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[ Explainer · skin type ]
What is my skin type?
Short version: skin type is mostly about oil. Telling oily from dry is easy. Telling normal from combination is where self-assessment slips most, and people tend to rate their skin as less oily than it actually is.
The reliable home check takes one hour: wash with a mild cleanser, put nothing on, wait about an hour, then look in daylight. Shine everywhere is oily, shine on forehead and nose with comfortable cheeks is combination, tight with no shine is dry, comfortable with little shine is normal. Sensitive is a separate question, and it does not show in a mirror.
How do I find out my skin type at home?
With a bare-skin test. It needs a mild cleanser, a clock and a window, nothing else.
A gentle, low-foam cleanser and lukewarm water. Pat dry with a clean towel. A harsh foaming wash would make the next hour look drier than your skin really is.
No toner, serum, moisturiser, sunscreen or makeup. Every product changes how the surface looks and feels.
Oil comes back after washing, most of it within that first hour. Check right after washing and almost every face looks dry.
Stand at a window and check forehead, nose and cheeks separately: shine, tightness, rough or flaky spots. The comparison between T-zone and cheeks is the whole point.
What does the result mean?
| Forehead and nose | Cheeks | Most likely |
|---|---|---|
| no shine, may feel tight | tight, rough or flaky | dry-leaning |
| at most a little shine on the nose | comfortable | normal |
| clearly shiny | comfortable or tight | combination |
| clearly shiny | clearly shiny as well | oily |
| clearly shiny | shiny and tight at once | often a routine that strips too much, see tight after washing |
Repeat the test on a second day before you settle on an answer. One morning after a late night or a hot shower is a snapshot, not a skin type.
Is a shiny nose enough to call it combination skin?
No. Forehead, nose and chin are oilier than the cheeks on almost every face, so a shiny nose alone is just a normal face. What makes combination is the gap between T-zone and cheeks: clearly shiny in the middle, comfortable or dry on the sides, and that pattern showing up again and again rather than once.
Why does my skin type seem to change?
Because oil is not a fixed number. It is lowest at night and highest in the early afternoon, higher in summer than in winter, and it tends to drop with age, more noticeably in women. The same face can test combination in July and normal in January. That is also why shine peaks around lunchtime and why winter skin feels drier. Neither means your type has flipped.
Is dry skin the same as dehydrated skin?
No. Dry describes skin that feels tight, rough or flaky most of the time because its outer layer holds on to water poorly. Dehydrated is a cosmetic word for skin that is short of water right now, and that can happen on oily skin too, for example after a harsh cleanser. Shine plus tightness on the same face usually means the routine is too stripping, not that you have two skin types.
Is sensitive a skin type?
Not in the oily-to-dry sense. Sensitive skin is about how skin feels: stinging, burning or itching from products that should not cause that. It can come with any skin type, oily ones included. A photo cannot show it, so it is something only you can answer.
Is skin type the same as the Fitzpatrick phototype?
No. The Fitzpatrick scale (I to VI) describes how your skin reacts to sun, whether it burns or tans. It matters for sunscreen, not for choosing a cleanser or a moisturiser.
What does my skin type change in a routine?
Mostly textures. Oily and combination skin usually get on better with a gel cleanser, a gel-cream and a fluid sunscreen. Dry skin usually prefers a cream cleanser and a richer moisturiser. The cleanser guide by skin type goes through each format. Ingredients follow what you want your skin to look like more than the type itself, though a shiny T-zone is where niacinamide and a BHA are the most common picks.
How does Baselit work out your skin type?
During setup you pick your skin type, or "I'm not sure". That answer is the starting point and is never silently overwritten. Each scan also notes whether your skin looks clearly shiny in the photo, and where: T-zone or all over. Only clear shine counts, and only when it shows on at least two different scan days out of your last four.
- You picked dry or normal, and your scans look clearly shinier: a line in your routine asks whether it should use lighter textures. Tap it and Mia explains what she saw. Nothing changes on its own, and your skin type stays as you set it until you change it in settings.
- You picked "I'm not sure": the shine decides. Repeated T-zone shine gives combination, repeated shine all over gives oily, no clear shine gives normal. A single shiny day is only a lean: your type stays normal, and the app tells you what a second shiny day would change.
- Dry and sensitive never come from the photo. No shine is not evidence of dry skin, since a fresh wash, winter air or soft light all hide it.
The Skin tab shows your skin type with its reason, "from your answer" or "from your scans" with the shiny days counted. The scan reads visible shine in your photo. It does not measure oil, and light, time of day and products all play into it.
Frequently asked questions
What is my skin type?
Can my skin type change?
Is combination skin the most common skin type?
Can oily skin be dehydrated?
Does oily skin need moisturiser?
Is sensitive skin a skin type?
Should I scan my face right after washing?
Can an app tell my skin type from a selfie?
Is my skin type the same as my Fitzpatrick type?
Baselit is a cosmetic skin-analysis app, not medical advice. This guide describes how skin looks and feels. It is not a diagnosis or a treatment, and it is no substitute for a doctor or dermatologist.