How to determine your skin type
May 18, 2023Your skin is your body’s largest organ, as complex and intelligent as your heart, lungs, liver and other vital organs. Using cleansers and treatments that are too harsh, even if they are recommended for excessive oiliness, may send the signal to your skin that more oil is needed. In the same way applying moisturisers that are too thick or heavy can result in decreased natural oil production, leaving your skin even drier!
Taking the time to learn your skin’s specific needs will help you to choose the right options that will balance your skin. First, we need to discern between what is your natural skin type and what is your skin’s condition due to external factors.
Your skin type is genetically determined by the over or under activity of the sebaceous glands. Your sebaceous glands are the small glands in your skin that is in charge of your oil production. If your sebaceous glands are overzealous you are stuck with oily skin. If they are a less productive you end up with dry skin. If they are unbalanced, meaning working harder in some areas than in other you have what is called Combination skin. If your skin is the perfect example of what skin should be and you have no problems whatsoever with your skin you have Normal skin, since this nearly never happens, Normal skin is usually combined with Combination skin.
The Bare-Faced Method
Cleanse your face thoroughly with a mild cleanser and gently pat dry. Leave skin bare (and do not apply any additional moisturizers, serums or treatments). After 30 minutes, examine your cheeks, chin, nose and forehead for any shine. After another 30 minutes, evaluate whether your skin feels parched, especially if you smile or make any other facial expressions. If your skin feels tight, your skin is likely dry. If there is noticeable shine on your nose and forehead, your skin is mostly likely normal/combination. If there is shine on your cheeks in addition to your forehead and nose, you most likely have oily skin.
The Blotting Sheet Method
This method is much faster and often an excellent differentiator between oily and dry skin types. Cleanse your face thoroughly with a mild cleanser and gently pat dry. Gently pat a blotting paper on the different areas of your face. Use a different sheet for your forehead and nose. Hold the sheet up to the light to determine how much oil is visible. If the sheet picked up little to no oil, you most likely have dry skin. If the blotting sheet reveals oil from the forehead and nose areas, your skin is normal/combination. Finally, if the blotting paper is saturated with oil, it is extremely likely that you have oily skin.
Skin Type: Oily Skin
Caused by Internal Factors:
• Over secretion of sebum making the skin surface Oily.
• Oily skin is typically hereditary, if you have oily skin, it’s probable that your parents suffered a similar fate.
• Excess oil can also be caused by the result of heightened hormone levels, for example during puberty as well as during some part or women’s menstrual cycle or pregnancy.
The Bad:
• Your face is shiny and usually appears greasy later on in the day.
• Make up does not stay on and seems to “slide” off.
• More prone to black heads, white heads, spots, pimples.
• Pores may be larger, especially on your nose, chin and forehead.
• Oily skin is also prone to PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation), a condition which leaves dark spots on the skin after a breakout has healed.
The Good:
• Your skin does not age as quickly as drier skin, so wrinkles and fine lines are less prominent.
• Your skin does not get dehydrated as quickly as other skin types.
The Treatment:
You cannot get rid of oily skin, it is part of who you are, embrace the glow! You can however manage it. The key is to use products that keeps your oil under control.
• Cleansing is very important especially for those with oily skin. Oil attracts dust and bacteria that in turn clogs your pores and causes breakouts, so you want to make sure that you cleanse twice a day. The most general mistakes that people make with oily skin is they use a harsh soap to try to rid them off the oil, this strips your acid mantle, leaving your skin with no protection against bacteria and other elements! It strips your skin of all its natural oils causing it to produce more oil to compensate. In many cases we also see this leading to dehydrated skin. So you still have your oily skin to deal with but now have the added bonus of dehydration (which is caused by a lack of water not oil, but more on this later). Use a gentler sulphate-free cleanser that gently lifts impurities from the skin. Try Sknlogic Gel Cleanse.
• Don’t avoid oil – yes I know this might seem counterintuitive but not all oil is bad. It is a myth that oily skin should not use products that includes oil. Strip the oil away and the skin will produce more oil to compensate, using products with small concentrations of oils can help slow down the production of oil in your skin. Some oil combats acne and other problems associated with oily skin and can therefore actually be helpful. Think for example Tea Tree oil, a very well-known remedy for acne but still an oil.
• Don’t leave the moisturiser – Moisturising is important for every skin type, the more dehydrated your skin gets the more oil it is going to produce, which doesn’t cause the dehydration but rather exacerbates the problem of too much oil on your skin. You should however avoid rich, thick creams as these create a film on the skin that you already experience from too much oil production. Try a thinner moisturiser, perhaps a gel that also has a calming effect on the skin. You can even keep your gel moisturiser in the fridge during summer for a cooling effect. Try Sknlogic Moist Gel.
