The Five Types of Skin: How To Take Care Of Your Unique Skin

You’ve probably worked out which type of skin you have on your face by now, but have you ever wondered what type of skin you have on your body?

While it’s true that you might have the same skin all over, you might be surprised to discover that your body skin can be a different type than your face! What’s more, because there are so many different areas of the body, you might even have patterns of different skin types in various places!

If you’ve ever used soap and it worked wonders for your arms but ended up irritating your thighs, skin-type patterning over the body could be the reason.

Find out how to determine your skin type(s), where they are, and how to take care of everything you’re working with.

THE 5 SKIN TYPES: WHICH DO YOU HAVE?

The best time to inspect the skin is right before your next bath or shower. Any products you last used are at their weakest strength, so you can get a better feel for how your skin naturally looks and feels.

The criteria for measuring skin types are: sebaceous secretion (oiliness), hydration and sensitivity level.

Keep in mind that this evaluation is for healthy skin, which means that if you have a skin condition or disease, you may not be about to accurately type your skin. You may also need to use specific skincare products not mentioned here.

Check the different areas of your body: neck, shoulders, décolletage and chest, armpits, upper arms, lower arms, upper back, lower back, belly, hips, buttocks, front of thighs, back of thighs, and lower legs.

You may also like to inspect the hands and feet, however, they might require their own skincare routine since, like the face, they have a unique structure not found elsewhere on the body.

DETERMINE YOUR SKIN TYPE(S)

Find the characteristics that most match your skin in different areas.

Normal

Oiliness: Doesn’t have excessive oils, doesn’t leave excessive residue behind after touching something, like glass or a phone screen.

Hydration: Appears smooth, not flaky, and supple. Skin feels comfortable, not tight or itchy.

Sensitivity: Skin appears non-irritated and doesn’t turn too red after slight agitation like a light rub with a finger. Skin is not impacted by exposure to hot water.

Oily

Oiliness: Has excessive oil and will leave residue behind after touching something. Body acne may be present. 

Hydration: Appears smooth, supple, slick, and not flaky. Skin feels comfortable, not tight or itchy.

Sensitivity: Skin appears non-irritated and doesn’t turn too red due to slight agitation or exposure to hot water.

Dry

Oiliness: Lacking in oil, leaving little to no residue behind after touching something.

Hydration: Skin appears dull, perhaps rough with cracks, and may have a powdery appearance. May be flaky.

Sensitivity: Likely more sensitive due to a lack of protective oils. May turn red with slight agitation or exposure to hot water.

Sensitive

Oiliness: May be dry or oily.

Hydration: May be dry or hydrated, but more likely to be dry.

Sensitivity: High sensitivity to agitation, hot or cold temperature, humidity, and chemicals, leading to rashes, hives, severe itching, flakiness, cracks, or raised skin (dermatographia). 

Combination

This refers to having a mixture of skin types, sometimes overlaying each other (like dry & sensitive, oily & sensitive, or dry & oily), or in patches around the body (like oily back and dry arms).

HOW TO CARE FOR DIFFERENT SKIN TYPES: INGREDIENTS

Now that you know which skin type or types you have, you can choose the best products to suit them. In general, there are certain ingredients to seek out and others that should be avoided for certain skin types.

If you have patches of different types on your body, you might find that using more than one product for each of those different places works best for you.

Normal: You can use basically any product out there that you want! While you will find some do suit you and others do not, it isn’t as detrimental to your skin health if you choose the wrong thing. Of course, you should still keep a look out for any allergens. And remain mindful to choose non-harmful ingredients, so avoid things like TEAs and DEAs, formaldehyde-releasing preservatives, MIT and CMIT, and sulfates.

Oily: Choosing ingredients that help regulate your oil production is first priority. Look for products that contain soothing and/or astringent ingredients like kaolin or bentonite clay, aloe, neem, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), coffee, glycerin, jojoba oil, citric acid, salicylates (like white willow bark), tea tree, chamomile, meadowfoam oil, and witch hazel.

Try to avoid denatured alcohols, which can make the skin produce more oils. Also, avoid comedogenic ingredients (clogs pores) and silicones.

