It might come as a shock but you cannot hold on to a skincare routine for your dear life. Your body goes through an enormous amount of changes in one lifetime and so does your skin. With changes, your skin type changes too. That doesn’t mean you experiment with your skin when you feel that your skin type has changed. You must know the cause of the change in skin type and what must be the right change in your skincare routine that won’t harm your skin. Your skin isn’t software that you can experiment with! So here’s everything you need to know about how and why your skin type changes and what you can do about it.

How to understand your skin type?

Before you pick a product, you must know what your skin type is so that you can avoid certain ingredients. There are mainly five skin types- Normal, Dry, Oily, Combination, and Sensitive. The best way to determine your skin type is right after washing your face. After washing your face, do not apply anything for an hour. Use a tissue paper or a blotting sheet after an hour to pat on your face. If you see oil on it after patting your whole face, then you have an oily skin type. If you found oil only on your T-zone then it is a combination skin type. If you don’t see oil on the paper but rather flakes, then you have a dry skin type. And if you can relate to none of these findings then you have a normal aka. Blessed skin type.

Whether or not you have a sensitive skin type can be determined right after washing your face. Your face could turn red or feel itchy and stretched. Your face could feel stretched even if your skin is dry. So yeah, you get the point that your skin does need a dermatologist before experimenting but for quick understanding, this trick sure works.

Learn more about how to determine your skin type here!

What are the factors that affect your skin type?

Understanding the factors that have led to the change in your skin type can help you make the right decision with regards to change in your diet, lifestyle, and skincare. Let’s look at a few common factors that rule the change in your skin type-

1. Environment

With the changes in the environment you’re surrounded with, your skin goes through certain changes. If you’ve now shifted to a city, then the chances are you’re living in a polluted environment and these pollutants can irritate and damage your skin barrier. This will irritate your skin and lead to the overproduction of oil in the efforts to restore the skin barrier.

Sublime recommends the Detoxie Anti-Fatigue & Anti-Pollution Glow Restore Face Pack which has Japanese Matcha Powder packed with Antioxidants to fight the free radicals that pollution produces. This makes a great weekend skin reviving pack!

2. Ageing

Ageing can lead to loss of Collagen and a decrease in cell turnover that leads to pigmentation, fine lines, and wrinkles. To simply put, your skin’s requirement increases with age and if you don’t keep up with it then you will see the nature of ageing. Naturally, when you age, your skin cannot maintain the oil balance and will turn dry easily. Your skin may either turn dry or sensitive if you do not maintain your skin as you age.

Here are the ingredients that can help you fight ageing!

3. Diet

You must have probably heard us saying this zillion times that what you eat will show on your skin. With all the junk that we consume every day, our consumption of saturated fats increases which will increase the number of bad fats called low-density lipoprotein. So dietary recommendations are to opt for unsaturated fats which come from plants like Avocado and Olives and nuts like Walnuts, Almonds, Pecans, Pistachios. We often take our nutrient requirement for granted but as a skincare junkie, you must know the nutrient sources that your body can just absolutely not do without. The best way to ensure that you haven’t skipped your daily nutrient requirement is by adding supplements to your regime. We believe that every individual in their mid-twenties must absolutely start with supplements to delay ageing.

Learn more about food for your skin here!

Sublime recommends Nyumi Radiant Skin Gummies that have a blend of 8 Indian herbs packed with Vitamin C, E, Hyaluronic Acid, and Haldi to brighten and nourish your skin.

4. Lifestyle

This includes the job setting that you have, the environment you’re constantly exposed to, the habits that you carry every day, and even the timing of eating your meals. If your job entails you sitting in an air-conditioned office then you don’t need to worry much about facing heat and pollution. Those who’re constantly busting the streets to get the work done need a strong skincare and diet game or else it will take a toll on their skin health. Lifestyle also includes if you’re maintaining your mealtimes. If you maintain your meal times then your body knows when to be ready to break down and digest food. That is how you experience hunger at certain hours. However, if you fail to maintain the timing then you might not be able to digest your food well and that can give rise to acne.

5. Skincare products

Before picking a skincare product for a particular concern, we must understand our skin type so that we aren’t messing around with our skin to solve just one problem. For example, a sensitive skin type who hasn’t used Vitamin C before must start with the lowest concentration to combat dullness and pigmentation. Also, when you apply active ingredients, you cannot skip sunscreen. If you fail to use the skincare products in the right way, you might end up with trouble.

6. Menstrual cycle and medications

Certain medications like blood pressure, cholesterol, acne control medicines can dry out your skin and this will affect your skin barrier. We suggest that you opt for a hydrating skincare routine if you’re on these medications.

Not just these medications but even changes in hormones due to the menstrual cycle can change your skin type. Yepp, so a woman’s skin type changes every month as per their hormone levels. Accordingly, our skincare routine and diet must change too so that our health and skin don’t suffer. A week before your menstrual cycle, opt for gentle and hydrating ingredients like Cica, Aloe Vera, Rose water, Neem, etc. This is because your hormones are at a peak during this time. Your hormone levels also drastically change with pregnancy as well and so you must consult a dermatologist about the ingredients that are safe to use during pregnancy.

What are the changes that your skin goes through overtime?

