Skin analysis and skin types

Skin Analysis & Skin Types

Skin analysis must be carried out before treatment. Ask the client to attend their appointment wearing no make-up.

Skin Type

Skin type is how our skin behaves or looks due to the different genetic and hormonal make-up of our bodies.
It cannot be changed by external treatments but can change over time internally. For example, oily skin may become lipid dry due to the reduction in oil production caused by the menopause
It can only have its appearance improved and made more manageable – the skin type will still remain
Products will only have an effect on skin type for as long as your client maintains a good routine

Skin Types are categorised as

Oily Skin – experiences an excessive production of sebum due to an excess of the androgen hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT)

Sebum prevents water-loss
The skin will have widespread sebaceous filaments, which are little pockets mainly composed of solidified sebum, inside the tiny hair follicles of the face.
A greasy sheen can be seen on the skin.
There are visible enlarged or thickened pores and an uneven texture.
The skin will have some slip to it, especially on the t-zone.
Puberty results in an increase in androgens, and this, in turn, increases sebaceous activity. It may result in enlarged pores as sebum fills up the follicles. The results are most pronounced on the t-zone, which is in the shape of a capital T starting at the chin, proceeding up the nose with the top across the forehead.
The increase in sebum usually results in comedones.
During the menstrual cycle, progesterone rises, and so do DHT levels; which is why the skin becomes oily and spot-prone at certain times, stopping progesterone rise.

Lipid (oil) Dry – has an underproduction of sebum and therefore a lack of lipids.

Dry skin can easily become dehydrated as the Natural Moisturising Factor in the skin can evaporate easily without a protective barrier of lipids.
Low levels of sebum combined with dehydration leads to cells not functioning properly.
Results in premature ageing if not treated.
Clients complain of flakiness and the fact that nothing seems to keep their skin supple.
Their skin may feel tight.
Skins look scaly and flaky.
Look thickened, and milia may be present.
A client may suffer from eczema or psoriasis elsewhere on the body.
Fine lines and deep wrinkles are more prominent on these skin types.
May be some evidence of sun-damage, with sunspots or broken capillaries visible through the skin.
It feels very rough to the touch.
Sebaceous filaments are minimal.

Sensitive Skin – skin that is sensitive is categorised and treated as so, regardless of whether it is oily, lipid dry or a combination. This is because products normally used to treat other skin types will cause irritation to a sensitive skin

Sensitive skin has reduced barrier function, making the skin more vulnerable, easily irritated, and easily dried and dehydrated.
Sensitivity means that it has an overactive immune response to ingredients – causing the skin to attack healthy cells, breaking down collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, making the skin become further dehydrated.
This results in premature ageing if left untreated.
Sensitive skin also reacts in an exaggerated manner to friction and pressure, causing the skin to flush easily.
Widespread broken capillaries (telangiectasia, also called couperose skin) found particularly across the nose, cheeks and forehead in a butterfly pattern. Skin can look purple in places.
The skin may produce erythema (redness) on seemingly unaffected areas at the lightest touch.

It feels rough, slightly sandpapery and hot in flushed areas.
May see lumps that look sore. Severe cases include a swollen and red nose.
The client’s skin feels bumpy and hot to the touch.

Combination Skin – has a slightly oily t-zone which contributes to the silkiness of the rest of the skin

Oils are needed to keep skin supple.
The term ‘combination’ is useful when you are explaining to clients; they may need to treat the t-zone differently from the rest of the skin, and those occasional breakouts can still occur on good skin due to a surge in hormones when under stress, during menstruation or if the wrong product is used.
Combination skin leans slightly over to the oily skin type category, not the lipid dry one.
Confusion arises when people think skin type can be a combination of oily and lipid dry. But an excess of oil production on one part of the skin on the face does not make it possible to have a dry skin type on another.
Oily skin type is an overproduction of oils.
Dry skin type is an underproduction of oils.
Combination skin can quickly become dehydrated with the use of products. For oily skin, these products strip away the protective barrier of lipids, leading to the Natural Moisturising Factor in the skin (which keeps it supple) evaporating much more easily.
When treating a combination skin, you should consider its separate parts. A typical combination product usually focuses on only the oily part. It is, therefore, usually sebum-reducing and lacking in hydrating ingredients to balance out its oil reducing properties. The product may make an oily t-zone less oily, but, inadvertently, it will also make the rest of the skin (that was previously in good condition) become lipid dry or dehydrated.
Treat the different areas of the skin with products that are designed specifically for them.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation

History can include infestation, allergic reactions, mechanical injuries (picking acne lesions) or reactions to medications, phototoxic eruptions, burns, bruising and inflammatory skin diseases from eczema/dermatitis family.

This type of pigmentation can darken with exposure to UV light and with the use of various chemicals and medications, such as tetracycline, bleomycin, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, busulfan, arsenicals, silver, gold, anti-malarial drugs, hormones and clofazimine.

Dermal pigmentation caused by trauma

A combination of the inflammatory response and ultraviolet causes the inflammation to disrupt the basal cell layer, a combination of melanin pigment being released and subsequently trapped by macrophages in the papillary layer. Once the wound healing has completed and the junction repaired, the melanin pigment granules caught within the dermal layer have no way of escape and thus a more difficult type of pigment granule to eliminate.

Post-Inflammatory hyperpigmentation is a darkening of the skin that’s the result of acne scarring or skin injury due to inflammatory response in the skin. The cells associated with melanin production are closely linked with the skin immune system cells, meaning you can’t stimulate one without stimulating the other.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation can be seen after endogenous or exogenous inflammatory conditions. Essentially any disease with cutaneous inflammation can potentially result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation in individuals capable of producing melanin.

Several skin disorders such as acne, atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, incontinenti pigmenti, lichen planus, lupus erythematosus, and morphea have post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation as a predominant feature. Exogenous stimuli, both physical and chemical, can cause injury to the skin, followed by PIH. These include mechanical trauma, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, heat, contact dermatitis, and phototoxic reaction.

Optimal treatment for PIH includes prevention of further pigment deposition and clearing of the deposited pigment. Chemical peels work best when used in combination with topical bleaching regimens. Laser therapy should be used with extreme caution and care. Given the propensity of darker-skin types to develop post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, superficial peels work best while minimizing complications.

Tyrosinase inhibitors, such as Vitamin C, arbutin, kojic acid and mulberry, have been favoured for their ability to inhibit melanin by targeting the tyrosinase enzyme, which covers the amino acid phenylalanine into the melanin precursors.

Effective topical vitamins include niacinamide and several forms of vitamin C, including L-ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP) and tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, an oil-soluble version.

In addition to having a direct skin-lightening effect, Vitamin C can help protect against sun damage by neutralizing free radicals that contribute to hyperpigmentation. Studies have shown that Vitamin C and E, in combination, can improve the efficacy of sunscreen. A great all-around skin vitamin, Vitamin A, helps pigmentation problems by treating slight discolouration and evening skin tone. Vitamin A can be taken orally as well as applied topically in the form of a retinol cream or other retinol.