How do I know my skin type?

You can work out your skin type at home by watching how your bare skin behaves about an hour after washing. Shiny all over usually means oily skin; tight, rough or flaky means dry; shiny only across the forehead, nose and chin means combination; comfortable with little shine means normal. The bare-face test below takes about an hour, and the quick skin type quiz at the end of this page pulls your answers together. Think of the result as a starting point for choosing products, not a label for life.

The four skin types, in everyday words

• Oily. Your face looks shiny by midday or sooner, makeup tends to slide, and pores on your nose and cheeks are easy to see.
• Dry. Your skin feels tight after washing, rough or flaky patches turn up, foundation clings to them, and you rarely look shiny even late in the day. Fine lines look more obvious when your skin is dry.
• Combination. Your forehead, nose and chin (the “T-zone”) are shiny while your cheeks feel normal or dry. This is one of the commonest patterns.
• Normal. Your skin is comfortable most of the day, with a little shine by evening at most and hardly any tightness.

Two things can blur the picture. Skin can be oily and short of water at the same time, so it looks shiny yet feels tight, often after harsh cleansing. And some skin reacts easily to new products, whatever its type. That is not a fifth type, but it changes how quickly you should try new things, which is why the quiz asks about it.

The bare-face test: wash, wait, look

1. Wash. Use a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water, then pat dry with a clean towel. Evening or a day off works best.
2. Put nothing on. No toner, serum or moisturiser.
3. Wait about an hour. Stay in a room that is neither very hot nor strongly air-conditioned, and avoid testing straight after exercise or a hot shower, since all of these change what you see.
4. Look and blot. Stand near a window in daylight, then press a clean tissue or blotting paper on your forehead, nose, cheeks and chin.

What you see points to your type:

What you notice	Likely type
Oil on the tissue from every area, face looks shiny	Oily
Oil from forehead, nose and chin only	Combination
Little or no oil, skin feels tight, flakes visible	Dry
Little oil, skin feels comfortable	Normal

Repeat the test on two or three different days. Sleep, hormones and the weather all shift the result, and a pattern across several days tells you more than one try.

Why your skin type seems to change

Skin type is not fixed. Humid heat makes most faces look oilier, so the same person can seem oily in a Manila or Singapore summer and dry after a week in a European winter with the heating on. Long days in strong air-conditioning dry skin out even in the tropics. Over the years many people find their skin makes less oil than it used to. Harsh cleansing can make skin feel tight and look shiny at once. So repeat the test when the seasons turn, when you move or travel for a while, or when your usual products stop feeling right.

What your result means for your routine

• Oily: a gel cleanser, a light gel or lotion moisturiser (do not skip it) and a fluid sunscreen. If pores look congested, an exfoliating product with salicylic acid one or two evenings a week can help them look clearer.
• Dry: a cream or milky cleanser, a richer moisturiser applied to slightly damp skin, and no foaming cleansers that leave your face squeaky.
• Combination: one gentle cleanser for the whole face, a light moisturiser all over, and a little extra on dry areas. You can use different products on different parts of your face.
• Normal: keep it simple with cleanser, moisturiser and sunscreen, and resist adding steps just because they exist.

Whatever you change, change one product at a time and give it about four weeks before judging.

What our advisers see

Skin type is only part of what our advisers look at before suggesting a routine. They also check three things.

• Feel for warmth. Rest the back of your hand lightly on your cheek. If your face often feels warm to the touch and flushes easily, keep to a gentle, hydrating routine for now and hold off on stronger steps such as exfoliating acids or retinol, whatever your oil level says.
• Your skin’s history. Have you had a clinic procedure such as laser or a chemical peel, however long ago? Do you use a cream or retinoid a dermatologist prescribed? If so, add new products more slowly than usual, and ask your dermatologist before you start anything new.
• Patch-test, and read the label. Try a new product on a small area behind your ear or on the side of your neck for a few days, and move it to your face only if there is no redness or itching. If you know you are allergic to egg or nuts, read the ingredient list as carefully as a food label: some skincare contains egg-derived proteins or nut oils.

This week, try

• Do the bare-face test twice, on two different days, and try the back-of-hand warmth check while your face is bare.
• Take the quiz below and compare its answer with your test.
• Swap one product to suit your type, not your whole routine, and patch-test it first.

If your skin is red, itchy, stinging or scaly most of the time, whatever you put on it, see a dermatologist rather than guessing your skin type.