Figuring out your skintype
Figuring out your skintype

Figuring out your skintype

Figuring out your type

Most guys know their “type” is when it comes to dating — but ask them about their skin type and the conversation will dry up. Fair enough. Unless someone’s asked you in store or you’ve seen a product labeled “for oily skin,” chances are you haven’t given it much thought.

But here’s why it matters: your skin type is the foundation for building a routine that actually works. Without knowing it, you’re basically guessing  - buying products at random, hoping something sticks. When you do know your type, you can optimize your routine towards what your skin actually needs, avoid wasting money, and start seeing real results.
 
Read on to find out how to figure out your skin type.

WTF is a Skin Type?!

While everyone's skin is slightly different there are some overarching commonalities, so I'm going to divide them into 5 main categories because I feel like it


  • Oily Skin: If your face starts looking shiny an hour after rinsing, especially on the forehead and nose, you have oily skin. 
  • Dry Skin: If you find your face feels tight and gets flaky after a wash, this is your skin type. 
  • Combination Skin: This can be one of the trickier ones to figure out and treat, as different parts of your face will have different needs. If your face is shiny in some areas (usually the T zone of forehead, nose, and chin) and dry elsewhere (often cheeks) you have combination skin.
  • Sensitive Skin: Red, itchy, and easily irritated by strong ingredients? You likely have sensitive skin. While in theory you can have either oily or dry skin in addition to the sensitivity, usually people with sensitive skin are on the dry side (dryness can in fact cause sensitivity)
  • Normal Skin: Usually feel fine and don't need much, congratulations you have normal skin. Lucky you...

A simple test to figure things out:  Wash your face with a mild cleanser and pat it dry with a towel. No products and no touching. Leave it to dry for one hour and check yourself in the mirror. If it looks shiny, it's oily. Feels tight and tough? Dry skin. Bit of both - combination. Not noticing a difference? You likely have normal skin.

Finding products for your skin type

So you figured out your skin type. Now what? Well now you can start making more informed choices and optimize the products you buy to suit your needs. Here are some narcyss picks to get you started.

Oily Skin:  acids such as salcyliclactic, or gylcolic acids are your best friends here as they are oil/water soluable and go deep into your pores. A good cleanser that dissolves the fats and penetrates deep such as L'EAU BRUT works wonders. Lightweight moisturizers tend to work better for your skin in this case like AMPM.
 
Dry Skin:  All comes down to maximizing hydration to your skin using rich hydrating creams such as SUEDE L'ECLAT or frequent use of BEACH GRASS for seriously dry skin. Or take the thinking out of it and opt for our rapid hydration set
 
Combination Skin: Is about achieving balance and evening out your skin. We developed ACID HOUSE specifically for this purpose with it's gentle exfoliation and hydration.  
 
Sensitive Skin: For sensitive skin less is usually more, and stick to the basics. Our POOL SUITE cleanser was awarded "best calming face wash" by Men's Journal
 
Normal Skin: If the skin-gods have blessed you, just sticking with your basic 3 step routine will ensure your skin stays healthy as you age

Can your skin type change?

Skin is not static, it changes with seasons, ageing, lifestyle factors and even stress levels. The solution? Switch things up!

You might notice your face gets drier in winter or shinier in the summer, so it's a good idea to regularly check in on your skin using the above test. As you get older, skin tends to lose oil, which means you might go from oily in your 20s to dry in your 40s. Even the products you use can affect your skin type: using harsh cleansers too often, for example, can dry you out or cause sensitivity.
 
So if your skin starts acting differently, or products don't work like they used to, don’t freak out. Just reassess and adjust. The key is staying consistent with a routine that works right now, not the one that worked last year.
That's it for this week of The Narcyssit! Stay tuned for more educational content and deep dives into the skincare industry!

Have any questions or topics you want us to cover? Shoot us an e-mail at info@narcyss.com

OUR STORY

Narcyss is a wellness brand for the modern citizen that is inclusive, aspirational and inspirational. We believe it’s ok to enjoy a Negroni or two at dinner and to do yoga in the morning, it’s ok to get high and go running when you come down, it’s ok to do what you can to age in a healthy way, not in an ”anti” way. The Narcyss philosophy of “a life well lived”, modern wellness and healthy ageing is a welcome perspective in the beauty industry.

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OUR STORY

Narcyss is a wellness brand for the modern citizen that is inclusive, aspirational and inspirational. We believe it’s ok to enjoy a Negroni or two at dinner and to do yoga in the morning, it’s ok to get high and go running when you come down, it’s ok to do what you can to age in a healthy way, not in an ”anti” way. The Narcyss philosophy of “a life well lived”, modern wellness and healthy ageing is a welcome perspective in the beauty industry.

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