If you have combination skin, then you know what the term “T-zone” means. In fact, you may sometimes feel like your skin has a split personality—oily with large pores on the forehead, nose, and chin, and dry and sometimes even flaky on the cheeks and under the eyes.
What is Combination Skin?
Combination skin is just what the name implies—skin that is a combination of both dry and oily types. If you drew a big “T” on your face, all the skin under that T would likely be oily, while the areas left outside the T are dry and potentially flaky. That’s why we use the term “T-zone” when referring to those with combination skin.
Combination skin also means that you may have fine lines and wrinkles and shininess and clogged pores at the same time. You may also experience uneven skin tone or large pores on your nose.
Of course this combination of characteristics and problems can make combination skin particularly difficult to deal with.
What Causes Combination Skin?
No matter what kind of skin you have (dry, oily, combination, or sensitive), it’s most likely because of genetics. Just like you inherit your eye color, hair color, and body type from your parents and grandparents, you also inherit your skin type.
However, it’s important to note that external factors such as environment, diet, and skin care routines also influence the characteristics of combination skin, interacting with your genetic makeup to shape its unique qualities.”
Common Combination Skin Characteristics
Typically, the T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) of combination skin exhibits oiliness, enlarged pores, and a tendency for blemishes. In contrast, the cheeks and eye areas often show signs of dryness, such as flakiness and a tight sensation.
- Oily T-Zone: Check your T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) for oiliness, indicated by shine, blemishes, or large pores. If your cheeks are dry with flakiness or redness, you might have combination skin.
- Dry and Oily Patches: Wash your hands and feel your face for any rough, bumpy, or flaky dry patches and any oily, blemish-prone areas. Combination skin often has dry cheeks and an oily forehead.
- Visual Appearance: Look in the mirror for glossy, oily areas with possible blemishes, and red, flaky patches indicating dry skin. A mix of these suggests combination skin.
- Post-Wash Test: After washing your face and letting it dry without applying products, observe your skin. Tightness and flakiness indicate dryness, while immediate oiliness suggests oily skin. A combination of both, particularly in the T-zone, points to combination skin.
- One cause of combination skin is changes in skin behavior due to varying weather conditions. Different climates can affect skin differently, leading to a mix of oily and dry areas on the face.
- Skin changes based on the weather: One cause of combination skin is weather-induced skin changes. Different weather conditions can affect various areas of the skin differently, leading to a combination of dry and oily patches.
How to Address Combination Skin?
Combination skin types can benefit from some lifestyle changes that may help balance your skin, these include
Moisturize from The Inside Out
A challenge with combination skin is to get enough moisturizer into it without clogging pores. You can moisturize from the inside out with essential fatty acids. Eat more salmon, walnuts, and flaxseed, and consider taking a fish oil or flaxseed oil supplement.
Avoid Harsh Cleansers
Things like sulfates, alcohol and soap can strip your skin of its natural oils. You may think that will help your T-zone, but in truth, it will actually encourage it to produce more oil. Stay away from harsh, chemical ingredients.
Avoid Touching Your Face
Frequently touching your face, often done unconsciously, can transfer bacteria and dirt from your hands, potentially leading to clogged pores. It’s important to minimize face touching, not just for combination skin, but for all skin types.
Regularly Apply Sunscreen
Broad-spectrum SPF is as vital as moisturizer for all skin types. Neglecting SPF can accelerate aging signs like the look of fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots. It can also exacerbate dryness, leading to a dull-looking complexion.
Pamper With A Face Mask
Multi-masking is an effective method for combination skin. It involves applying different masks to specific facial areas based on their unique needs. Use a purifying mask on oily or T-zone areas to absorb oil and impurities, and a hydrating mask on dry sections to plump and brighten.
Care For Dry Under-Eyes
The under-eye region is delicate and often prone to dryness and early signs of aging. This area of the face requires special attention, especially for those with dry or combination skin. Incorporate an eye cream or serum into your daily routine to combat the look of fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, and dehydration.
Check Your Makeup Ingredients And Routine
Look for makeup with clean, gentle ingredients that don’t aggravate your skin’s natural oil production. Apply a lightweight moisturizer formulated for combination skin types as a base, then apply a semi-matte foundation to tame excess shine.
