If your skin has dry and oily areas, you have combination skin. You need to adjust the skincare steps to make sure your difficult skin becomes healthier and more beautiful. Let’s find out the most effective skincare steps for combination skin below.
Learn About Combination Skin
Our skin is usually divided into three main types: oily skin, dry skin and combination skin. In the group of combination skin can be further subdivided. Before knowing the skincare steps for combination skin , let’s take the time to learn about our combination skin type.
What Is Combination Skin?
Combination skin is a complex skin type that is both dry and oily. The T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) often produces a lot of sebum, the jawline and cheeks are dry. This type of skin is usually quite common in Asia.
Due to the characteristics of each skin area on the face is different, the combination skin care also requires a combination of different styles, more difficult than usual.
In the group of combination skin can also be divided into 2 types:
- Oily combination skin: T-zone is more oily than usual
- Dry combination skin: The cheeks and jawline are more prone to dryness and flaking
How to Identify Combination Skin
Here are some ways to help you know exactly if you have combination skin.
Check the amount of oil on the skin
You need to prepare a pack of absorbent paper. After removing makeup, wash your face with clean water, wait for about 30 minutes and do not apply any cosmetics on the skin. You use oil blotting paper to test for about 3 minutes for different locations on the face.
If your T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) is oily and your cheeks are dry, you probably have combination skin.
Based on pore size
People with oily and combination skin often have larger pores than people with dry, normal skin. Areas like the nose will see pores more clearly than on the cheeks and chin.
You can use essences and creams containing Retinol, AHA, BHA, PHA… to help shrink pores without clogging the skin.
Acne-prone skin
In people with combination skin, acne is more likely to appear. Even if your skin is dry or oily, you are still prone to acne.
You should carefully choose benign skin care products, steam your face about once a week and use a clay mask to absorb excess oil about 2-3 times a week.
After applying moisturizer
For those with combination skin, even after moisturizing, after a while, you will see oiliness in the T-zone. If you have this situation, pay attention to the amount of water you add each day to your body for complete and choose a more suitable moisturizer.
Moisturizing creams containing BHA, Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid… are very suitable for combination skin, helping to moisturize and control oil effectively.
Skin screening
Today, dermatoscopy with modern machines often gives results with high accuracy. When the skin is examined under the machine, it will clearly show which areas are oily, which areas are dry and let you know the condition of your pores to take measures to improve.
Dandruff on the scalp
According to associate professor of dermatology Francesca Fusco, there is research showing that people with combination skin often have more dandruff, even flaking patches on the scalp. You should pay attention to choosing a special shampoo as well as choosing a suitable cream.
Combination Skin Types
Combination skin can be subdivided into two types: dry and oily. Each person with this skin type will have a different level of dryness and oiliness on their skin.
Characteristics of oily combination skin
People with oily combination skin often have more oil in the T-section, and the remaining dry areas will not be too dry.
The forehead area is even more prone to oil spills.
Characteristics of dry combination skin
This skin type will usually have a dry part that takes up more space than an oily part. These areas include both the inner and outer cheeks.
Besides, in winter, the nose and chin area are also prone to dryness and peeling. In hot seasons, even if the T-zone is oily, the cheeks still feel dry.
Pros/Cons of Combination Skin
Combination skin is a mix of both dry and oily skin so it will have its pros and cons of those skin types.
Pros/cons of dry skin
Summer will not be too much trouble because the T-zone is oily but not as much as completely oily skin. However, winter is the culmination of this skin type, the T-zone is not taken care of properly, even more oily. The rest of the skin may be dry and itchy.
Advantages/disadvantages of oily skin
In contrast to dry combination skin, the cold season will not make oily skin too dry. At this time, the skin will produce a moderate amount of oil, quite similar to normal skin. However, summer makes oily skin similar to oily skin, often having a greasy disaster, prone to acne, swelling and pain.
5 Basic Steps for Combination Skin
Step 1: Exfoliate twice a week
Dead cells on the skin accumulate over time, causing clogged pores. They are also the cause of obstruction, making it difficult for your skin to absorb nutrients, so skincare is much but the skin is still poor. One of the skincare steps for combination skin is to exfoliate up to 1-2 times per week.
Those with dry combination skin should focus on the U-shaped dry skin on the face. You should use gentle products like toners with natural ingredients. Products with large granules and high acid extracts will make the skin more abrasive and sensitive, so you need to discard.
For oily combination skin, exfoliating gels and creams containing BHA, AHA, and PHA active ingredients help clean dead skin effectively. In particular, these types also help unclog pores, remove dirt, blackheads for the skin. However, you should pay attention to the time of use, should not stay on the skin for more than 10 minutes for each use.
Step 2: Steam your skin
Steam with essential oils is very good for your skin, especially the pores. The steam helps your skin relax, easier to absorb the nutrients in the next step.
