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Different Skin Types and How to Take Care of Them

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Have you ever tried a trendy new serum or anti-aging potion only to find out it offers no visible benefits, or worse, causes irritation and breakouts? Chances are, it probably wasn’t meant for your skin type. The skin is your body’s largest organ, and it’s essential to understand how it reacts and responds to environmental stressors, seasonality, and the general aging process.

While climate, lifestyle habits, and hormones can influence your complexion, simple genetics play the largest role in determining your skin type. Your DNA may program the dermis and specialized cells to behave a certain way, but just because you inherited your father’s oily skin doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

Clinically-tested skincare ingredients curated for your skin type will be the most effective at delivering the results you desire.

What is my skin type?

Identifying skin types isn’t always cut and dry. The dermis has both sweat and sebaceous glands, so you can produce a ton of oil and yet still have dry, dehydrated skin. Even if your skin is both oily and somehow lifelessly dull, the right products can get you on the road to fabulous skin.

Explore the key characteristics of these six different skin types.

One of the easiest skin types to care for, normal skin has a nice balance of moisture and oil, and is usually not prone to breakouts or severe acne. Those with normal skin types tend to have a uniform skin texture and tone, and tolerate many different skincare ingredients without irritation or adverse reactions.

While anyone with normal skin can have occasional bouts of oiliness or dry patches, these are not persistent conditions. Normal skin can benefit from regular exfoliation, cleansing, a daily moisturizer, and sunscreen.

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Dry skin often feels tight, rough, or itchy, regardless of the weather or season. It is caused by a lack of sebum production, which impairs the skin’s natural barrier function. Dry skin may look dull and flaky, and a reduced elasticity makes fine lines and wrinkles even more prominent. Many variables can dehydrate the skin, making it look and feel even drier.

Causes of Dry Skin

A lot of the time, dry skin is influenced by your environment. For example, if you live in a warm and dry climate, you’re likely going to experience dry skin. Too much sun exposure could also lead to dry skin as the sun burns your skin and sucks out all its moisture. On the other hand, living in a cold and windy environment could also lead to dry skin. Believe it or not, but your bathing habits could actually be causing your dry skin if you take really long and hot showers.

How to Take Care of Dry Skin

It can be difficult to figure out how to take care of dry skin since it’s usually caused by environmental factors that are beyond your control. But you can effectively treat dry skin with a deep and effective moisturizer. Look for heavier products that contain nourishing ingredients like shea butter, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides. Make sure to apply your moisturizer at least once a day as soon as you get out of the bath or shower for the best results.

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Skin that produces excess sebum is often labeled as ‘oily.’ Some of the most common signs of oily skin are large, clearly visible pores, a shiny gloss or sheen, and blackheads, blemishes, and pimples. Oily skin isn’t necessarily prone to severe acne, but it is important to prevent oil buildup in pores with gentle chemical exfoliators that clear away debris without stripping natural oils. One advantage of oily skin is that wrinkles appear much less prominent!

Causes of Oily Skin

Everyone’s skin has some degree of oiliness to keep it hydrated, however, those with oily skin have overactive oil glands that tend to coat the skin in a thick layer of oil. But why does this occur? Oily skin is largely genetic, meaning if your parents or grandparents had this skin type, you’re likely to have it as well. Oily skin can also be related to your age, as teenagers and young adults naturally have more active oil glands that lead to oily skin. Finally, oily skin can be the result of a hot and humid environment that causes more oil and sweat to build up on your face.

How to Take Care of Oily Skin

Since you can’t change your genetics or age, you may think that you’re simply doomed to deal with shine and blemishes for years to come. However, a proper skincare routine for oily skin can really help. Oily skin requires proper cleansing, but be careful not to over-cleanse at the same time. Oily skin also benefits from regular exfoliation to clear pores. You should be using products with lighter, oil-free ingredients that won’t further contribute to your oil control problem. Finally, most people with oily skin require anti-acne ingredients and treatments to clear up those pesky blemishes caused by clogged pores.

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Combination skin tends to be oilier on the nose and forehead (the T zone), where there are more sebaceous glands, and normal to drier on the cheeks, jawline, and hairline. The goal of treating combination skin is to achieve a balance that adds moisture and controls oil where needed.

Causes of Combination Skin

Combination skin is actually the most common skin type and can stem from a variety of different causes. For starters, combination skin can be the result of your current skincare products. For instance, you’re using products that are too oily or too drying that end up negatively affecting your skin. Combination skin could also be caused by hormones and stress that affect the behavior of your skin -- causing it to become oily in some places but dry in others.

