What's the importance of knowing your skin concerns/skin type?Updated a year ago
Generally, your skin type isn’t something you need to change with skincare, but just something you want to slightly account for. Skincare products are meant to visibly improve the look of the skin, especially when you’re shopping for serums with active ingredients.
To choose the right active ingredients, you need to consider aspects of your skin that you want to improve - we call those skin concerns, and here are the most common ones you might be dealing with:
- Dehydration: This is when the skin’s water content is low, often as a result of high transepidermal water loss.
- Acne: From blackheads to pimples, acne is an inflammatory skin condition that can take many forms, and is best addressed through the right combination of skincare and dermatological care.
- Signs of aging: With age and sun exposure, the skin loses its ability to create proteins that maintain its structure, which leads to fine lines, deeper wrinkles, and loss of firmness.
- Hyperpigmentation: Usually caused by inflammation or sun exposure, hyperpigmentation can look like diffused discoloration (i.e., melasma), freckles, or dark spots.
- Sensitivity, redness, and inflammatory skin conditions: These are usually markers of inflammation, which means the skin benefits from a gentle, soothing skincare routine, often in combination with dermatological care.
You don’t need to take your skin type too seriously when choosing skincare products. More often than not, your skincare purchases should be made based on your specific concerns rather than on an arbitrary skin type.
After all, just because a product is supposedly formulated for your skin type doesn’t mean that it’ll help with what you’re worried about, whether that’s dehydration, loss of elasticity, or frequent breakouts.
The greatest benefit of knowing what skin type you have is being able to identify how much moisture and occlusion you need. And this is best carried out as an ongoing process since your skin is ever-changing!