For anyone that missed the last thread I did, here is a link. I opted to go back to zero, ask in start with the basic basics of skincare because there no point talking about retinoids, acids, layering etc if you don’t know the bare basics of skincare.

https://twitter.com/gagaaboutskin/status/1293426385701220352?s=21 https://twitter.com/gagaaboutskin/status/1294257441434144774

Basics of skincare: a suitable face cleanser (please stop using soap on your face ), moisturizer and sunscreen.
Now, unfortunately these basics might not be enough to handle some people’s skin concerns. These are the people I’ll be addressing today.

A good proportion of people have normal skin & for these people, your concern is to keep your skin in that healthy state for as long as possible. Remember, the skin is the largest organ in your body. More importantly, it’s your first line of defense against infections/pathogens.

The skin covers almost all parts of your body to prevent infection from pathogens (these are disease causing agents. Can be bacteria, viruses, fungi etc) and it acts as a physical barrier. The healthier your skin, the better your health. This is a medical fact.

Of course there’s cosmetic reasons to skincare as well but it’s important to not lose sight of that first reason. Taking care of your skin will also help you manage skin conditions one may have because unfortunately, good skin is linked to one’s self esteem.

How do you determine if you need to have a skincare routine? Simple. EVERYONE needs some routine of some sort to help maintain health skin. Some people may need more intense routines than others but that just the way it is, I’m really sorry. Don’t be discouraged because of this.

The very first thing you need to do before thinking of how to build a skincare routine is determine your skin type. It’s really important because using products that are not meant for your skin might actually end up injuring your skin. How do you determine your skin type?

The lovely @_Koosy and @wahgeekoh have comprehensive posts over on IG on how to determine you skin type so I will not go too deeply into that.
See links below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsx_b1sHqye/?igshid=1bsloulyrfuzp

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtQEUo0nz8B/?igshid=1n40lijcu6ub3

The main skin types are:
Normal
Oily
Dry
Combination skin (often a combination of oily skin on the T-zone & dry skin ok the rest of the face)

There’s also a sensitive skin but this is a little confusing because sometimes what people think is sensitive skin is at times just sensitized skin.
And of note is that sometimes what is thought to be oily skin is really just dry, dehydrated skin!

Okay. So you’ve determined you skin type. What next? What you’re trying to achieve with your routine is:
Hydrate your skin. Well hydrated skin Is supple, protects you better from infections, heals faster in case you have injuries like lacerations or burns etc…

It decreases your chances of developing skin cancer, it ages much slower, reduces or manages some skin conditions like eczema, acne etc and boy, I cannot emphasize the feel-good factor of having healthy skin and the bump to one’s self esteem that comes with it.

Once you’ve determined your skin type, the next thing to figure out any skin concerns you might have. These are loosely considered to be skin conditions. (Note, skin type and skin conditions are not the same thing). What things about your skin make you unhappy?

List your conditions/concerns so that you can decide which one is the most urgent one that you want to focus on first followed by the rest. Don’t be in a hurry to fix ALL your skin concerns at once. You want to ease your skin gently into a suitable routine.

It’s also important to note at this point that HEALTHY SKIN IS NOT ALWAYS CLEAR/BLEMISH FREE. Healthy skin can still have breakouts or texture. Do not let this discourage you. It may be the desire but not ally the case.

Do not be in a rush to pile products on your face chasing clear skin when you could paradoxically end up damaging it in the process *cougb cough overexfoliation cough cough*

Normal skin: The skin is well balance and is neither dry nor oily. It feels nice and supple at the end of your skincare test. Most people have this skin type and for them, most products will work well. Unless you have allergies of course.

Dry skin: This is skin that typically produces less sebum than normal skin. As a result, dry skin lacks the lipids that it needs to retain moisture, has a damaged moisture barrier & has trouble maintaining this protective shield. It looks dull and feels right, itchy & is flaky.

Whew. Dry skin can be so dramatic. From actually having a greyish tinge to flaking to looking dull & lifeless, having large visible pores to aging prematurely. Here’s a pic.

A sub-category is dry, dehydrated skin. This skin masks both moisture (dry) and water/hydration (dehydrated) which is sometimes confused for oily skin. It’s because your skin kicks into protective mode and starts overproducing sebum in an effort to protect your skin.

The result of this is skin that feels very dry, very tight (it actually looks like it’s been stretched real right), itchy and flaky yet is shiny and oily as hell. One can have dry skin or dehydrated skin or unfortunately, both.

