Skin phases, not types

skin types

**Can I share a (not so) secret with you?**

I don't believe in skin types,

I know it's a very un-popular opinion, but let me tell you why i think this way and how it might shift they way you think, and help you achieve your skincare goals:

So, I believe that our skin is meant to be balanced:

not too sensitive,

not too oily,

definitely not acne prone,

but life happens and it throws things at us that affect everything, including our skin.

Let's break it down:

**What are skin types, anyway?**

so a little bit of a back story, the concept of skin types was popularized by American dermatologist Dr. Leslie Baumann around 2004, and it was based on her studies and what she saw on patients and how our skin behaves. The traditional skin types are: normal, oily, dry, and combination, and if you are reading this, you might already know what each stands for, but let's highlight some of their main points:

The Four Main Skin Types:

Normal Skin: This is the one we all are aspiring to, it's balanced, neither too oily nor too dry. With even skin tones and no breakouts.
Oily Skin: Here we have the excess sebum production, which brings about an overly shiny look,(which may or may not bother you depending on your preference) especially in the T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin), But with it also comes a sensitivity to acne and extra visible pores
Dry Skin: The one so many of us struggle with, with a lack of sufficient oil you might feel tightness and pulling on the skin. When it goes unattended it also brings about flakiness, irritation, or fine lines due to dehydration.
Combination Skin: A mix of oily and dry areas, with the T-zone typically being oilier and the cheeks being drier.

So having gone through the basic points of each skin type, (and having experienced almost all of them myself) it seems that in the last three there are mostly about some isues that need to be solved, while the normal skin type is the goal.

The problem with skin types

After 10 years of studying the skin and how it functions, and which things can improve it, as well as chatting with many of you. I have realized that many of us cycle through different skin types,

for example,
when we are you are young and dealing with a lot of hormonal changes, your skin is more acne prone, (which can also come back later in life with pregnancy, sickness or periods of high stress)

another example,

Oily skin sometimes is a result of skin that's over producing oils due to internal issues or products that, while meant for oily skin, end up sucking all the essential oils our skin produces and needs,(which makes your skin produce more oil to replenish itself)

and an another increasingly common example,
Sensitive skin is often times the result of using irritating products for a long period of time, which causes the acid mantle in our skin to break down and become easily disturbed.

So skin types are not a fixed state, and the way to know which type our skin care is at any given moment, is simply by observation.

So if our skin doesn't always stay the same, what causes these changes, and should we be thinking about skin types, or skin phases?

The benefit of thinking in phases, not types

When you think of your skin going through a phase,

number one, you will know that, like all phases, it too shall pass, which doesn't let us fall into despair of thinking that our skin will always be in a unbalanced state (however that state is reflecting for you)

number 2, it will trigger you to see what changes you can make for your skin until you bring it back to a normal state, making you notice all the possible solutions for your specific problems (which are not always solved with only products)

number 3, it will allow you to get to know your skin, and be more connected to your body, in its physical, emotional and spiritual state (more on that below)

So instead of thinking of our skin as a fixed type that we constantly need to be catering to, the goal in our skin care should be to bring our skin back into the original balance, a place where our skin is glowing by not being too sensitive, nor too oily or dry.

Which in turn will allow our skin to have a more even skin tone and supple appearance.

So, what phase is your skin on?

In sha Allah you have seen why it might benefit you more to think of your skin as going through a phase, and to being a specific type.

You can be in a dry/sensitive phase, which will require more nourishment, more protection for your skin. Dry and sensitive means that hydration needs to be boosted, which can be done externally with a hydrating face spritz, or a heavier cream. It can also be done by adding a humidifier to your home. And furthermore by looking at your diet and seeing where you could boost foods that hydrate from within, like lemon water, soups, teas, fruits with high water content like watermelon, and veggies like cucumbers. Also avoiding washing your face with hot water, and reducing irritating products.

If you are in an oily/acne prone phase, then you want to think about detoxifying, and carefully balancing of your skin. We tend to want to dry out oily skin, but that has been proven to not work. Instead you want to add ligh moisture and hydration that allows your skin to not overproduce oils. You also want to look a cleansing from within to remove build up that causes breakouts, and focusing on a diet that has less sugar and more antioxidants rich food.

Also an important thing to note is that no matter the phase your skin is in, it will benefit greatly from stress control and proper rest. And in some cases, this can actually be the start to solve a lot of the issues we see with our skin.

I hope this was beneficial and it change a bit the way we address the "problems" our skin is having. Looking at our skin as going through a phase feels more manageable than thinking about it as a fixed type that we will be stuck with forever.

JazakAllah khair

Claudia

HALAL, ALL NATURAL & WUDHU FRIENDLY

Skin phases, not types

**Can I share a (not so) secret with you?**

**What are skin types, anyway?**

The Four Main Skin Types:

The problem with skin types

The benefit of thinking in phases, not types

So, what phase is your skin on?

Welcome sis👋🏼Salam aleikum!

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HALAL, ALL NATURAL & WUDHU FRIENDLY

Skin phases, not types

Can I share a (not so) secret with you?

What are skin types, anyway?

The Four Main Skin Types:

The problem with skin types

The benefit of thinking in phases, not types

So, what phase is your skin on?

Welcome sis👋🏼Salam aleikum!

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**Can I share a (not so) secret with you?**

**What are skin types, anyway?**