I have oily acne prone skin and always wondered why products that worked fine on my friends’ skin weren’t effective on mine. This was frustrating because it stretched the process of finding the right combination of products for my skin. Every now and then, I got lucky with products but just when i started rejoicing that they worked i would break out with acne over again. During this time, i stopped using make up and eating certain foods (like groundnut, sugar and fries) because i felt they triggered acne, i even tried a couple of DIY natural products, but nothing changed.
All through the many product trials , i remained very careful about what went on my skin; i had heard stories of products causing irreversible damages on people’s skin and i was not having that. Despite my “skin struggles” i was not ready to jeopardize my chances of having good skin as i grow older.
Anyways, i stopped experimenting with products and resolved to using just antiseptic soap on my skin. Acne came and went as it chose but i refused lose sleep on it. However, sometime ago while sourcing to bulk purchase sheabutter, i met a natural skin care expert who led me through the process of restoring my skin. He taught me very simple things to do , he introduced me to products (rhassoul clay acne pack) that cleared out the acne and blemishes on my face.
Here’s a break down of things he taught me
- Know your skin type! Your skin type is important when choosing products to apply on your skin. If you have oily skin and use products formulated for dry skin , your skin will most likely get irritated and flare up. There are 5 skin types – Oily, dry, sensitive, normal and combination.
- How to know your skin type
1) Oily skin : When oily skin is washed and left unmoisturized, it becomes obviously oily especially on the cheeks, forehead,nose, chin (and sometimes chest) areas after like 1-2 hours.
Do’s and Don’ts of oily skin
*Use deep (avoid harsh) cleansing products to unclog pores. It is important to keep your pores clear without over drying the skin.
* Avoid over washing the face, twice a day is good, morning and night; especially after exercising and/or sweating as sweat also clogs skin pores.
* Avoid make up , moisturizers or any products that can clog pores ; go for non- comedogenic products.
2) Dry skin : When dry skin is washed and left unmoisturized, unlike oily skin, you get to feel tightness and discomfort around areas of the face like the eyes after 1-2 hours.
Do’s and Don’t for dry skin
* Use mild skin cleansing products to retain the oil and water in your skin.
* Apply rich moisturizers after washing your face (moisturizing is very important for all skin types), preferably ointments and creams instead of lotion to retain moisture.
* Avoid over washing the face.
3) Sensitive skin : Your skin is sensitive if it quickly and easily turns red or stings from touch / topical application of products . Also if your skin reacts to certain changes or products by developing skin bumps or irritations, you most likely have sensitive skin. Environmental and genetic factors as well as overuse of skincare products can result in the development of sensitive skin.
Do’s and Don’t for sensitive skin
* Always opt for products with few ingredients.
* Opt for products with little or no fragrance.
* Stay away from products containing alcohol, retinoids/ alpha hydroxy acids, anti- bacterial ingredients.
* Patch test new products on a small part of your skin before applying all over , especially on the face.
4) Normal skin : Normal skin has a healthy balance of water and oil, so it has almost no imperfections. Not too oily or dry.
Do’s and Don’ts for normal skin
* Because normal skin has a good balance of water and oil, there’s hardly ever any reaction to products; what’s most important for normal skin is a good (simple) maintenance routine which should involve Exfoliation, cleansing, moisturizing and sun screen protection
5) Combination skin : This skin type has a mix of oily, dry and normal skin. With combination skin, the areas of the face that are usually oily are forehead, nose and chin. The other parts of the face have dry/ normal skin.
Do’s and Don’ts for combination skin
* You will need to treat the different areas of your skin with the appropriate care required. This means when there’s an acne break out on the oily part of your skin, you have to treat just the affected area and not the whole face, same thing applies to when the dry part of your face is flaky, you will need to treat just that part of the face not the whole face.
