How To Build A Skincare Regime Around Your Unique Skin Type

By Ashleigh Cometti

Sunday Apr. 21, 2024

Viva

A comprehensive guide to different skin types and how best to care for them. Photo / Mukti Organics

Mukti, an eco-activist, green cosmetic chemist and founder of organic skincare brand Mukti Organics, shares tips on how to care for each skin type in this extract from her new book, Truth in Beauty.

Your skin is an active metabolic organ.

Skin problems usually manifest due to underlying issues ranging

Achieving beautiful skin necessitates a holistic approach that combines internal and external nourishment. Cellular reproduction and skin repair rely on a balanced intake of essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids obtained through a healthy diet and lifestyle.

Merely applying topical products while neglecting nutrition, sleep, and overall health won’t lead to great skin. There’s no “miracle in a jar”.

Optimal results and the preservation of youthful skin depend on a comprehensive, lifestyle-oriented strategy.

To embark on this journey, it’s vital to understand your unique canvas. Distinguishing between skin types, conditions, and complexions can be perplexing, and your skin’s needs may fluctuate in response to environmental, seasonal, and hormonal variables.

To simplify this process and guide you in selecting the right products and regimen for your skin, the following guidelines have been crafted. These insights are designed to help you achieve radiant, glowing skin.

Skin types

Your skin type is part of your inherent makeup. It will effectively stay consistent throughout your life.

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It’s determined by the amount of oil your skin produces. You can experience more than one skin type or condition at any given time, which makes self-diagnosing challenging. For example, an oily skin type may experience dehydration, or a dry skin type may have an oily T-zone and normal cheeks.

Incorrect or excessive product usage, as well as your diet and other extrinsic factors, can affect how your skin type behaves.

If you’re not sure after analysing the checklist, then have your skin type verified by a qualified professional — dermatologist, skin therapist, or aesthetician.

“Your skin type is part of your inherent makeup. It will effectively stay consistent throughout your life,” writes Mukti.

Sensitive skin

Many individuals often believe they have sensitive skin, but in reality, what they may be experiencing is sensitised skin.

Naturally sensitive skin is an inherent trait and can be found in various skin complexions; not limited to light skin tones, even individuals with darker skin can have naturally sensitive skin.

On the other hand, sensitised skin is typically a consequence of environmental factors and the way the skin is cared for.

If you perceive your skin as sensitive and tend to react to mainstream cosmetic products, it’s worth considering that your skin itself might not be the problem; rather, it could be how you are exposing it to certain substances and treatments that is causing the sensitivity.

Characteristics

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Skin is delicate and thinner; it may even be translucent — commonly found in Ivory complexions
Visible capillaries on nose and across cheeks
Blood vessels are close to the skin’s surface, so the skin tends to be redder
You may have small, rash-like bumps or breakouts, often on upper cheeks
Naturally sensitive skin types often have allergies to food, dust, pollen, or animals
You may have a genetic predisposition to inflammatory disorders such as eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea

Maintenance

Choose products that have simple formulations, are fragrance free, and pH balanced
Stick to a basic routine of cleansing and moisturising
Avoid exfoliating and using products with active ingredients

Normal skin

The least problematic of all skin types. You have occasional hormonal breakouts without excessively oily or dry areas.

Your skin is supple, balanced, and has good circulation with a normal temperature.

Characteristics

Aged between 20 to 30
Your oil glands secrete at a normal rate
Texture is fine, smooth, soft, and firm
Complexion may have a slightly rosy tone
Hydration and muscle tone is even
You may have experienced slight oiliness and patches of acne as a teenager — usually in the T-zone
Acne eruptions are minor and usually occur around menstruation
You may have a few enlarged pores on your chin, cheeks, and nose
Your skin tone and colouring is relatively even, with no red blotches or broken capillaries

Maintenance

This skin type has no major concerns. Maintenance is important to keep the complexion radiant and healthy.

Double cleansing at night with either a gel or creamy cleanser or both, using an alcohol-free toner, and then a protective moisturiser are the daily basics
The eye area may need extra attention during times when humidity is low
A serum is also recommended for an extra hydration boost

“Merely applying topical products while neglecting nutrition, sleep, and overall health won’t lead to great skin.”

