Skincare is hard to maintain no matter what type of skin you have. I personally have combination skin– you know the drill, oily in the t-zone and normal to dry skin on the rest of my face. We tend to think we’re naturally cursed with combination skin, unable to acheive that even matte finish to our skin. In all actuality, most people who believe they have combination skin really just have dehydrated skin. Our skin produces oils in our t-zone to make up for the lack of moisture it receives from
A) Environmental damage. Think about it; our forehead is closest to the sun and our nose is the feature that sticks out the most on our face. These key areas are the most vulnerable to environmental damage which can draw moisture our of our skin.
B) Personally drying out our skin ourselves. Many of us tend to think that in order to get rid of the oil on our faces, we have to remove it as often as possible. While that may somewhat be true, we need to stray away from using products that strip our skin of moisture or do not provide the moisture we need (i.e. using toners contianing alcohol, using a moisturizer that resembles the consistency of milk etc).
Here is one beauty secret to beat the bad habit of using a common moisture-sucking product, while still using it.
How To Use a Clay Mask (Particularly for Women with Combination Skin)
Clay masks are typically used for acne prone skin to draw out the impurities in hopes of clear pores and clear skin. Every girl has needed it at some point in their life (if you haven’t, please give me your skin) but for girls with combination and oilier skin types we notice our skin still produces the same amount of oils anyway. I’ve developed a trick to make sure your clay mask rituals combat dryness at the same time. It’s based on a video I saw on YouTube of a woman getting a facial done at a spa where the esthetician wrapped her face with a warm compress on top of the green mask she applied to ensure her client’s pores stayed open to receive the mask’s magic. I thought about doing this myself, but then realized how much bacteria must be woven into the fibers of the cloth each time you do a mask. I’ve developed two sanitary substitutes for this method of ‘masking’:
1. Mix your clay mask with a moisture mask
By mixing the two types of masks you get the benefits of the clay and the moisture masks’ properties! The end product should not dry completely on your skin before you wash it off (depending on what kind of moisturizing mask you’re using. I use and highly recommend Pure + Simple’s French Clay Mask and Pure + Simple’s Rose Hip Mask.
2. Layer your clay mask underneath a sheet mask
Apply your clay mask only in areas where you need it. Then, layer a sheet mask over your entire face, protecting the clay mask underneath which prevents it from getting to the drying stage. Sheet masks are great for moisture as you can see when you pull it out of the package. It’s been soaking in a nutrient rich liquid before use! After the recommended duration of keeping your sheet mask on, take it off and wipe off the clay mask with the sheet. Rinse any clay residue off your face and proceed with the rest of your skincare routine. I recommend Mandom Beauty and Kose’s Clear Turn sheet masks.
I hope my non-expert knowledge will help some of you out and happy ‘masking’!