The facial products aisle in your local drugstore may seem daunting – there are hundreds of different brands, myriad promises screaming for your attention, and featured ingredients that run the gamut from root extracts to all kinds of acids. You’re not alone if you think it’s all too complicated.

When you need a new cleanser (either because you ran out or your girlfriend got sick of you using hers), do you know exactly what you’re looking for? When a product says it’s formulated for “normal to oily skin”, what does it really mean, and is it actually suitable for you?

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Basically speaking (or, asking): How well do you know your face?

Like some wise old man once said: to know your enemy is to win half the battle. If you want your face to be flawless, you need to know what type your skin belongs to.

HOW AND WHY SEBUM IS PRODUCED 

Where you fall in the very dry to very oily spectrum depends on one simple thing: sebum production. Once you understand this process, it’ll much easier to deal with your skin. Sebum is your body’s natural skin moisturizer, secreted through sebaceous glands all over your face, with a higher concentration on the forehead and nose (also known as the T-zone).

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How much you produce depends on internal factors such as your genetic make-up and your sex (yes, men generally have bigger pores and produce more sebum), but also on external factors such as the climate, your diet, and of course, your skincare routine.

Besides keeping your skin moist, sebum is also responsible for emulsifying the sweat on your body. This makes it harder for sweat to drip off your body, allowing it to keep cool in warm environments. Guys in warmer climates therefore experience more sebum production than guys in cooler places.

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Similarly, if you’re always in an air-conditioned office, or if your heater is on over the winter months, your skin will produce more sebum to counter the dried-out air. Harsh cleansers are often marketed to guys with oily skin, but stripping the skin of its sebum can lead to overcompensation, spinning these poor guys into a vicious cycle and a whole lot of chagrin.

YOUR BASIC SKIN TYPE…

First things first – we propose a skin type test. It’s pretty simple, actually.

  1. Wash your face with warm water and a gentle cleanser (preferably soap-free).
  2. Dry off, and refrain from applying any product on your face.
  3. After 30 minutes, press a 2-ply piece of tissue paper against your forehead and nose (T-zone).
  4. Repeat with fresh tissue against your cheeks and chin (U-zone).

What do you see? If both your T-zone and U-zone blotches the tissue only slightly, good news – you have normal skin. This is especially true if you don’t suffer from acne, or experience only a few bumps here and there. If both tissues are visibly blotched or even soaked, you have oily skin. Your face is probably also shiny. If both came out clear, and your face feels tight and itchy, you have dry skin. If your T-zone blotches and your U-zone is clear, you may have combination skin. This is especially true if your U-zone feels tight and/or itchy.

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An important thing to remember: skin types can be fluid. If you live in a temperate climate, more often than not you’ll find your normal skin turns to a combination type in winter, with cheeks that seem dehydrated. If your skin feels great in winter, its T-zone may be shiny in the summer. The only way around this is to recognize the difference, and pick products according to the seasons.

Every one falls into one of these broad categories. So now that you know your skin type, it’s time to find out how to take care of it. [link to Basic Skincare For Every Guy] Alas, not everyone’s skin is that simple. If you want to find out how to tackle pesky skin imperfections, skip on to our features on how to take care of acne and ageing skin.