• Exfoliate. Use an enzymatic exfoliator that utilises Alpha Hydroxy Acids to exfoliate the skin rather than a mechanical (or granular) exfoliator. Granular exfoliators can move bacteria around the face and cause more breakouts. Daily exfoliation helps purge your skin of residual dead cells and diminishes the occurrence of clogged pores – a common problem associated with oily skin. Additionally, exfoliation helps fade and reduce post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) by encouraging your cell turnover rate and stimulating collagen production.
• Use a masque twice a week to draw out impurities from the skin and detoxify the skin. Try Charcoal detox masque.
• Don’t forget the Toner. Toner helps restore your skin’s pH balance, when our pH of our skin shifts from the healthy level of between 5 and 6 our protective barrier cannot function as it should and does not adequately protect our skin from harmful environmental factors such as bacteria. It also removes impurities from the skin that might have been missed during the cleansing process.
• Avoid excessive sun exposure, as it can cause the skin to produce more sebum. Always wear a sunscreen.
Your recommended regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
For products that help balance oily skin look for the products with the orange mark.
Skin Type: Dry Skin
Caused by Internal Factors:
• Genetically predisposed to inadequate oil production.
• Dry skin is a lack of oil in the skin as opposed to dehydration which is a lack of water or moisture in the skin. These two are often confused with one another. Oily skin is your skin type is not something we can “fix or change” we can only manage it, dehydration on the other hand is a skin condition that can be treated.
• Intrinsic ageing - Sebaceous gland activity tends to decrease with age. You are more likely to have dry skin in you’re 50’s or older, even if you were more prone to oily skin when you were younger.
• Dry skin also has a lack of Natural Moisturising Factors (NMFs) – especially urea, amino acids and lactic acid – that help to bind water.
The Bad:
• Your skin can feel tight throughout the day.
• You may experience noticeable flaking.
• Can have a rough texture and look dull, grey or ashy.
• May have unusual redness.
• As a result of the lack of sebum, dry skin lacks the lipids that it needs to retain moisture and build a protective shield against external influences. Without this protective shield, water evaporates from the skin much easier (called trans-epidermal water loss) giving you the added problem of dehydration (lack of water not oil).
• Dry skin is more prone to wrinkles and lines.
• Is constant, especially in winter.
The Good:
• Dry skin is less prone to acne and breakouts, and may only experience occasional breakouts usually caused by stress, hormonal changes (for example fluctuations that happen during women’s menstrual cycles) or when over-indulging in sugar or dairy products.
The Treatment:
• Moisturise. A cream does not have to be rich and thick to be moisturising, rather make sure that your moisturiser is rich in oils and occlusive to keep moisture in the skin and humectants to draw moisture into the skin. Try Moist Supreme.
• Dry skin is a lack of oil so include a Face Oil in your regimen, this helps to restore the lipids in your impaired barrier function so that your skin is protected from environmental factors and so that your skin does not become dehydrated. Try Omega Face oil.
• Cleanse gently. Try a sulphate free cleanser that puts moisture back into the skin rather than stripping the skin of its natural oil. Try Gentle Cleanse Cream.
• Don’t over-exfoliate. Exfoliation is an important key in maintaining skin health, but with dry skin the impulse is often to scrub the flakes away. Over exfoliating can irritate your skin and dry it out even more. Limit your exfoliation to twice a week. If you prefer a granular exfoliator (such as a facial scrub) over a chemical exfoliator (such as a enzymatic exfoliator) use a mechanical exfoliator that combines granular with enzymes. That way you get the best of both worlds, the granules that you love and the enzymes that not only sloughs off dead skin cells but also increases cell turnover. When choosing a mechanical exfoliator make sure you use one that have perfectly rounded beads that does not cause microtears in your skin. Also avoid exfoliators that uses polyethylene beads. Try Sknlogic Exfoliate that uses perfectly rounded apricot kernel granules and Jojoba wax beads with enzymatic exfoliants.
• Use a alcohol free toner. Not all alcohols are created equal, but be sure to choose a Toner that does not include denatured alcohol, this is the bad kind of alcohol that can dry out your skin, these are labelled as SD alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and alcohol denat. Try Sknlogic Tone.
Your recommended regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
For products that help balance dry skin look for the products with the purple mark.
Skin Type: Combination Skin
Caused by Internal Factors:
• A combination of partly dry and partly oily skin.
