How to find your skin type: oily, dry or both

Skincare advice often starts with one question: what is your skin type? The answer decides which cleanser, moisturizer and sunscreen will suit you, and which ones will leave you shiny, tight or stinging. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) puts it simply: use skin care products that match your skin's needs, and using products formulated for those needs will help your skin look and feel its best. This guide explains the five skin types, gives a simple way to check yours at home, shows how skin type changes over a lifetime, and explains when a doctor should look instead.

The five skin types

The AAD describes each skin type in one line:

Skin type	AAD description	What you may notice
Normal	Clear and not sensitive	Comfortable after washing, little shine, few reactions to products
Oily	Shiny and greasy	Shine on the forehead, nose, chin and cheeks by midday, larger-looking pores
Dry	Flaky, itchy or rough	Tight after washing, dull or flaky patches, more so in winter
Combination	Dry in some areas and oily in others	Shiny forehead, nose and chin with normal or dry cheeks
Sensitive	May sting or burn after product use	Stinging, redness or itch after new products

Sensitive skin can come with any of the other types. Skin tone is separate from skin type: brown and black skin can be any of the five, and acne on darker skin covers the extra care it needs. A person can have oily, sensitive skin or dry, sensitive skin. The AAD's page on acne that will not clear also says acne-prone skin is sensitive.

A simple check you can do at home

No medical source gives a standard home test for skin type, so this is Skinli's own simple method, built on the AAD's one-line descriptions. It takes one morning or evening.

1. Wash. Use a mild cleanser and lukewarm water, as the AAD advises. Pat your face dry with a clean towel.
2. Put nothing on. No moisturizer, sunscreen, makeup or treatment.
3. After 30 minutes, notice how your skin feels. Tight, rough or itchy skin points to dryness. Stinging points to sensitivity.
4. After two to three hours, blot. Press a clean blotting paper or tissue on your forehead, then your nose, your chin and each cheek, one at a time. Hold each paper to the light.
5. Read the result from the table below.

After 30 minutes	Blotting papers after 2 to 3 hours	Likely type
Comfortable	Little or no oil anywhere	Normal
Comfortable	Oil on every area, cheeks included	Oily
Tight or rough	Little or no oil anywhere	Dry
Tight cheeks	Oil on the forehead, nose and chin only	Combination
Stings or turns red	Any pattern	Sensitive, plus the type the paper shows

Do the check on an ordinary day, without any new products, and away from strong heat or cold. If you use an acne treatment, your skin may read drier than it is, so check on a night you skip it, if you can.

The AAD says that if you are not sure about your skin type, you should talk with a board-certified dermatologist before starting a skin care routine.

What each type needs

The products that suit each type follow from the AAD's advice.

	Cleanser	Moisturizer	Sunscreen label
Normal	Gentle, non-abrasive, no alcohol	Lotion	Broad-spectrum, SPF 30 or higher, water resistant
Oily	Gentle foaming wash	Light gel, or none on the oiliest areas	Non-comedogenic or won't clog pores
Dry	Gentle and fragrance-free, without a thick lather	Cream or ointment on damp skin	Moisturizing or dry skin
Combination	One gentle cleanser for the whole face	Gel or nothing on the T-zone, cream on dry areas	Non-comedogenic
Sensitive	Mild, soap-free, fragrance-free	Plain, fragrance-free	Sensitive skin, no fragrance, parabens or oxybenzone

Non-comedogenic means the product should not clog pores. If you get acne, look for it on everything you put on your face, whatever your type. What non-comedogenic means explains the label and its limits.

Oily skin. MedlinePlus says oily skin comes from oil glands that make large amounts of oil, and that genes and hormones play a key role. The AAD says oily skin can clog pores and lead to more breakouts, and also has benefits: oil helps preserve the skin, and people with oily skin tend to have thicker skin and fewer wrinkles. The main mistake is washing too hard. The AAD says a face wash that is too harsh can irritate the skin and trigger more oil. See why is my face so oily and the oily skin routine. Small, even dots on the nose are often sebaceous filaments.

Dry skin. The AAD says dry skin happens when skin loses water too quickly. Everyday causes include deodorant soaps, long hot showers and cold, dry air. A dermatologist in the AAD's moisturizer guide says people with dry skin should start with a cream or ointment and skip lotions. See what causes dry skin, how to treat dry skin on your face and dehydrated skin vs dry skin.

Combination skin. A dermatologist quoted in the AAD's moisturizer guide tells people with combination skin to treat the face as though it is two faces: moisturize the dry spots and skip the oily ones. See combination skin.

Sensitive skin. The AAD recommends mild, fragrance-free products for sensitive skin and warns that products labeled "unscented" can still contain fragrance. It also recommends testing new products on a small patch of skin twice a day for seven to 10 days. See sensitive skin.

Your skin type can change

Skin type describes your skin now. It can shift over the years and even through a single year.

Puberty. NIAMS, the NIH institute for skin diseases, says androgens, the hormones often called male sex hormones, rise in both boys and girls during puberty and make the oil glands larger and more active. Many people first get oily skin as teenagers.

Hormone changes in adults. The NHS lists puberty, periods, pregnancy and menopause as hormone changes linked to acne.

Age. The AAD says that with age our skin makes less oil, and by your 40s the amount drops a great deal. It says that by 60 years of age nearly everyone has dry skin. The AAD's moisturizer guide says people going through perimenopause and everyone 50 and older should use a cream moisturizer.

Season. The AAD says cold outdoor air holds less moisture and indoor heating dries the skin. Skin that is normal in summer can be dry in winter. A dermatologist in the AAD's moisturizer guide says it is important to adjust your routine for a different season.

Treatment. Acne treatments such as benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and retinoids tend to dry and irritate the skin, the AAD says. While you use them, oily skin may behave like combination or dry skin.

Repeat the home check once or twice a year, and whenever your skin starts to feel different.

Skin type is different from a skin condition

Skin type describes how much oil your skin makes and how easily it reacts. A skin condition is something a doctor diagnoses and treats. Some conditions look like a skin type and are easy to mistake for one.

• Acne often comes with oily skin, but it is a condition of its own. Skinli's complete acne skincare routine covers treatment.
• Seborrheic dermatitis causes a scaly rash, the AAD says, and the skin tends to be oily in some areas and dry in others, much like combination skin. The rash often sits beside the nose, in the eyebrows and on the forehead. See dry, flaky patches on your face.
• Eczema can make skin dry, cracked, crusty, scaly or thickened, according to the NHS. It can look like dry skin that no moisturizer fixes.
• Rosacea can cause redness that comes and goes, and burning or stinging with skincare products, which can look like sensitive skin.

If your skin does not fit any type well, or keeps reacting despite gentle care, a doctor can tell whether a condition is behind it.

When to see a doctor or dermatologist

• You are not sure of your skin type after the home check. The AAD says a board-certified dermatologist can evaluate your skin.
• Dry skin has not improved after two weeks of gentle care, or it cracks, bleeds or itches enough to keep you awake.
• Flaky, scaly patches keep coming back in the same places.
• Your skin stings or turns red with almost every product.
• Your acne is deep, painful or leaving scars.

Once you know your type, choose one gentle cleanser, one moisturizer and one sunscreen that suit it, and add any new product one at a time, after you patch test it. How to start an acne routine with three products shows a simple starting routine. How to choose a cleanser for acne-prone skin and how to choose a moisturizer for acne-prone skin go through the choices step by step.