Getting To Know Her – Your Skin

We all think we know our skin very well but hey, truth be told, we don’t really know our skin that well. Ever wandered into a cosmetic store or even a beauty parlour and be asked about your skin type? Ever realised how you’d paused for a couple of seconds before answering the consultant? If you did that, that just means you don’t really know what skin type you have and that is all right. It is never too late to learn and care for your skin. Understanding your skin type and individual skincare needs is important because we all want a clean and clear complexion. So what is my skin type!? Don’t worry and calm down. Skin types are not created equally. Skin can be normal, dry, oily, combination, acne-prone, or sensitive. You may think you know your skin type, but chances are you have no idea! It's impossible to treat your skin properly if you don't even know what you're working with. Your skin is your body’s largest organ, as complex and intelligent as your heart, lungs, liver and other vital organs. So get to know her!

The best way to get a precise determination of your skin type is to consult your dermatologist, who will not only help you find your skin type, but can also guide you to the proper regimen to address any skin concerns and keep your skin at its healthiest. If you haven’t got a dermatologist, fret not, as there is a home-test method that you can use to determine your skin type. Yes, it is possible to figure out your skin type on your own and here’s how. Start by washing your face and removing all dirt and makeup but avoid over washing or scrubbing. Ideally, use a gentle cleanser and pat dry after. Do not apply any products once the face is washed. Wait for at least an hour or preferably two hours as this will give your skin time to normalise or return to its natural state. After those hours, observe your skin closely. Determining your skin type can be done mostly by what you see and feel. There are really, just four skin types. 

Observe, observe, observe! If your skin feels smooth, with few to no imperfections, and no greasy or dry patches, congratulations, you have normal skin type! Indicators for normal skin type include small, barely visible pores, no breakouts and little to zero sensitivity. You don’t feel like you need to constantly moisturise or blot oil from your face all day long. Your skin is firm, with minimal fine lines and wrinkles. With normal skin, you experience almost no sensitivity, dryness or oiliness. Your skin can tolerate most ingredients, meaning you can play hard with beauty products and have tons of fun experimenting with cleansers, moisturisers and masks until you find exactly what works for you. And if your skin feels rough, flaky or tight, then my friend, you have dry skin. You would notice visible pores, dry or red patches and more visible fine lines. The dryness is caused by a lack of oil in the skin and may be caused by lifestyle and environmental factors or a chronic condition even. For dry skin, you’ll want to seal in moisture by applying a rich moisturiser several times each day especially after bathing. However if your skin looks and feels shiny, greasy, and/or slippery with a rather noticeable shine, then unfortunately, your skin is oily. Oily skin is characterised by an increased amount of lipids on the skin surface due to overactive oil glands. Pores seem larger and more noticeable and get clogged easily, and blemishes are common. You’re likely no stranger to blotting sheets or mattifying powders. You might even find that makeup and skincare products don’t always stay put like you’d want them to. With oily skin, shine control is a top concern. Although there are benefits to having oily skin, like fewer wrinkles, you should avoid ingredients like mineral oil, petrolatum and alcohol. Products labelled “non-comedogenic” work great for oily skin as these won’t clog up your pores. Whereas an oily T-zone with either dry or normal skin on the rest of your face would just mean you have combination skin. With combination skin, pores are enlarged on your nose, and possibly your forehead, but are smaller on the rest of your face and skin can appear shiny, especially around the T-zone. Combination skin seems to be more affected by the climate, becoming dry and flaky sometimes, but greasy and prone to breakouts at other times. The name of the game with combination skin is balance. Isolate problem areas with spot treatments and use toners or balancing cream to even out the skin.

Now that we got that covered, let’s talk about a common skin concern – acne also known as acne vulgaris, a long-term skin disease that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Whether you’re someone who has to deal with the occasional pimple every now and again or are battling serious bouts of adult acne, it can be incredibly frustrating to learn that bad breakouts don’t necessarily end when your adolescent years do. Be mindful though, you can have oily or dry skin and still be prone to acne. If you get frequent breakouts, you likely have acne-prone skin. This means that your pores tend to clog easily, making you more susceptible to whiteheads, blackheads or pustules. Acne is a skin condition that occurs when your hair follicles become plugged with oil and dead skin cells. It often causes whiteheads, blackheads or pimples, and usually appears on the face, forehead, chest, upper back and shoulders. As mentioned, acne affects the skin's oil glands and hair follicles. The small holes in your skin known as pores connect to oil glands under the skin. These glands make an oily substance called sebum. The pores connect to the glands by a canal called a follicle and inside the follicles, oil carries dead skin cells to the surface of the skin. A thin hair also grows through the follicle and out of the skin. Sometimes, the hair, sebum, and skin cells clump together into a plug and gets infected with bacteria and causes swelling. When the plug starts to break down, a pimple grows. 

