How to find your skin type with two at-home tests

The five skin types, in the AAD's words

Descriptions: AAD. "What you notice": Medical News Today, medically reviewed. Sensitive skin can sit on top of any other type.

Test 1: wash and wait

1. 1WashUse a gentle cleanser and lukewarm water. Pat dry with a clean towel.
2. 2Put nothing onNo moisturizer, serum, sunscreen or makeup for the test. Pick a day you are staying in.
3. 3Check right awayDry skin feels tight or dry shortly after washing. Sensitive skin may sting, burn or itch.
4. 4Check again over the next few hoursOily skin starts matte, then turns shiny or greasy all over. Combination skin turns shiny only in the T-zone: forehead, nose and chin. Normal skin barely changes.

Test 2: the blotting check

1. 1Wait a few hours after washingSame rule: no products on the skin.
2. 2Press, do not rubPress a blotting paper or a clean tissue on your nose, then a fresh one on a cheek, and lift them off.
3. 3Hold them to the lightClear oil on both: oily. Oil from the nose only: combination. Little or none on either: normal or dry, and how your skin feels tells those two apart.

Why home tests are only a starting point

They rely on your own judgment, and people misjudge their oil. In a 2002 study at Seoul National University, researchers measured oil output at four spots on each participant's face with a sebum meter, then compared it with the type people said they had. Most participants underestimated how much oil their face made, and measured oil differed clearly only between the oily and dry groups, not between oily and normal or normal and dry. The authors called the simple classification of very limited use. The published summary does not give the number of participants.

So treat your result as a guide for choosing products, not a label for life. If a product suited to your type still leaves you shiny, tight or broken out, trust that over the test.

Your skin type changes

With age. In a 2013 study of 300 adults aged 20 to 74 in Hamburg, women's oil production fell steadily over a lifetime, while men's stayed high. So a type you settled on at 25 may not fit at 55. The AAD notes that in menopause skin loses some ability to hold water, and suggests a mild cleanser instead of soap and a moisturizer with hyaluronic acid or glycerin.

With the season. The same face can test differently in a Space Coast July than in January; the oily skin routine covers the summer side, and dehydrated skin vs dry skin the dry months.

With what you put on it. Harsh cleansers, scrubs and stacked actives can make any skin type act sensitive for a while. If stinging is new, read skin barrier repair before deciding you have sensitive skin.

Finding your type on darker skin

The tests work the same way. Two signs read a little differently. Dryness on deeper skin tones often shows as an ashy, grayish look before it feels flaky; Medical News Today lists ashy among the signs of dry skin. And redness, the usual clue to sensitive skin, can be harder to see, so stinging, burning or itching after a product is the more reliable signal.

Knowing whether your skin is sensitive matters more when irritation can leave a dark mark. Before you add a new product, the AAD suggests applying it to a small test spot twice a day for 7 to 10 days. The sensitive skin facial page explains how that works.