What is your skin type?

The first step to getting your skincare right is determining your skin type- just how much hydration or oil control you need, what your problematic areas are and listening to cues from your skin.

Often we choose cleansers or toners in particular that are too harsh for our skin type, or we opt for oil free moisturiser when in reality we need more guts. While skin is so personal, and everyone's is different, there are a few main types that can make choosing skincare, or understanding your skins needs, a little easier. We're going to break down the main skin types and explain how you can best find out what one you are:

DRY SKIN

Quite common here in little NZ due to our climate, dry skin can feel quite tight after cleansing, and absorb hydrating products quickly. Drier skin types make also notice flakiness or dehydration. A lot of factors influence developing a drier skin type including genetics and environmental factors, but avoiding too much alcohol and increasing your water intake can also have massive effects on the hydration levels of your skin.

Often people with drier skin will over-exfoliate in an attempt to remove flaky, dead skin cells. Instead, you want to be using a product that exfoliates gently (without harsh scrubbing) and a cleanser that doesn't strip skin of its natural oils.

TRY: Crème Cleanser + Skin Toner + Night Crème

COMBINATION/NORMAL SKIN 

Combination or normal skin types may notice excess oils in their t-zone (forehead, nose and chin) but drier skin on their cheeks and jawline. In particular if you are a makeup wearer, you may notice your foundation separating or wearing away on certain areas of your face throughout the day. Balancing out the needs of our skin can be a tricky job with a combination skin type, as you want a lightweight product for the oilier areas but something that has enough nourishment for the perimeter of the face, too. 

Often with a combination skin, you may need to switch up or alternate products so you are catering to all of your skins needs, especially as the seasons change.

TRY: Crème Cleanser + Skin Toner + Ultimate Botanical Serum + Soothing Moisturiser

OILY SKIN

Oily skin has its benefits, with more supple skin and less fine lines being two of them. However oilier skin types are more often tasked with congested pores and breakouts. Oily skin tends to need light layers of products that are thin in consistency, and usually will need to use primers or mattifying makeup products for all day wear.

For this reason, we suggest a fresh, light cleanser that will help to draw impurities out of the skin and prevent congestion. Often these are foaming or have a gentle exfoliation aspect to them.

TRY: Teen Skincare Starter Pack

PROBLEM SKIN

An Oxygen speciality, problem skin could fall under any of the above categories but also be prone to breakouts or hormonal acne. Problem Skin is different for everyone and usually influenced by lots of factors including some that are out of our control (hellooo, hormones!).

Treating problem skin is our game, and we're proud to have one of our hero products, our 2 in 1 Cleanser, be scientifically proven to help prevent the spread of acne causing bacteria by up to 85% in within 48 hours!

TRY: Problem Skin Pack

NOW HOW DO I FIND OUT WHICH ONE I AM, YOU ASK?

The easiest way is to examine your skin throughout the day for oils, any concerns and signals of dehydration. A quick test would be to cleanse skin thoroughly in the morning and then wait approximately 30-40 minutes. Take note if any oils have formed around your t-zone, cheeks or chin. Similarly, observe how your skin feels. Often drier skin types will feel tight or 'parched' shortly after cleansing, whereas oilier or normal skins produce more oil and therefore don't feel as dehydrated. After another 30 minutes, if significant oil has formed you are more likely to have oily skin. Anywhere in between and we would pop you in the combination/normal skin category.

We hope this has helped you in deciphering the ever changing world of skincare, and as always, we're only an email or DM away via our socials! 

Love, Team Oxygen x