I am not a dermatologist nor do I have extensive medical training. I cannot prescribe you any medications or drugs to address your problems. I am, however, a licensed esthetician that can recommend products according to your skin type. If you are seeking medical advice or a professional medical evaluation, please speak with your doctor or dermatologist.

#1: Acneic Skin: Dietary and Hormonal Problems

Symptoms:

• Possible sudden acne flare-ups within days or even hours after eating copius amounts of dairy products, gluten (found in breads, pastas etc.), spicy foods or even high fat foods
• Angry, red and swollen pimples often take a while to form a head to pop
• More angry breakouts than blackheads
• Breakouts around the mouth and cheek areas
• Possibly avoids moisturizers in attempt to reduce oil production
• Glossy and oily skin before 12 noon or even by morning

You may be experiencing breakouts due to certain dietary allergies or even contact allergies. Not sleeping or drinking enough water may be affecting your hormone levels. Eating too much dairy may be triggering onslaughts of cystic acne. You may also possibly have a gluten intolerance if you’re noticing changes in your mood, digestion, and skin.

Try taking a break from dairy for a week and then reintroduce it back into your diet, as this will be a surefire way to tell if this is the culprit. Unfortunately, many people have a lactose intolerance or a dairy allergy that may trigger a hormonal imbalance and cause breakouts. Make sure to get enough sleep and drink enough water too!

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#2: Acneic Skin: You Need a Thorough Regimen

Symptoms:

• Blackheads on cheeks and forehead
• Whiteheads and/or angry red pimples that never go away
• Glossy and oily skin before 12 noon or even by morning
• Dry patches on the skin while having an oily T-zone or forehead
• Possibly uses bar soap or body wash if not any product specialized for the face at all

You may be missing more than a few holes in your skincare regimen, or possibly using skincare formulations that aren’t suitable for your skin type.

If using bar soap or body cleansers, these need to be replaced with a facial cleanser, stat. Body soaps have a different pH level than facial skin, as the skin on the rest of your body is slightly more alkaline than your face. The result? An unbalanced pH level that creates the perfect breeding ground for acne.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for acne, but it is quite possible you are experiencing a buildup of bacteria and excess sebum that aren’t being properly cleansed from your skin.

Click here for your full skincare regimen.

#3: Acneic Skin – Combination: You’re Doing Too Much

Symptoms:

• Sporadic pimples that don’t always occur in breakout clusters or groups
• Tight skin after cleansing face (before putting on a moisturizer)
• Forehead feels tight or even flaky but still has blackheads
• Glossy and oily skin before 12 noon or even by morning
• Possible dry patches on the cheeks or around mouth
• Several dry spots post-pop as a result of over-treating pimples
• Red and tender skin, especially the cheeks, after cleansing the face
• Possibly avoids moisturizers in attempt to reduce oil production
• Uses soap or facial cleansers several times a day
• Exfoliates the face more than once a week
• Uses a variety of products per category (using more than one cleanser, several types of scrubs and masks, etc.)
• Often switches from product to product

You’re very pro-active about getting rid of your acne, but no matter what you do, once a pimple goes away, another pops up in a different spot! Your skin care routine might feel like an endless game of Whack-A-Mole, but this could possibly be because you’re using way too many aggressive products and ingredients on your skin that may be hurting more than helping it.

The key with acne is to treat it gently and use the correct products in the proper doses.

Click here for your full skincare regimen.

#4: You Need to Moisturize, Hydrate and Exfoliate

Symptoms:

• Skin becomes significantly oily mid-to-late afternoon (true oily skin types are significantly glossy before 12 noon or even morning)
• Tight skin after cleansing face (before putting on a moisturizer)
• Possible dry patches on the cheeks
• Powder makeup appears “caked-on” when freshly applied
• Possibly flaky skin
• Gets sunburned easily and turns pink in the sun, oftentimes even with sunscreen
• Mostly found in but (not limited to): Caucasian and lighter skin types
• People ages 35+ are commonly affected by dry skin (but not all the time)

Before you go crazy on me, hear me out: over 1/2 my clients believe their skin is oily when they actually need to hydrate their skin more to balance it out. If you continuously try to rid your skin of its natural moisture, it will, in turn, produce more! You can read more of this crazy science in my blog post here.

Some people may not like the greasy or heavy feel that moisturizers are often associated with, but let’s be real. Your skin was designed to produce oil to protect and moisturize itself, and dry skin types don’t have this luxury. Moisture is your friend – it’s time to find a moisturizer that works for your skin type.

If your skin type is the rigidly dry skin type – tight, dry or even flaky skin – you’re probably missing a few steps in your skincare regimen, which isn’t allowing your skin to shed its cells. You may need some exfoliating products to encourage the dead skin cells to shed and let new cells surface from underneath.

It’s also extremely important to moisturize when using exfoliating products! After exfoliating the superficial surface of the skin, your skin needs a protective barrier.

Dry skin also puts you at risk for accelerated aging, so it’s very important to have a regimen that moisturizes and also offers sun protection.

Some people may not like the greasy or heavy feel that moisturizers are often associated with, but let’s be real: your skin was designed to produce oil to protect and moisturize itself, and dehydrated skin types don’t have this luxury. Moisture is your friend – it’s time to find a moisturizer that works for your skin type.

Click here for your full skincare regimen.

