Kombinerad hud är den vanligaste av alla hudtyper! Detta beror på att den är i mitten av spektrumet och har egenskaper av både torr och fet hud. För de flesta med blandhy är T-zonen fet, medan ögon, kinder och käke är torra, även om hur fet eller torr varje del är kan variera. Vissa människor upplever också oljighet och torrhet i ett annat mönster, även om det är sällsynt.
Det bästa sättet att hantera blandhy är att använda hudvårdsprodukter som varken är mattande eller alltför krämiga eller feta, och som erbjuder en balanserad mängd återfuktning och skydd. Speciellt produkter som marknadsförs som lämpliga för alla hudtyper är ett utmärkt val!
Normal hudtyp är nästan mytologisk. Normal myt innebär att du har medelstora porer i hela ansiktet, och din hud producerar en jämn och behaglig mängd talg.
Väldigt få människor har en sådan balanserad hud, och det kommer vanligtvis också med få eller inga hudproblem. Om du har normal hud är det bästa sättet att ta hand om med en kort och enkel hudvårdsrutin.
Känslighet är inte en riktig hudtyp eftersom de med känslig hud också kan ha vilken nivå av oljeproduktion som helst. Men vi ville ändå nämna det här eftersom känslig hud kräver särskild vård! Om du upptäcker att din hud lätt blir röd eller irriterad, är det ett tecken på känslighet.
Med känslig hud vill du använda hudvårdsprodukter som beskrivs som skonsamma och med en konsistens som passar din hudtyp. Det är vanligtvis bättre att undvika dofter och intensiva aktiva ingredienser, eftersom de är mer benägna att orsaka irritation. Leta dessutom efter lugnande antiinflammatoriska medel som kan hjälpa till att lugna ner eventuell irritation.
Hur man sätter ihop en hudvårdsrutin
När du har identifierat din hudtyp kan du börja bygga din personliga hudvårdsrutin! Vi har några tips som hjälper dig att komma igång och sedan gå utöver grunderna!
Se till att patch-testa
Varje gång du introducerar nya hudvårdsprodukter i din rutin är det viktigt att lapptesta dem först. Detta låter dig kontrollera att de inte irriterar din hud eller täpper till dina porer!
Om du letar efter känslighet eller allergi, lapptesta din produkt på din inre arm eller bakom örat. När du lapptestar för comedogenicitet, lapptestar du på ett område av ditt ansikte eller kropp där din hud kan bryta ut.
För att lapptesta, applicera helt enkelt produkten på din hud (om det är ett rengöringsmedel, skölj av det efter en minut eller två). Gör detta några dagar i rad. Om allt går bra och du inte upplever några negativa reaktioner kan du börja använda produkten i ansiktet!
Börja med grunderna
A basic skincare routine should include the following three products:a cleanser that never makes your skin feel tight, a moisturizer suitable to your skin type, and sunscreen for the morning (that should be reapplied after two hours of continuous sun exposure).
Beyond being very careful to use sunscreen regularly, the rules about when to use what are not too strict. You should cleanse and moisturize in the evening, but in the morning, let your skin guide you as you decide if you want to cleanse and moisturize again before applying sunscreen.
For those with oily skin, sunscreen is often moisturizing enough to replace a moisturizer. For those with sensitive or dry skin, cleansing a second time in the morning can be irritating.
Identify Your Concerns
Once you have a basic routine that works for you, you can start thinking about how to expand it with toners, serums, essences, spot treatments, or exfoliants.
Usually, it’s good to expand by first considering your main skin concerns, which are issues you would like to treat as opposed to skin types, which are largely immutable.
The most common skin concerns are the following:
Dehydration, which is a lack of water in the skin (not to be confused with a dry skin type),
Pigmentation, which appears as dark marks, freckles, melasma, sunspots, or post-acne marks,
Existing fine lines and wrinkles,
Prevention of premature aging,
Acne and skin congestion/ clogged pores,
Redness or other signs of sensitivity and irritation,
Eye area concerns like puffiness or dark circles.
