Back2Basic: Identifying your skin type & conditions.

Most of the time you will hear many people quote, "Make up is a form of art and our bare faces, is like a canvas to do so". However, it is an essential factor that you prime and take care of the bare canvas that you already have.

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In other words, it is important that you need to identify your skin type, skin condition, skin tone and any contra-indications. Let's break it down.

Note:

Epidermis acts as a barrier which protects the skin against the atmosphere.

Sebaceous glands are also known as oil glands.

1. Skin Types

You can analysis by sight and/or by touch. Make sure to check carefully around your eye areas for its elasticity so you can identify if whether you have any wrinkles or look skin. This will let you properly determine how much more support and extra care will be needed for your eye area.

Also, do remove ALL your make-up on your skin before the analysis as it can leave you an inaccurate answer -- not cool.

Now, feel your skin to see whether it's moist or oily, or dry -- another factor to jot down.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SKIN TYPES

Normal Skin:

- Rarest skin type

- Clear complexion & even skin colour

- Soft and supple to touch

- High degree of elasticity

- Average thickness of epidermis

Oily Skin:

- Over-active sebaceous (oil) glands

- Often has a shiny appearance

- Thick epidermis

- Open pores, often comedones present

- Sallow complexion

Dry Skin:

- Usually pale in colour

- Epidermis is thin, pores invisible

- Often looks flaky

- Has under active sebaceous (oil) glands

- Fine lines may appear prematurely

- Broken capillaries may be present

Combination Skin:

Combination skin is usually recognised by a greasy/oily T-zone, however that's not always the case. Combination skin can always be a combination of ANY skin type. E.g. Normal + Oily, Oily + Dry or Dry + Normal. It can also be reversed to dry t-zone and oily cheeks... anything like that!

2. Skin Conditions

Note that EVERYONE must have a skin type, however not all people have a skin condition. So don't panic if these conditions doesn't apply to you, that just means you don't have any skin conditions at all! :P These are fewer examples of skin conditions:

Sensitive skin:

- Often accompanies dry skin, can be present in oily skin also

- Thin epidermis

- Reacts to external stimuli which can become red & blotchy

- Prone to dry, flaky patches & broken capillaries

Pigmented skin:

- Darker areas or spots on skin

- Results from uneven distribution of melanin

- Can be results of sun-damage, chloasma, hormonal imbalances or acne scarring

Dehydrated skin: (almost everyone has dehydrated skin)

- Lack of water in skin

- Looks dry, flaky and scaly. Feels tight.

- Prone to wrinkles and fine lines

- Can be presented on both dry and oily skin.

Couperose skin:

- A temporary or chronic redness appearing on the skin.

- Appears as small, dilated, bright red blood vessels on the cheeks, nose or chin.

It's important to know what skin type you have and your skin conditions as different skin care products or make-up products are designed to cater to a particular skin type/condition. And I'll get onto that soon after my next post, of course!

For your information, I didn't copy and paste this from the internet. This is the information I have actually learnt from the class I'm taking, however, the notes about the characteristics are copied and pasted directly from the notes provided by my teachers. ^^

Hope you enjoyed the post and found it helpful!

Yours deerest,

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