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Caring for Combination Skin
Combination
skin is normally a mix of
oily skin in the centre of the face (an
area commonly called the T-zone) plus
dry or
normal skin on the cheeks. Exactly which
areas are affected often changes with age � teens find their
forehead and nose are big problems and this tends to be caused by
the hormones flying around in puberty: older women find chins some
times break out, too. And this often linked to increased stress
levels.
Outside the oily
zone the state of the skin tends to depend a lot on your
skincare.
Using products to tackle the grease dramatically dries out the
cheeks, chest and eyes. Tackling combination skin is therefore a
matter of balance.
 How to care for
combination skin
Your
aim should be to treat the problem on one area of the face without
harming the skin of the other areas. Your first step is
cleansing. It�s best to avoid harsh
cleansers that are formulated for
oily skin or milky cleansers formulated for dry skin and instead use
a moisturizing cleansing bar or facial wash. The foaming action of
these
will help strip through the oil on the greasier parts of your skin
but won�t dehydrate the cheeks at the same time. After cleansing,
use a gentle exfoliator. Many women with combination skin find they
tend to get spots around their nose as the dry flakes
of skin from their cheeks stick to the oily areas and so cause blockages. Gentle exfoliation will go a long way to help reduce
this.
Exfoliation will
loosen blackheads, but for the ultimate blackhead-buster turn to the
pore strip � little sticky pads which you place over blocked pores
and then pull off. These are perfect for combination skins as they
allow you to focus your treatment on the affected area. For best
results use the strips every day for three days, then reduce it to
just once a week.
Look for
products that normalize your skin, such as those that contain
alpha hydroxy acids - Alpha
hydroxy acids are derived from fruit, milk and sugar cane and
have anti-inflammatory properties. When applied to the skin
they help remove dead skin cells (exfoliate), giving us a
younger appearance.
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 The
final step in your skincare program is your
moisturizer, and here you do need to
pander a little to your different skin types. During the day, when
beating the shine is what counts, you should use mattifying products
to soak up the sebum produced in your T-zone without drying out your
cheeks.
Many companies now
sell mattifying products using ingredients like with hazel, talcum
or cornstarch to soak up oil without irritation. At night, choose
oil-free creams or light moisture lotions which will supply your
cheeks with extra hydration without over-stimulating the oil in your
T-zone.
Balancing facial
for combination skin
This once-a-week treat
intensively tackles both the dry and oily area of your skin.
-
Cleanse your face
using a moisturizing facial bar or a foaming cleanser. This will
effectively target the oil on the greasy skin of the T-zone,
without removing any of the moisture from the dry skin on your
cheeks.
-
Exfoliate to avoid
flakes of dry skin clogging pores. Using a gentle facial scrub or
a flannel, rub the cheeks lightly. Go more intensely when tackling
the greasy areas of the face to help loosen blackheads.
-
 Boil
a kettle of water and pour some into a large bowl. Add four drops
of rosewater to the bowl- this hydrates the skin and will prevent
the steam drying out the cheeks while it tackles the nose. After
the hot steam has dispersed, lower your face over the bowl,
keeping it 10 inches off the water. Put a towel over your head and
stay put for up to 10 minutes.
-
On big pamper
sessions like this one, go for the double
mask. Use a hydrating
moisture mask to your cheeks and
throat and a clay- based mask for the oily areas. Leave the masks
on for 10 minutes and rinse with tepid water before applying your
normal light moisturizer.
TOP 5 TIPS FOR
COMBINATION SKIN
-
Don�t scrub oily
areas � this irritates the skin and increases oil production.
-
Don�t treat your
whole face the same. Your T-zone will require cleansing twice a
day, while the cheeks only need doing once. It�s vice versa with
moisturizing.
-
 After
using pore strips, apply tea tree oil to your nose. It will reduce
redness and cut bacteria levels in the pores.
-
Avoid leave-in
hair conditioners. Ingredients in
these block the forehead�s pores, making already greasy skin
worse.
-
Don�t forget eye
creams: you may need to avoid rich moisturizers on your cheeks,
but you shouldn�t skip them on the delicate skin around your eyes.
YOUR 5 KEY PRODUCTS
-
Cleansing bars
-
Pore strips
-
Exfoliating
scrub
-
Oil-free
moisturizer
-
Eye cream
 YOUR FACE MASK
A
rose-based mask is an
excellent balancing treatment for combination skin. Use the
following ingredients:
-
1 rose
-
1 tbsp rosewater
-
1 tbsp natural
yoghurt
-
1 tbsp honey
Wash the rose petals
in water. Soak for a few minutes and then crush them in a bowl. Add
the rosewater; yoghurt and honey. Mix well and apply to the skin for
five minutes. Rinse off with tepid water.
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