• The central part of the face-the forehead, nose, chin and parts of the cheek (also known as the T-zone) are oilier and more prone to acne. But this is not necessarily always the case sometimes it can be only the forehead or in some instances even the cheeks.
• The cheeks are often dehydrated, but as this is generally the rule, there are exceptions where the cheeks can be oily with other parts being dry.
• Genetics – your skin produces more sebum in certain areas of your skin than in others.
• Using the incorrect products can exacerbate the problem.
The Bad:
• Your skin never stays exactly the same as it is easily affected by seasonal and hormonal changes.
• Your skin is oilier in summer and dry in winter.
• You experience breakouts with hormonal changes.
• Your skin feels flaky and dull at times.
The Good:
• Combination skin is generally a very mild skin type and does not experience extreme fluctuations as can be seen in oily and dry skin types, but rather mild ones that is often not noticed if it is maintained well.
The Treatment:
• Generally a combination skin does not have an over-oily skin or overly-dry skin but is in the middle somewhere between the two which means you can get away with using the same product over your entire face if it has the balancing qualities that your skin needs. That being said those with extreme combination skin, where the T-zone is exceptionally oily and the dry areas are extremely dry and flaky - need to be extra vigilant about keeping their regimen separated for the different areas, as products for very dry skin could trigger breakouts in oily zones and products designed to maintain oily skin could exacerbate already dry areas.
• A gentle cleanser should be used to prepare the skin. Try Sknlogic Cleanse wash which has been specifically with this skin type in mind. It is a gentle, sulphate free wash that works on both oily and dry zones without drying out the skin.
• Moisturise – use a moisturiser that is balancing, but not too rich or too drying. Try Sknlogic Moist, a lightweight, oil balancing moisturiser that is perfect for combination skin and leaves skin feeling hydrated and nourished. If you have an extremely oily T-zone you might opt to use the Sknlogic Moist gel only on that specific area.
• Exfoliate – whether you choose a mechanical or enzymatic exfoliator it is an important step in maintaining skin health. Try Sknlogic exfoliate enzymatic or Sknlogic exfoliate.
• Don’t skip the Tone. Aside from it balancing the skin’s pH balance it also adds a layer of protection, it helps close pores and tighten cell gaps after cleansing. Try Sknlogic Tone.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
For products that help balance combination skin look for the products with the red mark.
Skin Type Sensitive Skin
Sensitive skin is different from Compromised or Sensitised skin. Compromised skin is categorized under a condition and is explained further under this category. Compromised skin is often misdiagnosed as sensitive skin, where in reality, sensitive skin is actually a very rare skin type. Most people that are thought to have sensitive skin really suffers from a skin condition known as Compromised or Sensitised skin.
Caused by Internal Factors:
• Sensitive skin is a predisposition in the DNA.
• Mainly found in very fair skin, photo type 1 – 2.
The Bad:
• Sensitive skin cannot be altered or treated, you need to be very select with what products you use and use as few products as you can to maintain natural skin health.
• Sensitive skin reacts with a quick inflammatory response when exposed to UV and have a higher potential to develop allergic reactions.
• Sensitive skin is generally more dry.
• Can display a lot of redness.
• Often associated with skin conditions such as rosacea and eczema.
The Good:
• People with sensitive skin is generally more prone to sun burn and because of this sensitivity they generally protect their skin a lot better from the sun than most, which means they have less sun damage on their skin such as Hyperpigmentation.
The Treatment:
• Managing sensitive skin can be challenging, as it takes considerable time and effort to determine which ingredients cause inflammation and irritation. To make this process easier, introduce only one new formula or product at a time. This rule applies to both skincare and cosmetics.
• Patch testing a new formula on your inner forearm is an excellent way to minimize potential reactions on the face. If your skin shows no sign of flaring up, apply the formula to the area behind one of your ears before using it on your face.
• Use products that are free from artificial colourants and fragrances, mineral oil, sulphate or TEA as these ingredients can result in redness or itchiness.
• Be mindful of exfoliants. First speak with a professional skin therapist to see if exfoliation is right for your skin. If it is, he or she will recommend a gentle exfoliant that won’t scratch or inflame skin.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
For products that help calm sensitive skin look for the products with the yellow mark.
Skin conditions
As mentioned earlier, skin conditions are very different from skin types. While skin types are caused by internal factors, skin conditions are caused by external factors and are very much “fixable”.
Skin conditions: Dehydrated Skin
There's a big difference between dry and dehydrated skin, yet both tend to feel the same—just plain dry. However, when your skin feels dry you may just be dehydrated and in need of water. Dryness refers to a skin type, while dehydration refers to a skin condition.
