All about Combination Skin

Combination skin is the most common type of skin, people have. The main characteristic feature of combination skin is that it has a central oily panel and cheeks are dry. Central panel is known as T-zone and is consists of forehead, nose and chin. To care for combination skin, you should have routines for two skin types. You should care for oily skin and dry skin. You can take help of many effective skin care products specially designed for combination skin.

Meaning Of Combination Skin:

Many people have drier cheeks and oilier t-zone. There is presence of characteristics of two skin types that is oily and dry. Whether your combination skin is oiler or drier, is determined by the extent of t-zone on your face. If your forehead has more active oil secreting glands then you have oilier combination skin. If you have drier forehead and oily nose and chin, then it is normal to combination skin.

How to find that you have combination skin:

You can determine whether you have combination skin by checking for following. You feel greasiness and shininess on nose and forehead after 20 minutes of washing. You feel greasiness in the morning on your nose and forehead even if you have not applied any night cream. You can see small pores on your nose, forehead and chinwhen you look into the mirror.You get acne and blemishes on your t-zone and dry patches are present on cheeks and jaw line.

What Causes Combination Skin?

Combination skin acquires such features with time. Mostly people, who have oily skin in their adolescence, get combination skin with increasing age. Skin types tend to transform with age and amount of oil and dryness changes. You should assess your skin type, from time to time and set your skin care routine accordingly. When you are young, your sebaceous gland produces more oil on the skin. Later in 20’s there are oily skin patches in lower portion of face due to hormonal changes. There are other factors too which causes change in extent of oil in combination skin like seasons, age, environmental and hormonal changes.

How to care for Combination Skin:

To care for combination skin, you should take two way approach; external and internal.

Eating Balanced Diet:

You have to take healthy and balanced diet for having glowing healthy skin. Apart from healthy diet, you should take necessary supplements. Your skin needs essential nutrients like vitamins A, C, E, minerals like selenium and zinc. All of these nutrients have essential antioxidants which are required for skin repair and collagen building. You skin needs some barrier which can protect it from loss of moisture and curb dryness, wrinkles and fine lines; essential fatty acids help to achieve this. Whatever you eat, takes time to show results as it takes three to four week for skin cells to come to the top layer of skin.

Care Routine for Combination Skin:

It is sometimes tricky and difficult to take care for combination skin as it has two opposing needs. You have to follow a routine which takes care of both skin types. Still then you have to take special care of oily t-zone as it is problem prone. Oily patches on the skin attract more dirt and debris and are marred by accumulation of dead cells. You need a non-oily gentle cleansers and moisturizers to absorb oil and curb it.

You should opt for skin care products, specially designed combination skin. To clean the difficult dirt and grease collected on the t-zone, you will need a deep-pore cleanser. To prevent infections and breakouts on t-zone, make use of anti-bacterial soap.

Use an oil free moisturizer which effectively hydrates dry patches without making the oily skin worse. You can also use lotions containing silicon oils. Use toner on oily central panel to control oil and do not use it on dry areas. Apply a gel mask on dry skin and to control oil, use clay mask on oily T-zone.

Tips for Combination Skin care:

An effective combination skin care includes which does not intensify dry and oily patches. Do not wash your face too frequently as it will make dry patches drier and worsen the oily portion on face. Over washing strips off oil from skin and stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Do not use thick creamy moisturizers on combination skin as they block the pores and make the skin dull.