#5: Risk of Accelerated Aging or Visible Signs of Aging

Pre-disposed (Early) Symptoms:

• People ages 35+ or even as early as 30 begin seeing visible signs of aging as a result of the skin’s steadily declining collagen production
• Frequent sun exposure without adequate sun protection is the #1 cause of visible aging, so it’s important to start wearing a sunscreen underneath your makeup – even if your makeup has sunscreen, it is oftentimes not enough
• People at risk for accelerated aging often burn easily or struggle with dry skin
• People of Caucasian descent are at higher risk of accelerated aging at an earlier age than other heritages because of less pigmentation, and their skin produces less sebum that is needed to naturally protect and hydrate the skin

Visible Symptoms:

• Visible fine lines and wrinkles possibly found around the outer corners of the eyes (crow’s feet) and laugh lines around the mouth
• Thinner skin
• Skin does not immediately “snap back” into place when pulled or pushed
• Freckled decollete
• Noticeable wrinkles in the neck and cleavage areas
• Frequent sun exposure without adequate sun protection
• Skin becomes significantly oily mid-to-late afternoon (true oily skin types are significantly glossy before 12 noon or even morning)
• Skin is oftentimes dry
• People of Caucasian descent are at higher risk of accelerated aging at an earlier age than other heritages because of less pigmentation, and their skin produces less sebum that is needed to naturally protect and hydrate the skin

Whether you’re in the early stages of baby-fine lines and wrinkles or are showing pronounced signs of aging, there’s no avoiding it – you’ve got to start fighting the good fight against aging!

Sun exposure is the #1 cause for accelerating signs of aging and can be avoided by avoiding unnecessary sun exposure or using sunscreen when you’re soaking up the rays. As you age, your skin also slowly loses its ability to keep itself moisturized and protected from free radicals, because your sebum production is on the decline. This is why your skin becomes thin and loses its elasticity as time passes.

Click here for your full skincare regimen.

#6: Sensitive Skin – You’re Overdoing It

Symptoms:

• Possibly avoiding moisturizers in attempt to reduce oil production
• Using soap or facial cleansers several times a day
• Exfoliating the face more than once a week
• Using a variety of products per category (using more than one cleanser, several types of scrubs and masks, etc.)
• Often switches from product to product
• Fear of using makeup due to breakouts or rashes
• Often breaks out in hives or rashes from stress or upon contact with common allergens such as cat dander or pollen
• Tight skin after cleansing face (before putting on a moisturizer)
• May sometimes experience breakouts as a result of trying new makeup or skincare products
• Possible psoriasis, rosacea, or eczema
• Possible dry patches on the cheeks or around mouth
• Red and tender skin after cleansing the face

You might be taking care of your skin, but in this case, you’re probably doing too much. You know that phrase, “sometimes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing”? That’s your skin!

It’s very important to allow the natural processes of your skin take place – the skin is a wonderfully intuitive organ that is designed to protect you. When you constantly strip it of its natural defense mechanism (sebum) or constantly exfoliate, you aren’t allowing your skin to do its own thing. Now it’s very confused… and it’s just trying to help you!

Instead of focusing on cleaning and detoxing your skin, let’s focus on nourishing your skin with essential ingredients to allow it to perform its natural processes.

Click here for your full skincare regimen.

#7: Oily Skin – You’re Washing Too Much

Symptoms:

• Skin is visibly oily with a glossy sheen before 12 noon and oftentimes during the morning
• Possibly avoiding moisturizers in attempt to reduce oil production
• Possibly uses soap or facial cleansers several times a day
• Possibly exfoliates the face more than once a week
• Possibly uses a variety of products per category (using more than one cleanser, several types of scrubs and masks, etc.)
• Often switches from product to product
• Skin appears congested and clogged after wearing makeup
• Tight skin after cleansing face (before putting on a moisturizer)
• Red and tender skin after cleansing the face
• Mostly found in but (not limited to): People with more pigmentation in the skin (people of Black, Asian, Hispanic, etc.)

Calm down on the cleansing! You’re most likely washing your face way too much and are training your skin to produce even more oil. Nobody likes to feel like an oil slick, but your skin naturally produces a certain amount of sebum to protect and moisturize itself. By constantly washing and doing too much to your face, you’re hurting more than helping it.

I recommend all of my clients to reduce using a facial cleanser only once a day, before bedtime. What’s my crazy and backward reasoning? You can read more about my tried-and-true theory here.

It’s also probably worth mentioning that your products may have too many stripping agents or exfoliating ingredients that may be aggravating your oil production. It may be time to invest in more nourishing products rather than oil control products!

Click here for your full skincare regimen.

#8: Balanced Skin

Symptoms:

• No dietary allergies that trigger rashes or breakouts
• No apparent acne or congested pores
• No holes in diet
• Drinks enough water daily
• Face does not get tender or red after washing
• Possibly uses a balanced skincare regimen
• Skin becomes “oily” during mid-to-late afternoon (true oily skin types develop a visibly glossy sheen during morning or before 12 noon)

You’ve been blessed by the skin gods! You don’t seem to have any dietary or contact allergies, and no obvious skin conditions like acne or wrinkles either. In this situation, you can always bring it up a notch by improving the overall texture, radiance and clarity of your skin.

Some people may believe their skin is considered oily, but let’s be real: your skin was designed to produce oil to protect and moisturize itself. Moisture is your friend! A little bit of sebum is normal – the general rule of thumb is that if your skin doesn’t get oily until mid to late afternoon, your skin is perfectly normal. If you’re seeing an oily sheen in the morning or before 12 noon, that’s where you fall into the oily skin type.

Click here for your full skincare regimen.