How to determine and take care of combination skin? My methods

Combination skin is the most complicated to take care of. Why is that? Because some parts are more oily and other areas are dry and thus, you must treat it as partially oily and partially dry skin. The oily part of combination skin is the so-called T zone, which includes the area of the forehead, nose, and beard. However, the dry part of the skin are the cheeks and temples or cheeks and chin. Combination complexion is the domain of women over 20 who previously had oily skin. It is rarely the result of improper skin care and, consequently, disturbances of the water-lipid balance. How to identify a combination complexion and how to take care of it? What are the most common mistakes in the care of combination skin? Discover my recipes for homemade cosmetics dedicated to combination skin!

How to identify combination skin?

The care of combination skin can be problematic due to its heterogeneity. It is the effect of the coexistence of oily and dry skin areas. The T-zone is thicker and therefore more resistant to water, stronger cosmetics, treatments. Also, it is covered with a noticeable layer of sebum. In addition, it has a tendency to blackheads and purulent lesions. In turn, the side zones are devoid of this protective layer.

If you have doubts about which parts of your skin are dry, just wash your face with water. As a consequence, the dry zones will be excessively drawn off and possibly flaky. In addition, they are easier to irritate.

How to take care of combination skin?

When taking care of mixed skin, you must bear in mind that:

oily parts of the face should be normalized;
dry parts of the face should be moisturized, regenerated and protected because they are devoid of a natural protective layer.

For daily care of combination skin, it is best to choose cosmetics that are dedicated strictly to this particular type – this will release you from the obligation to separate the care of oily and dry parts. Preparations for combination skin regulate and normalize the secretion of sebum, thanks to which they mattify the T-zone and gently moisturize the dry areas of the face.

Both a dry zone and an oily zone require moisturizing. For this reason, day cream for combination skin should be light, non-oily and have a moisturizing effect. The use of different cosmetics for dry and oily skin is recommended only when the difference between the areas of the face is very explicit (here severe dryness, and seborrhea there). Excessive dehydration and flaking can be reduced by means of emollient preparations that rebuild the lipid layer of the skin. An important element of the care of combination skin is a scrub – enzymatic can be applied to the entire face, and fine-grained should be applied only to its oily parts. To supplement the care, I recommend using moisturizing masks – it is worth applying them after exfoliating, because thanks to that, they regulate sebum secretion. During the day, blotting papers can be applied to the gleaming forehead or shiny nose.

Mistakes in combination skin care

Combination skin requires proper diagnosis and careful care. The most frequent mistakes in the care of mixed skin are considered:

Improper application of cosmetics

If the condition of your skin requires the use of two different types of cosmetics, must be applied directly where they are needed (preparations for oily skin to the oily parts, and products for dry areas applied only to dry areas). Otherwise, not only will not improve the condition of the skin but even make it worse.

Use cosmetics for oily skin only

Preparations dedicated to oily skin will dry out the dry parts of the face, which in consequence will start to peel.

Too strong degreasing of the T zone

An excess of drying cosmetics makes the skin start its defense mechanism and begins to produce more sebum as a result, it shines even more.

Using toners with alcohol, which disturbs the hydro-lipid balance of the skin.

Washing face with water and soap

The greasy parts of the face will survive this procedure, while its dry parts will get too tight and flaky.

My recipes for homemade cosmetics for mixed skin

Recipe for powdered milk scrub

Components:

3 tablespoons of powdered milk (skimmed),
1 tablespoon of honey.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and moisten the skin with lukewarm water. Then apply the scrub and massage the skin gently in circular motions for a few minutes. In the end, wash your face with lukewarm water.

Keep in mind that both honey and milk powder can be sensitized. For this reason, before applying the face scrub, run an allergy test on a smaller and less visible part of the skin.

Recipe for a cucumber mask