If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and wondered what in the world was going on with your face, you’re not alone.
As a teenager, I battled oily skin, numerous breakouts, and a whole lot of confusion. Washing my face constantly or using the popular acne medicine didn’t help. But through a lot of trial, error, and research, I learned how to care for my unique skin type—and how to love it.
Want to know what I learned? I’ll let you know, but first I’ve got to let you know why I went looking.
How the journey began
When I turned ten, puberty started. All of a sudden, my face became a shiny, bumpy mess! I’d wash my face, and thirty minutes later, it would look like I’d never washed it. Then the pimples came!
My mom and grandmother told me I should wash my face more, so I did. It didn’t help. The bumps kept coming. By the time I was twelve, my face was shiny and bumpier.
During my annual physical, I mentioned the acne problem to my doctor. He examined my face and prescribed a Benzoyl Peroxide cream for my skin. It was to clear up the acne. I was so happy!
That night, I rubbed the cream all over my face and then went to bed. When I opened my eyes the next morning, for some reason, I couldn’t open them very wide. If you’ve ever squinted your eyes, that’s as much as I could see out of my eyes.
It was so weird! I wondered why my eyes were doing this, so I went to the bathroom to take a look in the mirror. Bad mistake! What I saw made me scream!
My face was swollen and puffy. My eyes looked like little slits buried in my face! No wonder I could barely see!
I freaked out and ran to my mom! She was a little surprised, but remained calm. (She was a nurse. I’m sure she had seen worse.) After I calmed down, she told me what may have happened. Maybe I had an allergic reaction to the cream.
At that point, there wasn’t much that could be done. So, on my mom’s advice, we let nature take its course and wait for the swelling to go down. I couldn’t let anyone see me like that, so my mom let me stay home from school.
When I woke up the next morning, there was still some swelling. I was hoping to stay home from school, but my mom felt it was okay for me to go to school. I didn’t want to go, but I did. It took another day for the swelling to completely disappear.
In the early to mid-1980s, Benzoyl Peroxide was the miracle cure for acne. Since that miracle hadn’t worked for me, I had to find another way to deal with my skin.
Image from Pixabay
The four types of skin
After a lot of reading and research, I learned there are four facial skin types: dry, oily, combination/normal, and sensitive. Each type requires a certain kind of care.
Here is a quick rundown of the different types and ways to care for them.
Dry skin
Dry skin is, well, dry skin. If you wash your face and you see dry patches about 30 minutes later, you have dry skin. The best way to take care of dry skin is to moisturize it.
This is the type of skin my daughter has. Her great-grandmother, who also had dry skin, started her using a moisturizing soap (Dove soap, to be exact). This soap is advertised as having 3/4 moisturizing cream in it.
There are other soaps and cleansers on the market specially made for dry skin. It will be written on the product’s packaging.
Now, if the first product you use doesn’t work, keep trying until you find the one that does work.
Oily skin
This skin is easy to spot. If your face is shiny thirty minutes after you wash it, it’s a good bet you have oily skin. I’ve struggled with this type of skin most of my life.
People think this type of skin is easy to care for. All you have to do is wash your face all the time. Well, it’s not that easy. Overwashing can damage the skin.
Washing with a gentle or acne-medicated soap can help. When I was younger, I used Cuticura Soap, but now I use Ivory. Whenever I left the house, I carried oil blotting papers to reduce the shine on my face throughout the day.
There are products for oily skin out there. It will be listed on the labels. As long as there are no moisturizers in it, you are fine.
Combination/Normal skin
This is exactly what it sounds like. Dryness on the cheeks, while the forehead, nose, and chin (the T-Zone) are oily. When I got older, I realized this facial skin seemed to match me a little better.
The best way to handle this skin is to use both techniques for dry and oily skin. Since I’m lazy, I use a mild soap (like Ivory Soap) on my face.
If you want to use a product, look for soaps and products made for combination/normal skin.
Sensitive skin
The fourth type is sensitive skin. If products and soaps leave you with red, bumpy, or splotchy skin, you might have sensitive skin.
I don’t have sensitive skin, but I’ve read that getting help from a dermatologist (a skin doctor) is a good idea. He/she could determine if you have sensitive skin and help treat it.
If you don’t want or can’t get to a doctor, please proceed with caution. Some items on the market are supposed to be safe for sensitive skin or hypoallergenic skin, but may not be a match for your skin. Look for a label saying this on the bottle or packaging. It will be a trial-and-error process to find what works best.
Photo by Freestocks on Unsplash
The Takeaway
Be aware of your facial skin. There are four types of facial skin: dry, oily, normal/combination, or sensitive. Whatever type you have, work with it not against it. Your skin and you will be happier.
Just saying!
If you have stories or comments you’d like to share, please put them in the comments section below. Your feedback is invaluable! Thank you for reading.