If you have a dry skin type, it means you’re lacking oil. You were born this way, and you’re dry everywhere else on your body, including hands, scalp, and legs. When you put on moisturisers and lotions, chances are they soak up fairly quickly. If you have a dehydrated skin condition, your skin is lacking water.
Even oily skin can become dehydrated.
Because both Dry Skin and Dehydrated skin can present with the same symptoms it is difficult to know which one you suffer from. If you generally have oily skin but only sometimes experience dryness, then chances are your skin type is oily and your skin condition is dehydration. Your skin cannot change from oily skin to dry skin, but it can get dehydrated. If your skin is always dry but your normal skincare regimen is not managing or balancing your skin adequately it might mean that your skin is dry and you also suffer from dehydration which means that you have to include products that puts more moisture back in your skin.
Caused by External Factors:
• Weather and seasonal changes.
• Unhealthy diet – food with excess salt and caffeine draws hydration from the cells leaving skin deflated. Processed food an sugars can damage collagen in the skin causing dehydration.
• Alcohol and Caffeine – Too much of a good thing is not good. Because alcohol and caffeine is a diuretic it forces water out of the system and makes it more difficult to reabsorb.
• Water quality and temperature - Hot water can heighten skin sensitivity and inflammation through stripping your skin of natural oils.
• Stress – when the body is under stress, it will overproduce the hormone cortisol which among other things is responsible for inflammation and the body’s ability to retain water.
• Your skincare – Traditional soap or harsh cleansers can disturb the natural pH level of the outer skin layer. Also look out for synthetic fragrances which can exacerbate dehydrated skin conditions.
• Age – The production of oils, cell turn over, collagen and hyaluronic production all slows down over time.
• Smoking depletes the skin of oxygen and decreases Vitamin A levels. Blood flow is also inhibited by the chemicals used in cigarettes leaving your skin dehydrated and permanently aged.
• Heating sucks moisture out of the air that makes it harder for your skin to replenish its moisture levels from the environment.
• Medications – some medications can also be drying to the skin.
The Bad:
• When skin is dehydrated, it creates more oil to make up for the missing water. This can cause breakouts, irritation, and dry patches. In fact, skin can even feel oily and dry at the same time. Because of this reason, dehydrated skin is also sometimes confused for oily which makes it worse by using drying products.
• Skin can be itchy.
• Skin can be flaky.
• Increased sensitivity. When your skin’s moisture barrier is disrupted, it cannot properly protect itself from external stressors. As a result, irritants like bacteria and pollution can penetrate its outermost layer, worsening symptoms like redness, itchiness and irritation.
• Dull skin and dark under eye circles. Without adequate hydration, your skin does not shed its outer layer frequently enough, and dead cells accumulate on its surface. This contributes to clogged pores, congestion and a lackluster complexion.
• Fine lines and wrinkles. Gently pinch the skin on the cheek. If it looks like you have fine lines, you are dehydrated. Dehydrated skin often displays accelerated signs of aging; however, unlike smile lines or crow’s feet, these wrinkles appear as a network of tiny, triangular fine lines.
The Good:
• The good news is that dehydration is a skin condition and can be treated.
The Treatment:
• Wash with a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water. Choose cleansers that are free of harsh chemical additives and artificial fragrances. Because this is a skin condition you still want to continue to manage your skin type so if your regular cleanser is already free from harsh chemicals like sulphates and fragrance free you do not necessarily have to change your cleanser. If you for example have an oily skin that is dehydrated you might want to continue with your regular oil-balancing cleanser such as Sknlogic Cleanse Gel. If you prefer a wash you can still continue with the Sulphate-free Sknlogic Cleanse Wash as this is gentle enough for dehydrated skin.
• Moisturise – use your regular moisturiser that regulates your sebum production but don’t skip this phase, moisturisers help keep moisture in the skin and stops it from evaporating (trans-epidermal water loss) and it is important to apply it every morning and every evening.
• Add a Hydrating serum with Hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is incredibly moisturising, and can hold up to 1000 times their weight in water. Hyaluronic acid is already in your skin but declines with age causing dehydration. Hyaluronic Acid draws water to the skin and helps prevent moisture loss. Revitalises the skin making it look and feel softer and smoother, increasing firmness and pliability of the skin while diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. A serum is a light formulation and formulated to penetrate deeper into the skin than your regular moisturiser. Because it is so light it can be used on any skin type. Try Sknlogic Hydrating Serum.
• Use a moisturising Masque. Use a facial masque twice a week to help put moisture back into the skin and to help assist with stressed, dehydrated skin to restore its suppleness. Try Sknlogic Multi Regenerating Masque, an overnight masque that improves skin texture, hydrates with ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid, minimizes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles with stem cell extracts and enhances elasticity.
