to balance your skin to make it healthier with a more radiant complexion.
Everyone’s skin is unique, but there are some common skin types that can help to identify where your skin fits in the most. The common skin types are referred to as combination, dry, oily, normal, and sensitive.
How can you identify your skin type?
Your dermatologist can help you to determine your skin type. But you can also do a skin type test at home. Here’s how:
Bare-face test: begin by cleaning your face with a mild cleanser. Gently pat your skin dry with a clean, soft towel. After 30 minutes, you can start to inspect your skin for any skin type clues.
- Normal skin. You don’t see any dry patches, redness, or oily spots.
- Dry skin. Your skin looks scaly or flaky and feels tight.
- Oily skin. Your face feels oily and looks greasy.
- Combination skin. Your forehead and nose area, or your t-zone, looks shiny, while the rest of your face is dry.
- Sensitive skin. Your skin is itchy, red, or inflamed.
Blotting sheet test: This is a simple test, but it is not helpful to identify sensitive skin. Start by pressing a blotting sheet against different areas of your face. Then hold the sheet up close to a light to see how much oil has been absorbed.
- Normal skin. Tiny amounts of oil residue.
- Dry skin. Little to no oil residue
- Oily skin. Lots of oil residue
- Combination skin. Oil residue from the t-zone but little residue from the rest of your face.
Ballantyne dermatologist in Charlotte, NC: how to treat each skin type
A Ballantyne dermatologist recommends the following to treat each skin type:
Normal skin: having a normal skin type means you experience almost no dryness, sensitivity, or oiliness. Your skin can also tolerate most ingredients; this means that you can experiment with moisturizers, cleansers, and masks until you discover what works for you.
Dry skin: Caring for dry skin means you will want to seal in moisture by applying a moisturizer several times throughout each day, especially after bathing or washing your hands. Try to keep the air in your house warm and moist to encourage healing. Avoid the use of harsh products or soaps that contain citrus or lots of fragrances.
Oily skin: Sine control is a top concern if you have oily skin, and you should try to avoid ingredients such as petrolatum, mineral oil, and alcohol. Products with “non-comedogenic” on the label work great for oily skin since they won’t clog your pores.
Combination skin: You will want to keep away from the same ingredients as dry and oily skin, such as alcohol-based products. The balance will be the name of the game with combination skin.
Sensitive skin: With sensitive skin, you will be more prone to redness, irritation, burning, stinging, or acne breakouts, so you will need to be careful when choosing products. Avoid irritants like antibacterial or alcohol ingredients and fragrances. Find products with fewer additives, and look out for those with healing, calming, or anti-inflammatory properties.
Top Ballantyne dermatologist for all skin types
Contact Dermatology Specialists of Charlotte, Charlotte’s top Ballantyne and Blakeney Dermatologist, for your dermatology care.