Dry skin

You may experience occasional flaking of your skin. There are no oily areas, and the skin often feels taut and tight.

You’re more prone to develop wrinkles and fine lines, have enlarged pores, and your skin can irritate easily.

Characteristics

Aged 25+
Less likely to have suffered from acne as a teenager
Skin may have an uneven appearance and feel tighter and parched
Skin produces less oil and is prone to dehydration
Skin has a rough to scaly appearance, prone to flaking and chapping
Skin is prone to forming fine lines and wrinkles
Complexion is fair and tends to be fine textured, translucent, and delicate
Pores are usually invisible, with few or no open pores
Foundation makeup may need to be touched up throughout the day
Prone to sunburn or redness in cool weather
Skin is usually drier in winter than in summer months

Causes

Exposure to sun, wind, and heat
Lack of protection against moisture loss and excessive lubrication
Lack of oestrogen
Medications
Soaps and harsh detergents with high pH
Poor health
Lack of essential fatty acids and good oils in diet

Maintenance

Dry skin is undernourished and lacks hydration, so it needs extra products to help with moisture retention
Double cleanse with a hydrating cream-based cleanser instead of a gel-based cleanser
Use serums, oils and heavier creams that have essential fatty acids and ceramides
Use products in a layering effect

“Cellular reproduction and skin repair rely on a balanced intake of essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids obtained through a healthy diet and lifestyle.”

Oily skin

Oily skin tends to be a hereditary condition that develops due to overactive oil glands. If you hold a tissue to your face when you wake up, you’ll be able to see an oily residue from your nose, forehead, and chin.

Oily skin is usually the most abused of all skin types as there’s a tendency to be overzealous with harsh acids or highly alkaline products that dry your skin out and interfere with the natural oil balance.

When this happens, the surface of the skin becomes irritated, and the pores constricted. Oil and other skin debris can plug up the pores and form open or closed comedones (blackheads).

If the follicle walls are weakened, the contents may then leak through to the dermis, leading to secondary infections and an inflammatory reaction that results in the formation of pustules and pimples. If oily skin is continually depleted of its natural oils, it will produce more sebum.

While this type of skin is more challenging to deal with, particularly in teenage years, the upside is that as you age, your skin remains youthful longer and is less prone to wrinkling.

Characteristics

Your skin texture can be thick and coarse
Enlarged pores with a tendency to break out in spots, blemishes, and acne
Skin feels oily when touched
Make-up doesn’t last and tends to melt off the face
You may experience moderate-to-severe adolescent acne with regular breakouts
Skin is thick, dull, heavy, and firm
Complexion may be sallow with a yellowish tinge
The texture of the skin may be like citrus fruit
Oiliness continues beyond adolescence
Pores tend to be enlarged and open and may become dehydrated
Congested oily skin exhibits closed comedones, some pustules and is rough to touch

Causes

Stress and emotions
Poor diet
Hormonal fluctuations
Hereditary
Harsh products with high alcohol content, surfactants with a high pH that dry the skin
Hot and humid climates tend to make the condition worse

Maintenance

The focus for oily skin types should be on keeping the skin clean and free of debris. Double cleansing is important to dissolve and emulsify excess sebum that builds up throughout the day. It’s best to choose a gel-based cleanser with a gentle surfactant base that is pH balanced and doesn’t strip the skin
Follow with a toner, gentle acid, and treatment product to prevent congestion and breakouts, particularly in the T-zone area
Use an oil-free moisturiser during the day and a few drops of oil or a light serum at night for balance
Extractions should only be done by a therapist and are best performed on clean skin that’s been massaged and steamed to open the pores. If the skin has lots of pustules, exfoliation and massage will tend to spread infection, so strict hygiene is important
Aim to lessen shiny appearance, refine open pores, deeply cleanse, and reduce bacteria on the skin’s surface
Above all else, don’t overheat the skin; treat it gently and lovingly

Edited extract from Truth in Beauty by Mukti (Mukti Organics, $89). Available on pre-order from today, April 24, from Muktiorganics.com, and in all good bookstores from April 29.