• Exfoliation is a no-fail way to brighten a dull dry complexion. Health y skin takes 25 days to renew itself naturally (in your 40’s this rate decreases to 45 -60 days!) and dehydrated skin takes even longer. Exfoliate with an enzymatic exfoliator with enzymes that not only sloughs off dead skin cells but also accelerates cell renewal. Try Sknlogic Exfoliate Enzymatic.
• Protect your skin’s outer layer. There is an ongoing debate on whether drinking eight glasses of water a day will drastically improve your skin’s hydration. Sipping on water throughout the day is great for your body, but this hydration doesn’t actually reach your skin unless you’re extremely dehydrated. The key is preventing water from leaving your skin by keeping its moisture barrier intact. One of the best ways to achieve this is with a topical treatment like Sknlogic Omega Face oil. It is a light oil and penetrates the skin quickly. Light enough for even oily skin to give it a try! It works wonders with keeping the protective barrier function of the skin healthy.
• Severe dehydration can also be treated with a Chemical Peel such as Sknlogic Multipeel that drastically increases cellular turnover and hydrates the skin.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
First find the basic products that you need to balance your skin type so that your skin functions at its best. This is your cleanser, toner, moisturiser and sunscreen, you can find your perfect fit by finding your skin type in the section above. Then after you have been on the essential range for 4 weeks you can add on specific treatment products to treat your main skin concern.
For products that help treat dehydrated skin look for the products with the purple mark.
Skin Conditions: Signs of Ageing Skin
Caused by Internal and External Factors:
• As we age collagen and elastin product slows down.
• UV radiation
• Langerhans cells diminish and reduce the skin’s immune response.
• Environment – pigment spots and wrinkles can be triggered or worsened by environmental factors.
• Stress – A stressful lifestyle can trigger an inflammatory response in your body, as well as hurt your sleep habits. Stress hormones and inflammation can age your body faster
The Bad:
• Wrinkles and fine lines.
• Sunspots – dark patches on the skin.
• Sagging skin and loss of elasticity.
• Cell turn-over slows down and the epidermis becomes thinner.
• Roughness and uneven texture.
• Severe dehydration.
The Good:
• The good news is that most of the symptoms that we see as a result of ageing skin is caused by external factors which means we can treat it and even reverse that damage.
• It is important to note that while external damage and causes of ageing skin can be reversed, intrinsic ageing, that is the normal progress of time and the effect it has on our entire body cannot be changed or reversed, but we can slow down the process with the right treatment.
The Treatment:
• The first step is to make sure you are using the right products for your Skin Type. Maintaining your skin’s health goes a long way towards preventing the signs of physical ageing.
• There are countless treatments available to combat the signs of ageing, such as Micro needling and Chemical Peels. Find your nearest stockist here to discuss some of the options available to you.
• Before any of these treatments are to be considered first make sure that you are using the correct skin care protocols. You need to be vigilant with using the correct products at the correct time.
• Sunscreen – Sunscreen is important for everyone, especially for ageing skin, it is much harder to try and reverse the damage caused by the sun than it is to remember to apply sunscreen every day. Apply a sunscreen that is broad spectrum, that means protects against both UVA and UVB rays and that also protects from free radicals, that is the pollutants that we find in the air. You also need a sunscreen that protects against harmful Infrared rays emitted by the sun as well as High energy light (Blue light) emitted by the sun as well as electronical devices such as phones and tablets. Try Sknlogic Protect SPF 40.
• Try topical preparations such as Sknlogic Night Plus with growth factor peptides to help reverse the signs of ageing and prevent more damage to the skin.
• Use a light Alpha and Beta Hydroxy Acid peeling product such as Multi Active Lotion two – three times a week that drastically increases cellular turnover. Multi Active lotion treats fine lines and wrinkles, dehydration, breakouts and sun spots with a 14% AHA complex. (please note MAL cannot be used if allergic to aspirin and you must be on the essential range of Sknlogic products for at least 8 weeks.)
• If your skin is flaky or dry try introducing Sknlogic Hydrating serum with Hyaluronic acid to put moisture back into your skin. This serum also has a plumping effect on the skin.
• Use a regenerating masque like Sknlogic Multi Regenerating Masque twice a week. Multi Regenerating Masque treats fine lines and wrinkles and helps restore the skin’s elasticity with dermal stem cells.
• Pay attention to more than just your face. Make sure you use your products on your neck, decollate and hands – especially sunscreen! These areas show the signs of ageing first because they are more often than not neglected.