Here’s a pic of when my skin was dehydrated. I thought I was oily & was using products meant for oily skin, further drying it. Note how dull it looks compared to now but more importantly, see those tiny fine lines on my forehead. What you think is wrinkles might not be wrinkles!

If you cannot see the fine lines I’m talking about, go zoom in and see. (Purple arrows)
Here’s a zoomed in side by side comparison of then vs today.

Oily skin is...well, oily. It basically overproduces sebum compared to normal skin. Oily skin guys will be looking like an oil slick an hour after washing the face. There’s nothing wrong with this by the way.

Oily skin is largely inconvenient mostly because of the need to repeatedly blot it, the undesired cosmesis of looking like a glazed donut and the fact that makeup breaks down faster on such skin types. Thankfully, oily skin also ages way more gracefully compared to the rest.

Of important distinction is that oily skin =/= acne prone skin. Not everyone that has oily skin is acne prone. (Did you know there actually dry, acne-prone skin? No? Okay. )

And finally, combination skin. This skin type has features of two or more different skin types on the face. People with combination skin types have dry and flaky skin on certain portions of the face (mostly the U-zone) and excessive oil on others (mainly T-zone).

Okay, so now that we know our skins types, how do we decide the products that are suitable for your particular akin type?

Normal skin:
Normal skin =/= perfect skin.
Normal skin can still have blemishes or other skin issues. (Remember, the skin changes over time so guys that have no skin problems currently could develop issues with age and other factors like pregnancy, pollution & menopause)

If you have normal, blemish-free skin, focus on cleaning you skin properly, hydration and sun care. Ensure you use products that don’t make their skin feel overly oily and products that cause excessive dryness.
Sun care! Sun care! Sun care is of utmost importance.

Dry skin:
Since the major problem is lack of enough natural oils, focus on:
Products and habits that will not strip even more oils from your skin e.g. using hot water to wash your skin, using products with alcohol, using soap (!!) or harsh, foaming cleansers etc.

You also want to add as much moisture (oil content) to your skin as possible. Use products rich in ceramides, NMF, cholesterol and other fatty lipids-specifically products rich is oleic acid, use more emollients e.g. shea butter and make occlusives e.g. petrolatum.

Avoid unnecessary water contact - use gloves when doing laundry, dishes and other house work.
Using a humidifier would be helpful if you have dry, dehydrated skin.
Avoid other lifestyle habits that dry your skin such as smoking as well.

Oily skin:
First things first, AVOID MATTIFYING SKIN PRODUCTS as much as possible! Paradox, right? Actually it’s not. You do not want to completely stop you skin producing oil. Why?

Because when you’ll tip it into oil production overdrive. Your skin will interpret the overly mattifying products as dehydration and will kick into protective mode which is it producing even more oil. You’ll be deep frier ready if this happens.

Focus on products that’ll cleanse your skin without mattifying it. Also focus on lighter, more hydrating (increase water content) products, exfoliate often and of course do not forget sun care.
(I will talk about oily, acne-prone skin later when I tackle acne as its own topic)

Combination skin:
Sigh. I struggle with this. It’s harder to tackle because products that work on one area of the face most often end up not working for the other areas of the face. So, if your oily parts enjoy a product, your dry areas might hate it.

Try and stick to a gentle products since one product might dry out some areas of your face while stimulating oil production in other parts. Choose a gentle cleanser (Gel type or non-foaming cleansers are best)

Keep in mind that with combination skin type there’s no one-size-fits solution and you might need to have multiple products to use on your face at the same time. No matter what, none of the products you use should contain harsh or skin-irritating ingredients.

As usual, hydrate the skin, (you really can never overhydrate the skin), exfoliate often and sun care, sun care, sun care.

I’m gonna end this thread here because it’s ended up being longer than I expected and I really do not want to overload you guys with too much information at once. I fear I’ve already done that.

I’ll post these tweets tomorrow to my IG stories as well as I’m trying to synchronize the content on both platforms so please don’t be offended if you’re seeing them twice.

The next thread will be on how to choose a cleanser that’s best for your skin type then the thread after that will focus on how to pick a moisturizer suitable for your skin type as well.
After that, I plan to talk about toners the exfoliation so do check in often.

I’ll also talk about skin types vs skin conditions and how to tackle various skin conditions like aging, mature skin, acne, eczema, hyperpigmentation etc. (so because of this, I did not talk about age related dry skin since I plan to cover it under aging).

I’m hoping this thread has been helpful and we’ve learnt a thing or two. But also, that it’ll help you understand why I may recommend one product for you and not the other. Thanks for keeping me company and have a great weekend!

/ Fin