Understanding Your Skin Type

Before choosing any product, it helps to know what your skin actually needs. Here is an easy at-home check.

The bare-face test

Wash your face with a mild cleanser, pat dry and wait an hour without applying anything. Then look in the mirror.

• Tight and flaky: dry skin.
• Shiny all over: oily skin.
• Shiny only on forehead and nose: combination skin.
• Comfortable and balanced: normal skin.
• Red, stinging or itchy after products: sensitive skin.

What to pick

Dry skin loves goat milk and shea. Oily and acne-prone skin does well with charcoal, neem and gram flour. Sensitive skin should stick with short ingredient lists and soothing aloe. Normal skin can enjoy almost anything.

Skin changes

Your skin type is not fixed. Weather, stress, hormones and age all shift it, so repeat the test every season.