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What Is My Skin Type: How to Find The Best Products for Yours

Plus, a quick test to figure out what the hell your skin type even is.
The Best Skin-Care Products for Your Skin Type

Fun fact: There are approximately eight trillion beauty products on the market today, which can be bewildering to even the most seasoned skin-care hobbyist. The options are so overwhelming that it can feel like the only two options you have are either slathering the entire CVS skin-care aisle on your face at once (don’t do it), or shunning products entirely and living your life in a cave somewhere, a greasy, flaky, and carefree mess (maybe do it).

MORE: Surprise: Makeup Wipes Are Actually Really Bad For Your Skin

But skin-care really doesn’t have to be that hard, as long as you know your skin type. Because once you figure out whether your face is dry, oily, combination, or “normal,” you can zero in on the exact product types, formulations, and ingredients that are specifically designed to make your skin look calmer, glowier, and all around happier. Seems like a good deal, right? And all it takes is the world’s laziest test:

Photo: ImaxTree

THE SKIN TYPE TEST

Try this the next time you have two hours where you don’t need to leave the house: Wash your face with your usual cleanser, pat it dry, and then don’t touch it at all for two full hours—don’t apply any makeup, moisturizers, sunscreen, nada. At the end of those two hours, check how your skin is feeling.

  • If it’s…tight, flaky, or uncomfortable, you likely have DRY skin
  • If it’s…oily or shiny all over, you likely have OILY skin
  • If it’s…oily in some places, tight in others, you likely have COMBINATION skin
  • If it’s…pretty comfortable and not greasy, you likely have NORMAL skin
  • If it’s…oily, dry, or combo, but covered in acne, you also have ACNE-PRONE skin

Congrats! You’ve figured out your skin type. Now what? Welp, here’s the fun part: Building a routine for your specific skin type, and yes, it’s way easier than it sounds. So click through to find your customized products, and get slathering!

MORE: Meet Retinol Oil: The Coolest Anti-Aging Product That Actually Works

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