Exercise Benefits
Regular exercise boosts circulation, delivering vital nutrients and oxygen to the skin, essential for a healthy complexion. It also aids in toxin removal, enhancing skin clarity. Plus, regular physical activity (our favorites include yoga or jogging!) helps regulate hormones, balancing sebum production in combination skin.
This balance helps reduce oiliness in the T-zone and maintains moisture in dry areas. Post-exercise, gently cleanse the skin to remove sweat and prevent clogged pores, particularly in oil-prone areas.
Practice Stress Relief
Stress can make your skin more reactive, both the oily and dry areas. Try meditation, yoga, tai chi, journaling, music, whatever works for you.
Avoid Pore-clogging Products
In your skin care and makeup products, always choose those that are made for oily or combination skin. Avoid petroleum-based moisturizers like mineral oil in all your products, particularly moisturizers and foundations.
Choose Fragrance-Free
When selecting skin care products for combination skin, it’s crucial to choose fragrance-free options. Fragrances, particularly synthetic ones, can irritate sensitive skin areas, such as the drier cheeks and neck. This irritation can exacerbate dryness and lead to further skin imbalances.
By opting for fragrance-free products, you reduce the risk of irritation, ensuring that both the oily and dry regions of your face are nurtured gently and effectively. This approach helps maintain the natural harmony of your skin, keeping it calm, balanced, and healthy.
Daily Skin Care Routine for Combination Skin
Combination skin demands distinct care for its oily T-zone and drier areas like the cheeks. The key is to use products that harmoniously address these contrasting needs. Below are the morning and evening routine tailored to nurture and maintain the health of combination skin
Morning Routine
For your morning routine, focus on gently cleansing, balancing, and hydrating both the oily T-zone and the drier areas. This full 6-step routine focuses on honoring the skin and working with it, rather than against it, for a fresh, balanced-looking complexion.
- Cleanser: Start your day by gently cleansing your face to remove any excess dirt or buildup. Opt for a mild, pH-balanced cleanser, like our Citrus Mint Cleanser, that produces little to no foam and doesn’t strip the skin of its natural oils.
- Toner: Use an alcohol-free toner. Traditionally, a toner was used to rebalance the skin’s pH (since many commercial cleansers can be too harsh). However, if using a pH-balanced cleanser, the toning mist should instead hydrate the skin and enhance absorption of products that follow in your routine.
- Serum: Apply a serum with hyaluronic acid or saccharide isomerate. These ingredients are excellent for hydrating the skin without making it greasy. Focus on applying it evenly across the face, with an emphasis on the dry areas to maintain hydration balance.
- Moisturizer: Look for a nourishing, lightweight facial oil that is biocompatible with your skin type. That way, your skin will receive proper moisturization, working with your skin’s natural oil production rather than over or underwhelming it.
- Sunscreen: Choose a natural sunscreen with broad spectrum SPF. A lightweight formula that wears sheer is ideal for combination skin.
- Makeup (Optional): If you use makeup, opt for a semi-matte mineral-based foundations and concealers. Use a powder formula to mattify to prevent excessive oiliness in the T-zone.
Evening Routine
Your evening skin care routine is a crucial time to nourish and restore combination skin. You should pay attention to your skin’s drier areas and oilier zones, ensuring a balanced, rejuvenated complexion by morning.
- Makeup remover: If you wear makeup, begin your evening routine with a gentle makeup remover, like the Restorative Cleansing Oil. It harnesses antioxidant-rich manuka oil, clarifying tea tree oil, and nourishing castor oil to deeply cleanse the skin and remove makeup.
- Cleanser: Follow up with a pH-balanced cleanser to thoroughly remove any remaining makeup residue and the rest of the day’s buildup. A gentle, non-stripping cleanser is ideal for maintaining the natural balance between the oily and dry areas of the skin.
- Exfoliant (Weekly): Incorporate a mild exfoliant into your routine 1-3x a week, depending on your skin type and the exfoliant used. Try out both physical and chemical exfoliants to see which you like best.
- Facial mask (Weekly): Apply different types of masks to respective facial zones. Use a hydrating mask on the dry areas and a clay-based mask for the oily T-zone. This targeted application addresses the specific needs of each area effectively.
- Apply serum: Opt for products that provide deep hydration without clogging pores.
- Apply moisturizer: Find a suitable moisturizer for your skin type, like our Herbal Facial Oil for Normal & Combination Skin.
Ingredients to Consider
Alongside a good daily routine, make sure you give these ingredients a look.