1. Changes in the amount of subcutaneous fats

We have a considerable amount of face fats on the apple of our cheeks, around our mouth, and eyes. This keeps our face firm and perky but the fats start decreasing as we age, especially around the jaw, mouth, and even on the nose. So your face deflates and leads to sagging. Loss of subcutaneous fats is also due to loss of moisture or sun damage. This can change your skin type too since with the loss of fats, your skin might turn dry. When this occurs, you need a good topical dose of Vitamin E, Peptides, and Hyaluronic Acid.

2. Changes in the amount of Collagen

Your skin consists of Collagen which is a protein that improves the elasticity and firmness of your skin. With age, your skin cannot produce just enough Collagen to keep your skin wrinkle-free. So when your Collagen level decreases, your skin can become sensitive due to a lack of skin cell structure.

Learn more about Collagen here!

3. Changes in hormones

Hormones affect our skin and can change your skin type over time. However, one cannot say what will the hormonal changes do to your skin since every skin is unique. During pregnancy, puberty, medications, menstrual cycle your hormones levels change and this will show on your skin. Some of us have heard about pregnancy glow which is nothing but your skin type has changed due to hormones. Your body is producing enough Collagen, fats, and Lipids to bring that pregnancy glow. However, for some, pregnancy turns out to be a nightmare and we might end up with acne. This is again due to a change in skin type. Hormones have a huge hold on skin changes and you must consult a dermatologist if you believe the root cause of skin changes is hormonal changes.

Can your skin type change?

Short answer, yes. Long answer, YeEeesSsSss. But this is not such a commonly known fact so we often stick to our skincare routine without double-checking our skin type now and then. All the mentioned changes that our body goes through, leads to change in skin type. It might be tricky to know which factor is responsible for the change in your skin type. We’d recommend visiting a dermatologist who can assess your skin better. Remember that your skin is haywire due to the change and this is not the best time to experiment so if anything, don’t include active ingredients without consulting a dermatologist.

You can, however, make small changes in your skincare routine that involves moving towards skin minimalism aka. cutting down skincare products.

Here’s what you need to know about skin minimalism!

Skin minimalism could be used every time before your menstrual cycles as well. Your skin type can change a week before your cycle starts and that is because of hormone levels. This is why a pimple visits us right before the menstrual cycle. It requires dietary and skincare changes during this time period to ensure that your skin is breathing just fine. We’d recommend sticking to gel-based textures because your skin may turn oily due to hormone levels. To calm your skin and make sure that your skin is not stressed by external factors during this period, use Turmeric, Aloe Vera, Centella Asiatica which are known for their healing and soothing properties.

We’d recommend Dr Sheth's Haldi & Hyaluronic Acid Sleeping Mask that is just the right pick for your routine a week before your menstrual date is cornering you. It has Turmeric and Hyaluronic Acid to balance just what your skin essentially needs and avoid acne during this phase. 

What to do when your skin type has changed?

To know what you must do to tackle the change in skin type, you must first know what your current skin type is and why it has changed. If it has changed due to lifestyle and diet then you must focus more on your daily habits and the food that you consume. However, if it is not this then you might need a change in your skincare routine.

Change from Combination/Dry to Oily skin type: If you are now of oily skin type instead of combination or dry skin type then you must pick ingredients like Cica, Aloe Vera, Niacinamide, Rose Water, Salicylic Acid that can help you eliminate dirt, pigmentation and at the same time balance oil on your skin.

Sublime recommends Conscious Chemist FlashFix™ 1.5% Salix Alba & 0.5 Encapsulated Salicylic Acid. We love this for how wholesome this one bottle is. It has Lactic Acid, Encapsulated Salicylic Acid, Aloe Vera, and even Hyaluronic Acid to combat dullness, remove dead skin and fade pigmentation.

Change from Combination/Normal to Dry skin type: If you are now of dry skin type instead of combination or normal skin type then you must opt for skincare that has Vitamin E and Hyaluronic Acid mainly. You can also look out for Retinol and Vitamin C in the lowest concentration, to begin with since they are both active ingredients.

Sublime recommends Dear, Klairs Freshly Juiced Vitamin E Mask Mjni which has Vitamin E, Niacinamide, and Adenosine which is a powerful wound healer and also promotes Collagen synthesis.

Change from Normal to Sensitive skin type: If you’ve gone through many changes or haven’t stuck to a skincare routine then your skin can get irritated easily. Your skin barrier is broken due to frequent changes in your skincare routine and experiments. So a new ingredient in your skincare routine will make your skin sensitive and vulnerable to damage that can be caused by external stressors.

For those with sensitive skin types, opt for ingredients that can help you build a healthy skin barrier. You can pick Probiotic skincare products, Rose water, Honey, Saffron, etc.

Learn more about the Skin microbiome that explains the benefits of probiotic skincare!

Summary

Your skin type can change over time due to multiple factors like age, environment, skincare products, stress, hormones, diet, lifestyle, etc. It is essential to observe our skin every day to notice if there is a change in skin type. After all, skin is our biggest organ and it must not be avoided to lead to a healthy life. Keep a check on your diet and skincare regime as you move along in your life through a series of changes!

-Divya Salvi