Depending on its severity, acne can cause emotional distress and scar the skin. Its signs and symptoms also vary depending on the severity of the condition. Whiteheads, blackheads, pimples, cysts, and nodules are all types of acne. It commonly occurs during puberty, when the sebaceous glands activate, but it can occur at any age. It is not dangerous, but it can leave scars. 

A range of factors triggers acne, but the main cause is thought to be a rise in androgen levels. Androgen is a type of hormone, the levels of which rise when adolescence begins. In women, it gets converted into estrogen. Rising androgen levels cause the oil glands under the skin to grow. The enlarged gland produces more sebum. Excessive sebum can break down cellular walls in the pores, causing bacteria to grow. There is also a myth that genetics can cause acne. Most research shows that there isn’t a specific acne gene one can inherit though acne is still strongly genetic. So can acne run in the family? While there isn’t a gene mutation directly linked to acne, there is a tendency for acne to run in families, and specific genetic mutations may increase your risk of developing acne. It’s funny to think some families have a hereditary tendency to overproduce dead skin cells which lead to more clogged pores and hence acne or genetic tendency to overproduce sebum which causes oily skin and resulting in breakouts but it is a myth most people tend to believe. 

Another cause of acne is bacteria, harmless bacterium that lives on our skin starts triggering inflammation and breakouts when it finds itself trapped in airless, oily conditions, such as hair follicles. But not everyone's hair follicles are created equal, and perhaps that is why not everyone gets inflammation from bacteria. However there is a specific bacteria known as the Propionibacterium acnes which is a tiny microbe that lives in the oily region of the skin's pores. This bacteria can aggravate an immune response which causes red, swollen bumps to develop on the skin which can cause acne breakouts. Most of us have the Propionibacterium acnes on our face all the time, but it doesn't always cause breakouts but when trapped in airless environments alongside hair and skin cells, this Propionibacterium acnes turned sebum, the oil found on our skin into fatty acids that activate inflammation in nearby skin cells resulting in acne. 

Diet is also another factor that causes acne. All over the world, we try to avoid pizza, chocolate, greasy and fried foods, and junk food. While these foods may not be good for overall health, they don't cause acne or make it worse. It is known that dairy products and high glycemic foods, however, can trigger acne. Even makeup can possibly cause acne, although the link between acne and makeup is a mysterious one. But does makeup really cause acne? Technically, most makeup doesn't cause acne, but certain ingredients can clog pores, which helps acne-causing bacteria grow. Hence it is important to take into consideration the different factors such as the type of makeup you're using and the proper facial cleansing method. Using the right skincare product is essential in helping to prevent further breakouts. So be wise and check the labels when doing a purchase. It is also important to remember not to share makeup brushes and applicators and to clean them weekly to ensure that bacteria, dead skin cells, and oil are not spread to the skin, which can lead to breakouts. Sleep deprivation is also known to be one of the triggers for acne. It's possible that by disrupting your hormones, sleeplessness also disconcerts the chemical balance in your skin that wards off pimples. Inflammation is also higher in sleep-deprived people, causing outbreaks of acne. As clichéd as the notion of beauty sleep might sound, make no mistake about it, it isn’t something to be taken lightly. You can cleanse, tone and exfoliate to your heart's content, but if you aren’t getting a blissful night’s slumber, your skin could be paying for it in the form of exacerbated acne.

If you recognise one of these causes, then it is time to make a change or seek treatment. Acne medications work by reducing oil production, speeding up skin cell turnover, fighting bacterial infection or reducing inflammation which helps prevent scarring. As with most prescription acne drugs, you may not see results for four to eight weeks, sometimes even months or years for your acne to clear up completely. There are some home remedies that people adopt but more commonly used treatments are still the topical acne treatment and the oral acne treatment. Choosing and using the right skincare product is also important to aid the condition. Our skin’s needs can change over time, and taking steps to best identify its needs is essential for it to function and look its best. Keeping the health of your skin in mind and “checking in” regularly to determine whether any adjustments to your current ritual are needed will keep it balanced and beautiful.