• Introduce one new product at a time – and give it time to work. Some products make hefty claims for slowing the signs of aging immediately. The truth is that any skincare product will take some time for you to see visible results.
• Stop smoking.
• Get active - Daily exercise boosts your circulation, which keeps skin healthier. This might help your skin look younger.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
First find the basic products that you need to balance your skin type so that your skin functions at its best. This is your cleanser, toner, moisturiser and sunscreen, you can find your perfect fit by finding your skin type in the section above. Then after you have been on the essential range for 4 weeks you can add on specific treatment products to treat your main skin concern.
For products that help treat ageing skin look for the products with the green mark.
Skin Conditions: Hyper pigmented skin
Caused by Internal and External Factors:
• Sun-induced hyperpigmentation - The pigment in our skins, melanin, is actually a kind of natural built-in sunscreen. Melanin exists in skin to absorb UV rays, before they can do more serious damage like sunburn or irreparable DNA damage in skin. And the body’s natural response to sun exposure is to create more melanin to try and better protect itself. By doing so, the body often creates uneven amounts of melanin, and you’re left with dark spots on the face. Most types of hyperpigmentation you can think of, freckles, sun spots and age spots, are all caused by the sun.
• Inflammation caused by sunlight, allergic reactions, skin damage such as a cut or a pimple. (Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentation (PHI).
• Medication such as antibiotics, retinoids and hormone medications.
• Hormonal changes such as pregnancy (called Melasma). Melanocytes (the cells that produce melanin in the skin) are very sensitive to hormone levels in the body. If there’s a hormone imbalance, melanocytes tend to overproduce melanin. And the dark spots appear. This is the most difficult type of hyper pigmentation to treat and can take years.
• Genetics – it may skip generations. This form of Hyper pigmentation will never be completely reversed but it can be diminished over time.
The Bad:
• Dark patches.
• Uneven skin tone.
• Discolouration.
The Good:
• Hyper pigmentation caused by external factors can be treated and often completely reversed. This is a very timely process and can take years depending on the severity.
The Treatment:
• Sun protection is a crucial part of treating any kind of pigmentation. A single episode of unprotected sun exposure can set your pigmentation treatment plan back significantly. Use a broad spectrum sun protector and look out for harmful chemicals in sun protectors that might stimulate melanin production. Try Sknlogic Protect SPF 40.
• Stubborn hyperpigmentation should be seen as a chronic skin condition – the longer you have it, the more likely it is in the dermis, the deeper layer of your skin. This condition needs to be managed, but is not always curable. Because pigmentation might be from the deeper layers, it could also get worse before it gets better. The key is to persevere! Look for ingredients that inhibit melanin production and block cells from overproducing pigment. Try Sknlogic Diminish Day and Diminish Night Duo.
• Use products that accelerates cellular turnover this helps to get the dark patches to the surface quicker so that they can be erased/faded. Try Sknlogic Multi Active Lotion.
• In some instances like when hormones are to blame, or severe acne, oral therapies as prescribed by a doctor, or Sknlogic Diminish and Multi Active ranges might be necessary to help manage the root causes, but treating the hyperpigmentation itself really comes down to lightening the skin. This is where specialist treatments such as chemical skin peels, laser exfoliation or microneedling come in: administered by a doctor or trained skincare therapist, they can be very effective in exfoliating and lightening affected areas of skin.
• If you are on a contraceptive pill with oestrogen, it can aggravate pigmentation and make it difficult to treat. You need to be even more cautious about he sun and a top quality antioxidant is essential.
• So, whatever your skin type, there’s absolutely no reason to suffer with splotches of dark or discoloured skin. Incredibly effective treatments exist that can be easily incorporated into your everyday skincare routine. Our advice is to speak to your skincare therapist; she’ll know what to do. Find your nearest Sknlogic stockist here.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
First find the basic products that you need to balance your skin type so that your skin functions at its best. This is your cleanser, toner, moisturiser and sunscreen, you can find your perfect fit by finding your skin type in the section above. Then after you have been on the essential range for 4 weeks you can add on specific treatment products to treat your main skin concern.
For products that help treat hyperpigmentation look for the products with the pink mark.
Skin conditions: Acne
Caused by External and Internal Factors
• Abnormal build-up of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin due to reduce shedding.
• Over production of sebum and thicker consistency of sebum causes enlarged pores, oiliness, uneven texture and breakouts.
• As a result of the surface blockage, it provides a favourable environment for acne to survive and breed.
• Due to irritation within the follicle caused by bacteria the skin becomes inflamed.
• Greasy cosmetics
• Hormonal changes.
• Emotional Stress.