Take note of which concerns are your highest priority, and also take into account that you sometimes have to deal with an underlying issue before dealing with the skin concern it causes. For example, if your skin is irritated because of an allergic reaction to your laundry detergent, your first priority should be to find a laundry detergent to which you won’t be allergic.
Another example is acne and dark marks. After breaking out, many people experience post-acne marks that are called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (or PIH). It’s better to deal with the acne first and to try and prevent the breakouts before starting to focus on the pigmentation.
Add New Skin-Care Products Slowly
It can be really tempting to immediately buy a bunch of skin-care products at once. Unfortunately, the skin often can’t handle that! If you start using 3 or 4 new products all at once, you take two risks:
• If the products you select have a lot of strong ingredients in them like exfoliating acids or retinoids, you run the risk of over-exfoliating and irritating your skin.
• If you have an allergic reaction or a breakout, you will have no way of knowing which product was at fault.
When starting a routine, add one new product at a time. Use your new product for at least a week before introducing the next product. If your new skin-care products are very “active,” it’s better to wait 2 or 3 weeks before adding anything else.
If you’re starting from nothing, it’s best to start with a sunscreen if you spend any time outdoors, or to start with a moisturizer or cleanser if you don’t get much sun exposure and can wear a hat when going outside.
Know the Correct Product Order
As you start bolstering your basic cleansing and moisturizing routine with more skin-care products, figuring out how to order them can get really confusing! There are a few basic rules when it comes to ordering products. Once you understand them, putting products in the right order becomes super easy!
1. With the majority of leave-on skincare ingredients, you want to apply the thin and more watery or liquidy products first, followed by heavier products. This allows for optimal product penetration and absorption.
While you don’t need to use all of the following products, this is generally the order they go in, from the thinnest to the thickest:toner, essence, serum, gel, moisturizer, oil, balm.
2. Some ingredients are pH-dependent. This means that they only work at a relatively low acidity level, so they need to be applied to the skin before anything that has a high pH, regardless of the texture.
These ingredients include AHAs and vitamin C in its active form as ascorbic acid. If your routine includes prescription products, those should often also go on the skin immediately after cleansing, and it’s always more important to follow doctor’s orders than our recommendations here.
If you’re not sure about a product, you can often email the company that produced it to ask when it can go in your routine based on its pH or other properties.
Fun fact: we used to believe this was also true for salicylic acid, but in recent years, research has shown that it works just as well at a slightly higher pH.
3. With cleansing, we actually follow the reverse of rule 1… well, sort of. If you’ve decided that you want to double cleanse, your first cleanser will usually be a thicker oil or balm cleanser, which you follow up with a more traditional cleanser with a gel or cream texture that is easier to rinse away with water.
Some people use micellar water when double cleansing, in which case, there is no strict rule, and you can experiment with product order to see what gives you a better cleansing.
Be Gradual with Active Ingredients
With some active ingredients, you might not be able to use them every day when you first start out. In that case, give yourself time to gradually increase how often you use them.
For example, with glycolic acid, you want to start out using it only once or twice a week, and then slowly increase the frequency until you use it every day or every other day. Pay close attention to signs of over-exfoliation, and if you experience any irritation, either reduce the frequency or stop using the product altogether.
Some people can tolerate more active ingredients, and others can tolerate less. One person might be able to use a chemical exfoliant every day, while for another person, exfoliating once a week is enough.
It also depends on the types of active ingredients you use and their concentration. Adding new things slowly and gradually allows you to figure out the “sweet spot” where your skin is happy.
Final Thoughts on the Best Skin-Care Products
Putting together a skincare routine is a complicated process, but thankfully, we selected the best skin-care products to make it a little easier for you! Most of the products on our list are good for all skin types. Hopefully, by identifying your skin type and knowing our safety tips, you can build your own personal routine that will allow your skin to thrive!
Photos via Instagram