Skin Types

There are four basic skin types and each has individual characteristics.

Dry skin type
Can be identified by the following characteristics:
 Lacking in natural oil
 Pores are small and tight, texture fine and thin
 May have flaky patches
 Wrinkles present around eyes, mouth, and neck
 Pigmentation may be uneven
 Milia located around the eyes and cheek area
 Fine capillaries or broken capillaries on cheek area
 Skin may feel taut
 May be dull in appearance

Oily skin type
Recognised by the following characteristics:
 An oily film giving it a shiny appearance
 May be moist or tacky to the touch
 Open pores
 Blocked pores, blackheads/comedones
 Pustules and papules may also be present
 Tissues thickened, colour tone sallow, yellow
 Coarser texture

Combination skin type
Recognised by the following characteristics:
 A combination of two different skin types
 Commonly an oily ‘T’ panel across forehead and down nose and chin areas
 Dry cheeks with the characteristic of those skin types in the areas affected
Balanced or normal skin
Recognised by the following characteristics:
 Healthy normal skin colour
 Even thickness, soft, supple with fine-grained pores
 Good elasticity
 Not dry, moist, dull or shiny.

Then there are skin conditions. This means that someone will have a skin type but then can also associate with a skin condition also. For example, someone can have an oily, sensitive skin.

Mature skin
Recognised by the following characteristics:
 Dry with wrinkles
 Loss of elasticity
 Dropped contours
 Loose skin tissue
 Transparent appearance
 Broken capillaries frequently present across the upper cheek areas
 With age there is a change in pigmentation with hyper-pigmentation
frequently present
 Superfluous hair growth may be found on top lip and chin areas

Dehydrated skin
Recognised by the following characteristics:
 Lack of skin moisture (rather than lack of skin oils)
 Fine lines
 May appear oily or dry but it will soak up any moisture applied

Sensitive skin
Skin may be touch sensitive ie reddens quickly on touch or sensitive to product and
prone to allergic reactions.
Recognised by the following characteristics:
 Prone to redness
 May look irritated and red
 Often slightly warm to the touch

Factors that affect the skin
The condition of the skin and muscles are affected by a number of factors
Environmental factors include:
 Wind chill factor
 Air conditioning
 Central heating
 Extremes of weather
 Exposure to extremes of temperature
 Exposure to ultraviolet light causes dehydration, loss of moisture, damage to
collagen and elastin fibres which harden, loss of firmness to skin and muscle
tone, premature ageing and pigmentation irregularities

All of the above affect the skin tissues by leading to dehydration through loss of
moisture and encourage premature ageing of the skin.

Lifestyle factors include:
 Smoking leads to poor circulation, congested blocked pores, lack of nutrients
(Especially vitamin C which is essential for healthy skin and capillaries) and
skin discolouration
 Excess alcohol causes dilation of blood capillaries
 Lack of a daily skin care regime can lead to dehydration, wrinkles and
congestion
 General health affects the nutrients available to the tissues, prolonged illness
may lead to depletion of subcutaneous fat, dehydration, wrinkles, loss of skin
tone and dark circles
 Poor diet leads to lack of minerals and nutrients which leads to dry,
dehydrated skin tissues.
 Natural ageing results in contours dropping, expression lines/wrinkles,
decrease in collagen and sebum production, increase in pigmentation
irregularities and superfluous hair growth
 Hereditary factors affect how muscles are attached to skin tissue and bone
structure, decline in cellular reproduction varies with individuals, hormonal
imbalances affect moisture content pigmentation and hair growth
 Stress can affect skin tissues causing frown lines: wrinkles, dark circles, dry,
dehydrated skin. Long term stress also reduces the body’s immunity