Skin Types
The skin on the face is normally called complexion. Types of complexion depend on a variety of factors, such as: heredity, climate, race, sex, health condition, lifestyle and methods used in facial care. There are four kinds of skin (complexion): normal, dry, oily and mixed.
Normal skin
This kind of skin is often found on children's faces but rarely on adults' ones. According to the definition normal skin is smooth, matt, slightly rose, firm, tight, without any defects, resistant to weather conditions and it reacts on water and soap properly. Normal skin tolerates chemical, mechanical and physical treatments well. Cosmetic procedures must be done according to individual features of normal skin, especially its fat coat.
Dry skin
This type of skin is thin, fair rose, generally it doesn't tolerate water and soap well, it often exfoliates, and is prone to various skin damages affected by weather conditions. That is why it should be protected against cold and frost and during the summer time against sun's influence. Long-term exposure dry skin to cold, sun, wind may result in premature wrinkles and skin ageing. Skin dryness may be congenital or acquired. The reason for acquired skin dryness may be: wrong care, selection of inadequate cosmetics, using exfoliative speciments permanently (for instance anti-freckles creams). Skin which is generally defined as normal one, usually becomes the type of dry while ageing and reaching the age of forty, or even earlier.
Oily skin
This type of skin is congenital or sometimes hereditary. Oil skin emerges as a consequence of hyperfunction of sebaceous glands. Oil skin is covered with a layer of fat, it is glossy, usually greyish with expanded pores whose look resembles orange rind. When you press or squeeze those pores oil plugs in form or a thread will come out from the openings of oil glands-these are called comedoes. Comedoes when appear as a consequence of creatine oxidation and are in the shape of black spots are called blackheads. The dark spots originate also after using preparations or lotions containing sulphur and mercury. Seborrhea is a skin disease caused by the increased activity of the skin cells and glands. There are two main types of seborrhea: seborrhea sicca, which is a dry scaling (there is more creatine than fat), and seborrhea oleosa (there is more fat than creatine) which causes a greasy skin.
As girls and boys are concerned the seborrhea occurs temporarily in a period of adolescence. This kind of seborhhea endures for a couple of years and then passes away. Nonetheless when this state stays longer - it means its character is the pathological one and it requires medical therapy as well as external treatment. There are periods when the seborrhoea is less visible and periods when more during lifetime. Sometimes it intensifies for a moment after some diseases. From the medical point of view the cause of seborrhoea is still unknown. What is known is the fact that it is associated with endocrine glands disorders, especially sexual, thyroid and pituitary glands. Other reasons of seborrhoea are: not proper nutrition (poor diet), digestive track disorders and deficiency of vitamins (especially vitamins: E, H and B6). Oil skin is a poses perfect base for various diseases, leading to seborrhoea eczema and common acne.
Mixture skin
This kind of skin is characterised by oil parts of face (usually the centre of the face: chin, nose, forehead - exceptionally the other way round) as well as dry or normal skin on the rest of it. It is difficult to take care of mixed skin while it is usually sensitive to chemical and physical agents.