How to Test What Skin Type you Have
How to Test What Skin Type you Have
Determining your skin type is not a complex affair at all. One of the simplest ways in which you can identify your skin type is to wipe your face with a clean tissue as soon as you wake in the morning. Here is what people with different skin types will find with this test:
Normal Skin- The tissue is oil free and your skin feels as elastic and supple as ever. Dry Skin- The tissue is oil free but your facial skin feels dry and tight.
Oily skin- The tissue has oily spots and your face looks oily especially the nose and forehead areas.
Combination Skin- The tissue has oil traces when you wipe your nose, forehead or chin but is clean when you wipe your cheeks.
Sensitive Skin- Those who have this skin type do not usually need the tissue-test to figure this out. That’s because sensitive skin reacts poorly to several things- harsh sunlight, dehydration, many creams / shampoos / cosmetics, even the weather.
What is pH-Balance?
pH is an abbreviation for Potential Hydrogen. The pH number ranges from 0 to 14 and it measures how alkaline or acidic a liquid is. Anything below 7 is Acid and anything above 7 is Alkaline. Water has the same amount of acids and alkalis which gives it a pH level of 7.
pH levels in skin cleansers do make a difference. Your skin has a pH level of about 5.5. The outer layer is acidic which helps to keep bacteria out and keeps the skin moisturized. You should use a cleanser which has the same or slightly higher pH level as your skin. This will help to maintain the outer protective layer. If you choose to use soap as a cleanser, which is too alkaline, then it will dissolve the acid in your skin and it will lead to dryness.
A skin cleanser, with a pH level slightly higher than 5.5, will remove the oil and dirt from the skin. Soap has a pH level between 9 and 12. This is too high if you want to keep your skin moisturized. On the other hand, cleansers should also not have a pH level which is too low because then it won’t remove the dirt.
Therefore, look for cleansers that are soap-free with balanced pH levels.
