To ensure effective skincare, it's important to know your own skin type first before everything. Nowadays, there is a huge variety of formulas and products tailored to every skin type. Correct skincare routine makes your skin appear youthful and healthy, while wrong products may lead to ineffective skincare, irritation and even worse breakouts. Therefore, understanding your skin type is essential to look for the skincare products that work best for your skin.

Generally, there are five common skin types: Normal, Oily, Combination, Dry and Sensitive. 

Some basic characteristics of each skin type will be listed below to help you easily determine which suits you more. It's normal even if you have characteristics of more than one skin type. For instance, you may have dry and sensitive skin.

A. NORMAL SKIN

- Neither too dry nor too oily

- Pores are hardly visible

- Free from skin blemishes

B. OILY SKIN

- Shiny or greasy skin

- Enlarged pores

- Acne-prone

C. COMBINATION SKIN

- Oily and visible pores around the t-zone (forehead, nose and chin)

- Dry or normal skin around cheeks and eyes

D. DRY SKIN

- Skin feels tight

- Rough skin texture

- May occur flaking and itchiness

- Barely visible pores

- More visible lines

E. SENSITIVE SKIN

- Skin flushes easily

- Thinner skin barrier

- Tiny blood vessels are visible near the skin surface

- Products with fragrance lead to irritation

Still have no idea after looking at the characteristics? Time for a quick test!

1. Blotting Sheet Method

This is a faster and easier way to determine your skin type as what you need is just a piece of blotting paper. It acts as an excellent differentiator between oily and dry skin types.

You just need to use the blotting paper to gently pat on various spots of your face. Then, examine the paper.

If the paper is saturated with oil, meaning that you are likely to have oily skin.

If there is little to no oil visible, your skin is most likely dry.

If the blotting paper reveals minimal oil from your t-zone (nose and forehead), your skin is probably normal or combination.

2. Bare-Faced Method

If you do not have blotting paper, you may also try out this way to determine your skin type.

After washing your face with a mild cleanser, gently pat dry and leave skin bare (do not apply any skincare products). After 30 minutes, observe your skin and examine whether there is any shine on your cheeks, chin, nose and forehead. 

If there is noticeable shine only on your t-zone, you are likely to have normal/combination skin.

If there is shine on both your cheeks and t-zone, your skin is most likely oily.

If your skin feels tight or parched when any facial expression is made, you might have dry skin.