The Bad:
• Inflammation and blemishes
• Acne prone and prone to breakouts, Blackheads (comedones) and white heads (milia).
• Uneven texture.
• Congestion in skin.
• Enlarged pores
The Good
• Acne is treatable and preventative with the right treatment protocol.
The Treatment:
• The first step is to make sure you are using the right products for your Skin Type. Maintaining your skin’s health goes along way towards preventing and treating acne.
• Treatment depends on how severe and persistent it is.
• Mild acne can be treated with topical treatments that treats acne as well as the blemishes caused by acne such as Sknlogic Clarify.
• Wash your face twice a day with lukewarm water, avoid using harsh soaps as this can exacerbate inflammation causing more blemishes to occur.
• Refrain from touching your face.
• Avoid popping pimples as this makes scarring likelier.
• Choose talc-free non comedogenic (does not clogg pores) makeup for sensitive skin and avoid oil-based products. Try Gloskinbeauty. Remove makeup before sleeping.
• Avoid excessive sun exposure, as it can cause the skin to produce more sebum. Always wear a sunscreen.
• Exfoliate using an enzymatic exfoliator. Do not use a granular or mechanical exfoliator as this can burst the pimples or may push the infection further down causing more blocking, swelling and redness.
• Additional stronger topical treatments can be added after 8 weeks such as Sknlogic Multi Active Lotion two to three times a week that will significantly reduce breakouts and prevent future breakouts from occurring.
• For severe acne speak to your skin care specialist about treatments such as Chemical peels.
• If the treatments does not work speak to a dermatologist about controlled medication that can help, this should only be considered as a last resort as there are many side effects associated with these medications.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
First find the basic products that you need to balance your skin type so that your skin functions at its best. This is your cleanser, toner, moisturiser and sunscreen, you can find your perfect fit by finding your skin type in the section above. Then after you have been on the essential range for 4 weeks you can add on specific treatment products to treat your main skin concern.
For products that help treat acne or problematic skin look for the products with the orange mark.
Skin conditions: Compromised or Sensitised Skin
Caused by External Factors:
• Sensitized or compromised skin is triggered in anyone, regardless of your genes. It’s actually a reflection of your environment.
• Chemical irritants, cosmetic ingredients including alcohol, lanolin, fragrance and artificial color and other external factors can contribute to sensitized skin.
• Medications and medical treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy.
• Langerhans cells fail to protect the skin against external attacks lowering the resistance to many outside influences. It either overreacts to everything, causing a immune response to everything it is exposed to, causing redness, rashes and itchiness.
• Environmental factors such as pollution, airborne allergens, weather and temperature changes.
• Physical effects of stress or hormonal fluctuations.
• Lifestyle, such as stress, diet, smoking, dehydration, alcohol, and harsh cosmetic ingredients.
The Bad:
• The skin no longer has the ability to protect and maintain itself due to an impaired barrier function (compromised lipid barrier).
• Unhealthy acid mantle.
• Thin & weak stratum corneum.
• Low epidermis lipids.
• Cannot always be seen as it resides much deeper in the skin due to an impaired barrier function.
• Can have itchiness, dryness, redness, flushing or in some cases stinging.
• Often associated with dryness.
• Quick immune response to active ingredients.
• From the first moment of skin tissue damage the Mast Cells in the tissue release histamine which triggers the inflammatory response. Simultaneously, the capillaries and arterioles begin dilating and release plasma into the area as part of the inflammatory response to injury. If inflammation continues in an area and the skin is genetically sensitive, conditions such as rosacea, eczema and contact dermatitis will develop over time.
The Good:
• Ready for the good news? Avoiding your individual triggers can reduce or eliminate your symptoms. When these triggers can’t be avoided (think pollution, environment and temperature sensitivity), your symptoms of sensitized skin can be managed through skin care and lifestyle changes.
The Treatment:
• Back to basics. Stop all your active ingredients and go back to Cleanse, Moisturise (preferably one that restores your barrier function like Sknlogic Omega Face Oil) and Sunscreen. Just those 4 products. You can then gradually start re-introducing the other products in your regimen starting with toner.
• Use a gentle cleanser with lukewarm water. When your skin is compromised, ignore your skin type just for a little while why you restore your skin back to its usual health. Try Sknlogic Gentle Cleanse Cream a sulphate cleanser that calms inflamed skin and can be used on any skin type.
• The skin – when healthy – is a pretty efficient filter of what's good versus what's bad on its own. So the key is to restore your barrier function so that your skin does not over react to the slightest change in environment or ingredient. Try Sknlogic Omega Face oil.
