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Myths and misunderstandings about facial skin types (dry? Oily?)
Currently commonly used facial beauty skin type (Cosmetic Facial Skin Type), which divides facial skin types into dry skin type, oily skin type, neutral skin type and mixed skin type according to the sebum (oil output).
Image source Ruijing
However, this typing is not a scientific or medically defined term. This classification was actually proposed by cosmetics practitioners.
It is said that Helena Rubinstein first proposed skin types in the early 20th century. In fact, after looking up foreign literature, there are very few papers on the Cosmetic Facial Skin Type, no more than 20.
In addition to the above 4 skin types, sensitive skin is also listed as another skin type in the beauty industry. The determination of sensitive skin is based on the sensitivity of the skin, and has nothing to do with oil or moisture.
Due to improper skin care and other reasons, the incidence of sensitive skin is getting higher and higher. Theoretically, the above four skin types may develop into sensitive skin.
Why is the skin type important?
Usually, people use the corresponding skin care products based on whether the facial skin is dry and whether there is too much oil. When you lack understanding of the skin type on your face, you are very likely to adopt the wrong skin care methods and skin care products.
At present, in the scientific community, there is no clear consensus on skin types. Skin type is theoretically mainly determined by genes, but it is very susceptible to acquired environmental factors.
Faceful skin type should refer to the relatively stable state of facial skin over a long period of time (dry or oily).
That is to say, is the skin dry? Is it oil? It is relatively fixed and dynamically balanced.
"Dry or oily skin, it is easy to change with the environment, climate, skin care habits, and hygiene habits (dynamic balance). But it generally does not go from one extreme (dry) to the other extreme (oil): relatively fixed." What skin types are the most common in
? Although there is no survey data on this, it is generally believed that mixed skin is the most common . However, there is no clear data to confirm the proportion of various skin types.
Misunderstanding 1: dry skin is due to lack of water, oily skin is due to oily
Facial beauty skin type classification is actually based on the amount of sebum secretion.
Korean scholars pointed out that the moisture content of is very susceptible to environmental humidity, while the secretion of facial sebum is less affected by external factors than skin hydration.
Oily skin describes the sebaceous glands secrete more sebum, while dry skin describes the dry skin caused by less sebum secretion.
As mentioned earlier, the skin type (dry and wet state) is easily affected by ambient temperature, humidity, skin care methods, cleaning methods, etc.
When the environment is dry or overly cleansed, the skin will become dry. At this time, the main reason for dry skin is insufficient hydration of the skin.
Although initially when defining dry skin, it mainly refers to the low secretion of sebum. But in fact, various acquired external factors will cause the skin to have a decrease in moisture content, resulting in dry skin.
Any skin type, when the skin is dry due to acquired factors (especially improper skin care), it is necessary to strengthen moisturizing in time to bring the skin back to normal in the shortest time possible!
If you do not take it seriously, the skin will continue to dry. When the dryness is severe, it will definitely damage the skin barrier, which will inevitably lead to sensitive skin if it continues for a long time.
We have all heard of oily sensitive skin. In theory, oily skin is not prone to dryness or sensitivity. But if you are too cleansed, it will cause dryness in the skin, destroying the skin barrier, and thus forming sensitive skin.
Picture source Ruijing
Misunderstanding 2: Misunderstanding 2: Mixed skin is oily and dry
Through the mixed skin mentioned, the T-zone is oily, while the cheek skin is dry. But in fact, no one is born with U area .
When the T-zone produces significantly more oil and the U-zone does not feel dry, it is also a mixed skin. Therefore, the U area is relatively dry in the skin compared to the T area, which does not mean that the U area is truly dry skin. Usually the U area should be neutral skin, not dry skin (personal opinion).
However, many people do not pay attention to partition care. Using products with strong cleaning power when cleaning will cause dry skin in the U area. Or, there is no over-cleaning, but the U area is not paying attention to moisturizing. The oil output in
T zone also varies from person to person. Many people produce more oil in T zone than in U zone, but the total amount is not large. So, the T-zone doesn't necessarily feel greasy.
Misunderstanding 3: Skin type is natural and will not change
From a genetic point of view, is the skin dry? Is it oil? It's indeed natural.
has many genes related to sebum production. When these genes are highly expressed and stimulated by acquired factors (such as androgens), excessive sebum secretion will form oily skin.