- Hyaluronic Acid: Great for overall hydration.
- Witch Hazel Distillate: Tones and balances the skin’s natural oils.
- Lactic Acid: A gentle exfoliant, beneficial for maintaining pore health in the oily zones and hydrating the dry areas.
- Grapeseed Oil: Strengthens and firms skin with fast-absorbing moisturization that doesn’t leave a greasy residue.
- Antioxidants: Vitamin C is great for overall skin health. It protects skin from environmental stressors, as well as evens out skin tone and texture, which is particularly beneficial for combination skin.
Weekly Skin Care Routine for Combination Skin
In addition to your daily routine, take these steps every week for more glowing, hydrated skin
Remember to Exfoliate
All skin needs exfoliation, and combination skin is no different. The oily areas need it to open up the pores and dry areas and allow moisturizers to penetrate. The key with your type of skin is to be gentle on the cheek areas, and scrub a bit more on the T-zone.
We would suggest the Ayurvedic Facial Scrub, which will exfoliate without over drying your cheeks, and will also help absorb extra oil and reduce clogged pores.
Purifying mud mask for facial exfoliating.
Nourishing Mask
Choosing a mask can be difficult for combination types, as you’re not sure if you should get one that absorbs the oils or imparts more hydration. Endless confusion, right?
Not anymore. Just use the Purifying Mud Mask. The dead sea clay has a way of naturally purifying your pores without drying. In fact, we’ve included blue-green algae which is high in natural fatty acids that replenish and hydrate. The perfect combination!
Pay Attention to Your Skin Reaction
You may wonder about alpha-hydroxy acids with combination skin. Have you experienced irritation on your cheeks in the past with these products? The key is to use the gentle ones. Here we would go conservative and use the same acids as those recommended for dry skin. Choose those that come from natural sources like fruits (malic), milk (lactic), and sugar cane (glycolic).
(TIP: Our Coconut Honey Mask provides malic and lactic acids—you can alternate uses with the Purifying Mud Mask if you like, using each once a week, or you can actually use the Coconut Honey Mask right after you finish with the Purifying Mud Mask. Adjust depending on how dry or oily your skin is acting.)
Apply these products as needed, typically 2-3 times a week.
Rejuvenate regularly
Because all skin types need protection from environmental stressors, we recommend you use an anti-aging product that contains natural ingredients that nourish. Again, you want natural ingredients (not chemical or synthetic), and non-clogging products.
Try a light application of our Citrus Stem Cell Serum, which uses citrus stem cells and powerful antioxidants. Use more on cheeks and dry areas, less on the T-zone. Apply the Anti-Aging Eye Cream to repair skin around the eyes, and reduce the appearance of fine lines.
Do you struggle with combination skin? How do you cope? Please share any tips you may have. Be sure to visit our blog for more advice about skin types and concerns. Our facial oil collection also comes with a wide variety of some of the best products for combination skin. And if you want to try many products as one, we also offer a balance travel kit for combination skin type in our travel size skin care pack which contains many options for you to try out.
Conclusion
Addressing combination skin problems effectively involves a comprehensive strategy that encompasses selecting gentle skin care products designed for varying skin areas, maintaining hydration from within and through topical applications, and steering clear of harsh ingredients. Implementing a well-rounded daily skin care regimen, augmented with regular exfoliation and specific face masks will help you achieve calm, clear skin.
Additionally, safeguarding the skin from everyday aggressors using sunscreen, coupled with a nutritious diet, consistent exercise, and effective stress management, is key to overcoming the challenges of combination skin and promoting its overall health and equilibrium.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Dry Combination Skin?
Dry combination skin refers to a skin type that has both dry and oily areas, with the dryness typically around the cheeks and jawline, while the T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) is oily.
What Is Normal Combination Skin?
Normal combination skin is a skin type where some facial areas, usually the T-zone, are oily, and other parts like the cheeks and eye area remain normal or balanced in moisture.
Is Combination Skin Oily?
Combination skin can be oily, often in the T-zone which includes the forehead, nose, and chin. These areas tend to produce more sebum or oil than other parts of the face. For those with combination skin, it’s essential to use gentle and balanced formulations that won’t overstrip the skin of its natural oils.
Can I Improve Combination Skin Through Diet? If So, What Foods Might Help?
