Skin
Skin is usually described as one of five types: oily, dry, combination, normal and sensitive. Four signs tell them apart: how skin feels two hours after washing, where it shines by midday, whether it flakes, and how it reacts to new products. This guide asks about each, then suggests facials and consultations worth asking about.
Skin type describes how skin behaves on an ordinary day: how much oil it makes, how easily it dries, how it reacts to products. It isn’t skin tone, and it isn’t a diagnosis.
Know your skin
Answer for how your skin usually is, not for one unusual day. Your answers stay on this page; they aren’t saved or sent anywhere.
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This skin makes plenty of oil, so it shines through the day, often across the whole face, and make-up may slide by the afternoon. It usually feels comfortable rather than tight. It can shift with the seasons, so check again when the weather turns.
This skin makes less oil, so it can feel tight after washing, look rough in places and flake, especially in a Delhi winter. It rarely shines, even by evening. Dry skin is common, and it often feels different from one season to the next.
This skin is two types at once: oily through the forehead, nose and chin, and normal or dry on the cheeks. That’s why one product can feel right on the nose and wrong on the cheeks. A facial for combination skin often handles the two areas differently.
This skin feels comfortable most of the time: not tight, not very shiny, and it takes new products without much fuss. “Normal” simply means balanced. It can still change with the season, with age and with the products you use.
This skin reacts easily: a new product, heat, wind or a change of weather can make it sting, itch or feel warm. Sensitivity can sit on top of any other type. If reactions are strong or frequent, a doctor’s view is worth having before any new facial.
That happens, and it’s useful to know. Skin can be oily in one place and dry in another, or change with the weather. A consultation, or a word with the therapist before a facial, is the easiest way to be sure.
This is general information, not medical advice. Suitability is assessed in consultation.
This guide describes everyday skin types. It can’t diagnose a skin condition, and it says nothing about skin tone. If something on the skin is painful, bleeding or changing quickly, please see a doctor.
Makes plenty of oil, so it shines by the afternoon and make-up may slide. Usually comfortable, not tight; it can shift with the seasons.
Makes less oil, so it can feel tight after washing and flake in a Delhi winter. It rarely shines, even by evening.
Oily through the forehead, nose and chin, and normal or dry on the cheeks. One product can suit one area and not the other.
Comfortable most of the time: not tight, not very shiny, and easy with new products. It can still change with the season.
Reacts easily: a new product, heat or wind can make it sting, itch or feel warm. Sensitivity can sit on top of any type.
Four questions, one answer each. Answer for how your skin usually is, not for one unusual day. Your answers stay on this page; they aren’t saved or sent anywhere. The result names the facials and consultations worth asking about.
Wash your face with a mild cleanser, pat it dry and leave it bare for about two hours. Tight or flaky suggests dry; shiny all over suggests oily; shiny only on the forehead, nose and chin suggests combination; comfortable suggests normal. Skin that stings or reacts to most products may be sensitive.
Yes. Weather, age and the products you use can all change how skin behaves, so it’s worth checking again when the season turns. It’s common in Delhi to notice oilier skin in the humid months and drier skin in winter.
The five everyday types apply to every skin tone. Skin tone, and how skin responds to sun or to laser, is a different question, and one for a doctor at a skin consultation.
It narrows things down, but what you want from the facial matters too. For care and time to rest, start with the salon facials; for steps chosen by a doctor, a medical facial. The treatment finder goes a step further.
People use the word for both. In this guide it means skin that reacts easily to products or weather. If reactions are strong, frequent or painful, talk to a doctor before trying anything new.