And the natural dry skin is actually only present in pathological states like atopic dermatitis . Patients with atopic dermatitis have birth defects in the filamentin gene (FLG), which leads to disorders of the synthesis of natural moisturizing factor (NMF), and dryness, scales, and itching will occur in the skin in childhood.
Aging (age) is an important factor affecting the amount of oil and hydration of the skin. As we age, sebum secretion gradually decreases, which is particularly obvious in women.
Some of the elderly will transform from oily skin when they are young to dry skin type in the elderly. In this special case, the skin type can be completely changed.
For pathological states of natural dry skin, it will not be transformed into other skin types due to genetic defects.
Misunderstanding 4: Skin type belongs to skin type, not skin disease
Generally speaking, neutral (normal) skin and oily skin are natural.
. Dry skin is often a temporary dry skin state, or a skin disease such as serpentine disease that is characterized by dry skin.
I think there is no natural dry skin type except for the temporary dry skin state (personal opinion).
For those with oily skin, seborrheic skin diseases often occur when the oil is produced in large quantities, such as acne , seborrheic dermatitis , etc.
In dermatology, oily skin is synonymous with seborrhea. dry skin is synonymous with skin xerosis. Sebum spillage and dry skin are both skin pathological manifestations.
In the beauty dermatology books published at home and abroad, when introducing "dry skin", it means that the moisture content of the stratum corneum is ≤10%. When the moisture content of the stratum corneum reaches below 10%, the skin will appear rough and scales, and will 100% damage the skin barrier. This also shows that dry skin cannot be regarded as a simple skin type.
Misunderstanding 5: Skin type should be detected using instruments
At present, when judging facial skin type, it is based on the facial skin status that is perceived by the individual (how much oil is produced, dry, tight, or touchable skin oil, rough skin, and desquamation. We call it: subjective evaluation.
Some scholars use sebum detector: Sebumeter. Detection of the sebum content of facial skin and compared it with the subjective skin type, and found that the detected sebum secretion is not exactly the same as the skin type perceived by individuals.
Currently, there are various sebum detectors on the market, most of which are Portable devices are not very accurate. Equipment used for scientific research is difficult to popularize in beauty institutions.
In fact, subjective perception combined with touch, it can basically determine whether the skin is greasy or dry, or normal.
Facial beauty skin typing, which uses sebum secretion as the standard for judging sebum secretion, is still widely used today, precisely because of its simplicity and ease. In fact, for ordinary consumers, sebum detectors are not of great significance.
Summary
1, facial beauty skin type is not recognized as scientific definition of , but it is still widely used because of its simplicity and ease.
2. Genes are the main factors that determine skin type, but acquired factors such as environment, climate, age, diet, and skin care methods are very likely to change the skin state. Therefore, the skin type is in dynamic balance, rather than the absolutely fixed .
3. Oily and dry skin are both unhealthy skin types and require careful care. neutral skin or oily skin if taken care of improperly, it can also cause dry skin and even form sensitive skin.
4. The skin is dry and oily, and the dynamic changes of are . This requires consumers to adjust or change skin care products at any time according to changes in skin status during daily skin care. moisturizing is required for any skin type and is the top priority .
5. When your skin is born with dry skin, you need to pay attention to the skin changes and seek medical attention in time. Because, you are most likely to suffer from a skin disease that causes dry skin.
6, to be continued... (Welcome to ask questions in the message area)
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References :
[1]Youn S W, Humbert P. Cosmetic facial skin type[J]. Agache’s Measuring the Skin; Humbert, P., Fanian, F., Maibach, H., Agache, P., Eds, 2015: 1379-1383.
[2]Le Fur I, Lopez S, Morizot F, Guinott C, Tschachler E. Comparison of cheese and forehead regions by bioengineering methods in women with different self-reported “cosmetic skin types”. Skin Res Technol 1999; 5: 182– 188.
[3]Qin J, Qiao L, Hu J, et al. New method for large‐scale facial skin sebum quantification and skin type classification[J]. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2021, 20(2): 677-683.
[4]Baumann L. Understanding and treating various skin types: the Baumann Skin Type Indicator[J]. Dermatologic clinics, 2008, 26(3): 359-373.
Source of this article: Dr. Cong Skin Care Classroom
Editor: Cilantro
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