Dry: Often, dry skin can be very sensitive since there is very little body oil to protect against environmental factors or seal moisture in. Soothing, hydrating ingredients are what you need to search for. Choose products with ingredients like jojoba oil, shea butter, avocado oil, aloe, sunflower oil, coffee, glycerin, stearic acid, glycerin, vitamin e, meadowfoam oil, Gotu Kola, rosehip oil, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), and turbinado sugar.

Avoid denatured alcohols, salicylates, and sulfates. Certain skins may also have adverse reactions to phenoxyethanol and citric acid.

Sensitive: Special care should be taken with sensitive skin. Always test a small patch of skin when using a new product to make sure you don’t have a reaction, which can happen immediately or take a few days to appear. There are many ingredients which are generally recognized as hypoallergenic and are always the best first choice for sensitive skin since they are less likely to cause a reaction. But it’s not impossible, so make sure to test first!

Gentle ingredients to look for are chamomile, aloe, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), turbinado sugar, coffee, kaolin clay, sunflower oil, rosemary oil, MSM (a naturally-occurring molecule that contains sulfur), glycerin, reishi, lavender, oatstraw extract, rosehip oil, neem, jojoba oil, and meadowfoam oil.

Combination: When talking about combinations of skin around the body, you might find that using one product for one area and not others work best. For example, using products for oily skin on the back while using products for dry skin on the arms and legs.

HOW TO CARE FOR COMBINATION SKIN

For skin that is a true mixture (remember: dry & oily, dry & sensitive, oily & sensitive), you can look for ingredients that are good for both types.

For Dry & Oily: Look for kaolin or bentonite clay, aloe, neem, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), coffee, glycerin, jojoba oil, citric acid (low concentration), salicylates (like white willow bark), chamomile, meadowfoam oil, and witch hazel, shea butter, avocado oil, sunflower oil, stearic acid, Gotu Kola, rosehip oil, and turbinado sugar.

For Dry & Sensitive: Look for jojoba oil, shea butter, avocado oil, aloe, sunflower oil, coffee, stearic acid, glycerin, vitamin e, meadowfoam oil, Gotu Kola, rosehip oil, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), and turbinado sugar, chamomile, coffee, kaolin clay, MSM (a naturally-occurring molecule that contains sulfur), reishi, lavender, oatstraw extract, rosehip oil, and neem.

For Oily & Sensitive: Look for kaolin clay, aloe, neem, sea salt (especially Dead Sea salt), coffee, glycerin, jojoba oil, chamomile, meadowfoam oil, witch hazel, sunflower oil, rosemary oil, turbinado sugar, coffee, MSM (a naturally-occurring molecule that contains sulfur), reishi, lavender, oatstraw extract, and rosehip oil.

HOW TO CARE FOR DIFFERENT SKIN TYPES: ROUTINE

You know your skin type and you know which ingredients you need. Great! Now, how do you use them and what products do you need?

In general, there is a basic format for a skincare routine. You may add or remove steps as you understand your skin better, but if you’re a newbie, try starting out with this.

A general skincare routine for various skin types might look like:

1. Bathe with warm (not too hot!) water and exfoliate with a body scrub once per week

2. Use soap that nourishes the skin

3. Pat dry with a towel or air dry

4. Apply any additional treatments, like toner for acne-prone skin

5. While the skin is still a little damp, apply moisturiser or body cream

6. Apply SPF to anywhere that will see the sun today

CAN SKIN TYPE CHANGE WITH AGE?

Yes, it’s a good idea to re-evaluate your skin from time to time.

Age isn’t the only factor that can influence skin. Weather, hydration (drinking enough water), nutrition, hormones, and environmental factors can all play a big part in how the skin behaves.

For example, I suddenly started having extremely dry skin on my wrists and hands 4 months after starting a new job. I realized I had suddenly started showing an allergic reaction to the surface sterilising agent I had been dunking my hands into that whole time!

Taking stock every so often and switching up your products as needed means that there is reliable skin care for all ages.

Follow these guidelines, make tweaks as needed, and you’ll soon find your way to your happiest skin!