You can refer to the easy way to steam at home as follows:
- Pour hot water into a basin or bowl and add a few drops of essential oil
- Cover with a towel to steam for 7-10 minutes
- Use a cotton pad to pat dry the skin
Step 3: Cleanse the skin
Depending on your skin condition, you can choose a suitable face wash for yourself.
For those with combination skin with acne, you should prioritize cleansing products containing green tea, tea tree, chamomile, and BHA. These active ingredients will help remove sebum effectively and limit acne as well as reduce inflammation.
For dry combination skin, gel cleansers, fine foaming form will be more suitable. You should give preference to those containing mild natural essences, and avoid those with strong acid or seed active ingredients because they will lose the natural moisture film on the skin.
Step 4: Use toner
Toner is also known as skin balancing water, rose water. This is one of the skincare steps for combination skin that helps to balance the pH, gently moisturizes, removes what the cleanser has not taken away and helps tighten pores.
You should choose mild, benign types as a stepping stone for combination skin before proceeding with the next steps of providing nutrients.
Step 5: Moisturize
Moisturizing for combination skin or any skin type is a must-do step every day. Fully moisturized skin will become brighter, control oil secretion and prevent premature aging.
You can use creams with thin gel form, or liquid cream, lotion form with natural benign ingredients such as chamomile, centella asiatica, Niacinamide, Ceramide, Peptide, aloe…
For those with combination skin, when applying moisturizer, pay attention to apply more on dry skin and reduce the amount of cream on oily skin to balance moisture on the skin.
Daily skin care routine
Notes When Taking Care of Combination Skin
With Natural Oily Combination Skin
Gentle contact with oily skin
When doing skincare, you should be slow and gentle with your oily combination skin, especially the T-zone. Scrubbing does not help clean skin or absorb cream faster, but only makes your skin aging faster. , sagging. Therefore, you should act as gently as possible.
Cleanse the T-zone and cheeks
To limit excess oil and help rebalance the sebum secretion mechanism of the skin, you can use a clay mask. The T-zone is where the mask needs to be applied about twice a week.
Besides, you should pay attention to exfoliation, which helps to unclog pores and limit sebum that causes acne.
Note when choosing skin care products
Oily combination skin is similar to oily skin at some hot times of the year, so you should also learn the notes when choosing cosmetics in the other skin type. You should avoid those with a thick texture because they are easy to clog pores.
When choosing toner and cleanser, natural antibacterial ingredients such as honey, tea tree or green tea, wormwood will help reduce inflammation, clean and smooth skin.
With Dry Combination Skin
Exfoliate up to once a week
With dry combination skin, over-exfoliating will make your skin age faster, lose its natural protective barrier, become dry and more irritated.
When choosing an exfoliant, you should prefer gel, gentle milk, avoid granules because it can be abrasive to the skin, causing more dryness.
Note when choosing cosmetics
Dry combination skin needs to avoid products with strong detergents such as alcohol-based cleansers or toners and cosmetics with strong fragrances.
If you are in the process of treating acne with AHA, BHA products, you should pay attention to apply a thin layer and spread evenly. At the same time, you should pay attention to fully moisturize as well as always apply sunscreen during the day to protect the skin.
Notice the importance of moisturizer
For dry combination skin, moisturizer is a step that cannot be eliminated. You should choose a type with a thick texture such as cream, milk to ensure a long-lasting effect, adequate moisture. You can add serum, essence, ampoule to quickly improve dry skin.
The Secret To Making Combination Skin More Effective
In order for skincare to be more effective, in addition to investing in good cosmetics and choosing the right skin care process, you should pay attention to a few more factors:
- Drink a lot of water because if the body is sufficiently moist from the inside, it will limit the dryness of the skin as well as excess oil secretion
- Apply masks regularly, especially natural, benign masks to help whiten and smooth skin
- Always apply sunscreen before going outdoors, minimizing the harmful effects of sunlight on your combination skin.
- Clean the house regularly, change pillowcases, towels weekly
Good tips for combination skin
Frequently asked questions
How to recognize combination skin?
- The T-zone is often oiled while the U-zone is not
- Large pore size, especially in the nose area
- Combination skin prone to acne
What moisturizer should I use for combination skin?
A general rule of thumb is to choose a light and non-comedogenic lotion that won’t clog pores if your skin is a bit oily. Use a cream moisturizer if your skin is drier than usual.
How to take care of oily combination skin?
- Gently apply to oily skin when applying skincare
- Cleanse the T-zone and cheeks
- Choose mild and non-comedogenic skin care products
Is Aloe Vera good for combination skin?
Aloe vera gel can be used for all skin types, especially combination skin. According to studies, using aloe vera skin care products is very unlikely to cause unwanted problems, which is why aloe vera is a safe choice to use.
With the shared knowledge, hope you have a better understanding of the skincare steps for combination skin . Hope you can effectively apply the tips in the article to your daily routine for a healthier, brighter skin.
- The T-zone is often oiled while the U-zone is not
- Large pore size, especially in the nose area
- Combination skin prone to acne
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- Choose mild and non-comedogenic skin care products
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