How to Take Care of Combination Skin

Taking care of combination skin can be tricky since you’re effectively dealing with two different skin types: dry and oily. As a result, the best way to care for combination skin is through the right skincare products. You may need to use different products on different parts of your face for the best results. For example, you could use a heavier moisturizer on your dry cheeks alongside a more lightweight one on your T-zone.

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Skin that gets blotchy, turns red, stings, or becomes irritated in response to topical products or weather changes is sensitive. In many cases, the skin’s barrier function has been compromised, but there is no single cause since hormones, dry climate, and genetics all play a role in skin sensitivities. Products designed for sensitive complexions help soothe redness, balance pH levels, and have anti-inflammatory properties.

Causes of Sensitive Skin

The cause of your sensitive skin can be quite tricky to nail down. Nonetheless, it’s extremely important to nail this down as it could be the result of a skin condition that requires professional treatment by a dermatologist. For example, sensitive skin could be caused by conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea. Your sensitive skin could also be caused by an allergic reaction to things like skincare products, environmental factors, or even certain metals.

How to Take Care of Sensitive Skin

Taking care of sensitive skin involves being extremely careful about your skincare ingredients. For example, some skincare ingredients are known to be more irritating than others. You should try to avoid products with harsh ingredients like alcohols, silicones, parabens, sulfates, and fragrances. If your sensitive skin is being triggered by legitimate allergic reactions, it’s important to determine the root causes of your reactions and take steps to avoid them and eliminate them from your life.

If you’re really struggling with sensitive skin and believe that it could be caused by a skin condition, your best course of action is to talk with your doctor who may refer you to a dermatologist to identify the causes of your sensitive skin and come up with an effective treatment plan.

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Skin that shows signs of aging such as fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging is known as mature skin. As we age, our skin type changes and you will likely end up with mature skin at some point in your life. Some may experience aging skin earlier than others and there are things you can do to maintain your youthful glow for as long as possible.

Causes of Mature Skin

Unlike sensitive skin, the cause of mature skin is simple: aging. Not everyone ages at the same rate. And while you’re not exactly able to stave off aging altogether, there are some things you can do to help your skin age better. For example, you could be aging your skin through smoking cigarettes or drinking excess amounts of alcohol. You could also be aging your skin through sun damage if you’re constantly outside without SPF protection.

How to Take Care of Mature Skin

While you can’t eliminate the root cause of mature skin -- aging -- you can take steps to decrease the visible effects of this inevitable process. A lot of this has to do with hydration. Your skin dries out as you age, leading to fine lines and wrinkles. As a result, mature skin requires a hydrating moisturizer to help fill in some of these existing signs of aging. Additionally, there are products and treatments that you can use to boost the production of collagen and elastin in your aging skin. Some of the best anti-aging ingredients to look for include retinoids, peptides, hyaluronic acid, and vitamin C.

Wondering how to know your skin type without a professional evaluation used to be challenging, but not anymore. The PROVEN skin type quiz assesses dozens of factors to suggest the right blend of active ingredients– in the appropriate concentrations -- that will improve the clarity, resilience, and health of your skin at any age. For example, we ask questions about your current skin issues, heritage, lifestyle, environment, and skin history. Backed by the power of genome science with the most comprehensive skincare database based on millions of different assessments of products, ingredients, reviews, and publications, PROVEN takes the guesswork out of choosing effective products for your skin type and needs.

After completing the Skin Genome Quiz, we will develop customized products based on your skin type, skin concerns, and overall skin goals. While everyone’s formula differs based on more than 2,000 unique combinations, everyone receives the same three products to comprise their skincare routine around: a cleanser, moisturizer, and night cream.

If your old skincare routine consisted of dozens of products and steps, then your life is about to get a lot easier thanks to PROVEN. With our trio of products, you can quickly and easily complete your skincare routine on a daily basis no matter how busy you are. In the morning you can cleanse with our 3-in-1 cleanser that also has exfoliating and toning properties. After cleansing, you can apply our 2-in-1 moisturizer that hydrates and protects with SPF 40. In the evening, you cleanse again and apply your specialized night cream to address your skin concerns while you sleep.

At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a simplified approach to skincare that’s effective and personalized, look no further than PROVEN.

Take a few minutes to complete our Skin Genome Quiz to instantly receive your custom formula and start progressing toward achieving your dream skin!

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Our Team

We're industry leaders in skincare

We're industry leaders in skincare

Dr. Yuan is a Computational Physicist from Stanford University

Proven co-founder, Dr. Amy Yuan, fixed her skincare woes by using her computer science background to analyze the effectiveness of more than 20,238 skincare ingredients, 100,000 products, 20 million testimonials, and more than 4,000 scientific journal articles. Now she is applying that to create the perfect skincare for you.

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