Oily Skin/Dehydrated skin.

Let's get skin deep.

I was blessed? with oily skin, but cursed with dehydrated skin. My sister who has Dry/Hydrated skin just looked at me with the most confused look, asking me how can she have dry skin but have hydrated skin...WELLL LET ME TELL YOU HOW.

It's simple.

Our skin produces oil to keep our skin supple and soft, so we DO want our skin to produce some oil to keep our skin healthy.

When there is an excess production of oil in our pores...we say that you have Oily skin.

When there is a lack of oil production in our pores...we say that you have Dry skin.

When there is an excess production of oil in our T-zones but dry skin on our cheeks...you have Combination skin.

Oil production in our skin is usually determined by genetics & hormones.

Pro/Con of Oily skin.

Pro: skin is protected->smoother and slow to wrinkle. (yes!)

Con: clogged pores->acne/blackheads... shiny skin->"melts" makeup and looks greasy (seriously...spent my teenage years in acne..and now I have to deal with blackheads..)

Pro/Con of Dry skin.

Pro: thin/finely textured->invisible pores...(so jealous...)

Con: thin/finely textured->quick to show signs of aging and can make skin very sensitive

Pro/Con of Combination skin.

Pro: Can benefit from both skin types...invisible pores on your cheeks, and slow to wrinkle on your forehead and around the mouth

Con: It's like having twin sisters...you have to treat each type of skin separately... oily T-zone as Oily skin, and dry cheeks as Dry skin. (it's not as difficult as it sounds...so many companies make products geared for combination skin!)

So...what does it mean that I have Oily/Dehydrated skin..?

So I already explained to you that I have oily skin...by genetics in my case, but what does it mean that I have dehydrated skin???

Hydration of our skin checks... WATER in our skin. As mentioned in my previous post...our skin only produces oil and only gets water from us DRINKING WATER. When you have dehydrated skin, there is a tightness in your skin that feels like it's from within. That is how I have oily skin but also have dehydrated skin. I have too much oil...but not enough water.

This goes vice versa...like my sister who had flawless,pore-less dry skin..but somehow has well-hydrated skin...clearly she got all the genetic jackpot. (insert eyeroll here)

You can get dehydrated skin from losing water from being in indoor heating/cooling systems (aka why I never put heaters directly to my face but rather have it go to my feet if I do use it in my car), and also the sun and cold temperatures can steal water from our skin.

So..what kind of skin do YOU have?

1. Oily/Dehydrated

2. Oily/Hydrated

3. Dry/Dehydrated

4. Dry/Hydrated

5. Combination/Dehydrated

6. Combination/Hydrated

How can you know.. you say?

Most people know if they have oily.dry.combination skin..but the easiest way to check is to buy those oil blotting sheets and do one on your forehead and do another blotting sheet on your cheekbone and see if they both pick up about the same amount of oils. T-zone will always pick up little bit more oil than your cheeks will, so if it's about the same ...then you can determine if you have Oily skin, or Dry skin. If forehead picks up more oil than your cheekbone by a significant difference...then you have Combination skin.

To check hydration of your skin..you do need a hydration analyzer like this one from amazon , or walk into a skincare counter like Kiehl's, where they check your oil/hydration for you at no charge!

**Next post..I'll share my tips on how I deal with my Oily/Dehydrated skin**