Living with combination skin can get a little complicated; should you be shopping for oily skin products or dry? Both? It must get a little expensive. Here’s how you can tell if you fall into this category: feel your face first thing in the morning, and if your forehead, nose, and chin (T-zone) are oily while your cheeks are dry, it’s very likely you have combination skin.
Combination skin can be attributed to a variety of factors including genetics, environmental factors, and hormones. It’s a complicated skin type to manage! But we’re here to help––below we’ve rounded up the top 4 problem areas for combination skin and simple remedies to help you stay on top of your skin.
1. Clogged Pores are Your #1 Enemy
We hate to break it to you, but combination skin usually also comes with clogged pores, which might lead to blackheads, whiteheads, and sometimes acne – especially in the T-zone area.
What you can do: To get rid of acne, start moisturising from the inside out. This means switching to a diet rich in healthy, fatty acids––in particular walnuts, salmon and avocados. Also, avoid exfoliating with rough physical scrubs, as these can do more damage than good.
2. Shiny Skin
We’re all after the ultimate glow, but shiny skin is a different, far more undesirable story all together. You may have noticed that this excess shine often occurs in the T-zone area (areas circling the forehead, nose, mouth, and chin).
What you can do: There are a number of ways in which you can rid the skin of excessive oils. Use blotting paper to absorb extra oil. These are cheap, easy to find, and tiny enough to fit into your pockets or handbag so you can touch up throughout the day. What’s great is that they won’t ruin your makeup while you’re on the go!
Other than blotting papers, get creative with face masks. Multi-masking (mixing and matching masks) can target different problem areas at once: go for hydrating masks on the cheeks, and oil control or pore purifying masks on you T-Zone. Alternatively, you can turn to your kitchen for more economical versions. Some of the best face masks for combination skin can be made using oatmeal, honey, and aloe vera.
3. Dreaded Dandruff
Although this isn’t true for everyone, surprisingly, a lot of Yours users with combination skin shared that dandruff is a major skin concern.
What you can do: While there are prescription treatments to rid your scalp of dandruff, some homemade remedies can help soothe and nourish a flakey scalp. Coconut oil and lemongrass oil have anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties that keep dandruff at bay.
4. Confusion When Buying Products?
Always confused about which product to buy to tackle your complex skin concerns? Heavy creams can feel too thick and oily, while lightweight moisturisers won’t do enough to hydrate your dry problem areas.
What you can do: Get onto personalised skincare 😉 Mixing and matching products to suit different sections of your face can be time consuming and costly. At Yours, we do the hard work for you so that you don’t have to; we’ll take into account your problem areas, and factor in your lifestyle to your environment too, to create a regimen that works for your needs.
Lifestyle Changes to Tackle Combination Skin
We tend to side-line the impact that our lifestyle choices have on the health of our skin. Follow these extra steps to stay on top of your skin troubles:
1. Exercise on a daily basis. Sweating it out will help your skin stay healthy from inside out.
2. Manage your stress. Stress can have a huge impact on your skin, and if you don’t take measures to reduce your exposure to stress, your body and skin will react negatively.
3. This one goes without say, but eating right can do wonders for your skin. What goes into your bloodstream largely determines your health. Cutting out processed foods and refined sugars will benefit you greatly if you have combination skin. Furthermore, foods high in minerals, protein, and fibre should be consumed as much as possible.
4. Sleep more and regularly. One of the most effective ways to keep combination skin balanced is to get all the beauty sleep you can. While you’re sleeping, your skin cells repair and regenerate much faster, which means your skin will stay healthier in general.
If you’re still unsure about how to tackle your unique skin, consider switching to personalised skincare, so you never have to worry again. Take our quick (free) skin assessment below, and we’ll do the rest!