• Be mindful of exfoliants. First speak with a professional skin therapist to see if exfoliation is right for your skin. If it is, he or she will recommend a gentle exfoliant that won’t scratch or inflame skin.
Your recommended skincare regimen:
We have colour coded our products to make finding your products for your skin type or skin concern easier.
For example to find products that help prevent and treat premature ageing and the signs of ageing look for products with a green mark on it.
What products from Sknlogic does my skin need?
The first step is to determine what basic products you need to manage your skin type. When we talk about basic products we talk about the Essentials – Cleanser, Toner, Moisturiser and Sunscreen.
As we only have one Toner and one Sunscreen half the work is done already!
Depending on your skin type you would determine what Cleanser and Moisturiser you would use.
• For Oily Skin choose Cleanse Gel and Moist Gel (Orange mark) along with Tone and Protect SPF 40.
• For Combination Skin Choose Cleanse Wash and Moist (Red mark) along with Tone and Protect SPF 40. You can also add on Omega Face oil especially for those areas and times when your skin feels drier.
- For Dry Skin choose Gentle Cleanse Cream and Moist Supreme and Omega Face Oil (Purple mark) along with Tone and Protect SPF 40
• For Sensitive skin choose Gentle Cleanse Cream and Omega Face Oil (yellow mark) along with Protect SPF 40.
Depending on the severity of your specific skin type, after about 4 weeks of using these products from the Essential range you would see a noticeable difference in your skin type. Your skin should start regulating its sebum production. This does not mean that you are now cured of this skin type, as mentioned earlier you can never truly be cured of this, but your skin texture and feel will show improvement. Oily skin will no longer be so oily and dry skin will not be as dry as before.
Treat your Skin Condition
You can now start treating your skin condition if you have one. Skin conditions are added conditions on top of your normal skin type, such as dehydration, break outs, Hyper pigmentation, Fine lines and winkles and sensitized skin that was discussed earlier.
Always start with a gradual approach and add on products one at a time with one – two-week intervals for your skin to get accustomed to the active ingredients in these treatment products.
Treating two skin conditions at the same time is also not advised. Determine what skin condition you want to treat first and start with that. For example if you suffer from dehydration and hyper pigmentation, first treat the dehydration as this is the easiest of the two conditions to treat, once your dehydration is under control you can then start with the regimen for hyper pigmentation.
• For Acne add on Clarify in the morning and/or evening underneath your moisturiser and Detox Charcoal Masque and Exfoliate Enzymatic twice a week (orange mark).
• For Premature ageing add on Exfoliate enzymatic or Exfoliate twice a week with the Multi Regenerating Masque. Replace your moisturiser in the evening with Night Plus. Add Eye cream in the evening to treat fine lines around the delicate eye area. Add Hydrating Serum in the evening underneath Night Plus. Look for products with the Green mark.
• For Dehydrated skin add on Exfoliate enzymatic or Exfoliate twice a week with the Multi Regenerating Masque. Add Hydrating Serum in the evening underneath your moisturiser. If you experience under eye circles, try Eye Revitalize underneath your moisturiser in the morning and/or evening. Look for treatment products with the purple mark.
• For Hyper pigmentation, add on Exfoliate Enzymatic twice a week. Add on Diminish day and Diminish night for the morning and evening respectively underneath your usual moisturiser. Look for products with the pink mark.
• For Compromised skin as mentioned earlier you need to stick to the basics and then start adding on your usual skincare regimen one product at a time. If your skin tolerates the product after one – two weeks you can add on the next product and so on. To restore your impaired barrier function, switch your cleanser to Gentle Cleanse Cream and use only Omega Face oil and Protect SPF 40 for at least 4 weeks before introducing other products.
After you have been on Advance products for 4 weeks (total of 8 weeks on Sknlogic) you can add on the Multi Active Lotion twice a week in the evenings. The Multi Active Lotion treats Dehydration, Acne, signs of ageing and Hyper Pigmentation.
Other add on products to consider:
Pre-cleanser
Because our cleansers are gentle so that they do not disturb the skin’s acid mantle you may find that in the evenings you need to double cleanse. Try Sknlogic Remove a pre-cleanser and make up remover before cleansing with your usual cleanser. Remove can be used on any skin type except for Sensitive skin.
Eye products
The area around the eyes are thinner than that on the rest of the face and shows fine lines and wrinkles and congestion in the skin much quicker.
If you find that you have a lot of fine lines around the eye area try Sknlogic Eye cream around the eye area.
If you have congestion under the eyes, this usually presents as puffiness and under eye circle and is common especially in oily and combination skin types try Sknlogic Eye Revitalize.