Certain foods, such as spicy and oily foods, along with chocolate, may increase sebum production.
Do you struggle with combination skin? How do you cope? Please share any tips you may have. Be sure to visit our blog for more advice about skin types and concerns. Our facial oil collection also comes with a wide variety of some of the best products for combination skin. And if you want to try many products as one, we also offer a balance travel kit for combination skin type in our travel size skin care pack which contain many options for you to try our.
Rhonda
If I have combination skin-oily t zone but also cheeks and sides of face are not dry and flaky but can be oily at times that may make me oily skin. So I have mature skin (60) and want the anti-aging/firming effects but still need to control the oil. So how do I get both. Can you recommend products. I use the Aloe and the citrus cleansers both. What oil-oily or anti-aging ? When I take your tests for a skin snapshot it wants to put me in one or the other category -but I have both issues. I need to know how to use the products to help both issues. Thanks so much!
Alexis
In what order do i use these products?
Chelsea
I think I have combination skin but I’m not really sure. My t zone is obviously the oilist part of my skin but it’s also the driest at the same time. It feels very oily but the skin is also very dry and flakey and peeling. So I have no idea what I should use or do! Anyone have any suggestions?
Michon Newman
Hi Chelsea! If you are not already exfoliating once a week, that might be a beneficial step to implement into your regimen. Using something like our Ayurvedic Facial Scrub would be gentle yet effective. You can follow up with our Herbal Facial Oil for Normal & Combination Skin to moisturize.
Quiz Problems
I don’t think the quiz is very inclusive. I don’t exfoliate my skin because I have such sensitive skin and if I do, I’ll look red all day (trust me, it’s happened). Also, there is no option for “my T-Zone is oily and I’ve large pores on my nose, but cheeks and everywhere else is soft and sensitive.”
Annmarie Skin Care
Hi there,
It sounds like you’re having a pretty unique experience with your skin! Write into us at [email protected] and we’re happy to help you find a routine that will work for you.
Best,
aubrey
Melissa Mellie
Thank you very much! For a perfect skin, you should take healthy diet. If you take healthy diet regularly then, it helps you to maintain your skin charming.
diane first
I’m in my mid thirties i have a combination skin and i have begun to notice some fine lines, wrinkles around my eyes. I now use ONLY the Made from Earth Vitamin Firming Serum because its both a moisturizer and serum. After using for a week, my combination skin felt hydrated, and my fine lines reduced. It goes on the skin very smooth and soak in nicely leaving no oily residue.
Lynette Ford
I am so embarrassed of my skin I can’t wear back out clothes I have no waist line my waist is so narrow and high It seem like I complain about this problem it gets worst so frustrating you have no idea the aggravating that I feel. What should I do?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????? .
Annmarie Skin Care
Hi Lynette,
It sounds like you’re working with a few different issues. Please write into [email protected] with a bit more detail about what you’re experiencing and we’re happy to help you find a solution.
Yatin
Hey guys, i have a combination (obivous) and i have tried some products and they don’t work well. after getting fed up by the products i thought of switching to natural plants and i use aloe vera (raw) straight from the plant it really nourishes my skin and help me fight oiliness and dryness making it healthy and soft by restoring my face’s PH balance. The use is simple
But first grow or buy a grown aloe vera plant from garden and grow it in a dry enviorment.
Step 1 – break a fresh part of aloe vera (the closer to the stem the better) and rip it’s thorns and with a knife or bare hands (thats what i use) and rip it’s one side you will se a clear coat of gel now scrub it on the face and make sure you apply till all the gel is on your face and let it be absorbed by your skin you will se imediate reduction of dryness and some oiliness on your face use it regularly. It can work like a scrub, moisturizer, clensear.
P.S. Thank for your help, it really helped me with all this detailes i was able to find this remedy.
Viviana
Just want to say thank you soooo much for helping me out!! I am soo happy that I found this and I can’t wait to follow these great tips and try out my new face products. I was really lost at first , I didn’t know anything about my face since I’m a teenager. I’m glad I researched this because I really needed it. I appreciate it and thanks again!
Velocity Rose
Thank you. That was a really thorough breakdown of everything you need to know about combination skin types. Normally combination type is overlooked because its not as easy to deal with. Thank you so much.
shon
Do you have a sample kit for combination acne prone skin type? I would love to try your product but I must also be cost conscious if this product does not work? Can you help with my delimna?