kind of cosmetic products you need. Always look at the bigger picture.
Some “experts” will determine your skin type based on your age. This is according to the
theory that most young women have oily or combination oily skin; most women in their thirties are
combination or combination-dry; and all women over forty are in the dry skin category. While our
skin indeed changes with age, “older” or “younger” skin works the same way. Women over fifty can
suffer from acne and oily skin, and twenty-somethings can have dry, dehydrated skin at risk for
premature aging. However, all women with mature skin are prescribed creamy cleansers and
emollient, heavy moisturizers, while all women under thirty are being aggressively sold harsh liquid
cleansers, alcohol-based toners, and lightweight, “shine-controlling” moisturizers. All women, no
matter how old they are, need gentle, nonirritating products formulated with as few chemical
ingredients as possible.
Skin typing serves as a powerful marketing tool. Instead of helping women choose products that
help solve their skin problems, cosmetic marketers label products based on traditional skin types.
Salespeople can start their endless song about how you’re not using the right product for your skin
type, which creates problems and can actually destroy your skin. The moment we learn that our skin is
anything but normal, we open our wallets and buy whatever is sold to us so our skin will be back to
normal again. In fact, using products that are “wrong for your skin type” cannot destroy your skin.
Your skin can be damaged by careless tanning, using synthetic chemical skin care, and smoking, but
not by using a creamy cleanser if your skin is “combination oily.”
In fact, all of us have combination skin. The middle section, or T-zone (the T-shaped area around
the nose, forehead, and chin) will usually seem shiny by midday. It will feel drier in the evening and
oilier in the morning. It will become sensitive in the winter and acne-prone, with a few blackheads, in
the summer; but it can become fragile and dehydrated if we spend too much time in the sun without
sunscreen. Most of us have all four skin types at the same time: oily in the T-zone, combination to
normal on cheeks, dry at the neck and around the mouth, and sensitive around the eyes.
There’s little use in choosing skin products based on your skin type, simply because our skin is
much too complicated to be labeled by only one of four types. If you choose a cleanser based on your
skin type, you can end up using a product that is too harsh or too mild. For example, if a cosmetic
salesperson looks at your midday skin and tells you that you have some blackheads and an oily T-
zone, she’ll sell you a whole routine for oily skin that will include a drying bar soap, a harsh alcohol-
based toner, and a salicylic acid–based moisturizer “to clear blackheads.” Instead of normally
functioning combination skin, you create an oily, sensitive, and easily irritated skin that develops new
pimples daily.
When you choose cosmetic products based on your skin type, you assume that once you’ve been
told you have oily or dry skin, it’s going to stay that way forever. That is not going to happen. Your
skin is a living organ with a complex life. Climate, hormonal fluctuations, stress, lack of sleep, and
certain medications can instantly change your skin type, making it oilier or drier. A perfectly good
product can become plain wrong for you the very moment the hormonal roller coaster hits its peak or
you have had a tough day in the office.
Instead of picking cosmetic products based on the skin typing theory, I suggest that you tune in to
your skin’s own voice and focus on your skin’s needs. This way, you will be able to choose
ingredients and textures that are able to satisfy these needs. An effective skin care routine should be
based on the current condition of your skin, not on the assumption that it should “get back to normal”
in a few days because you use a heavily advertised beauty product.