Six quick questions to tell whether your skin is oily, dry, combination, normal, or sensitive, with a simple morning and evening routine for your result.
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Your skin type
Oily skin
Your answers also point to sensitive skin. Introduce new products slowly.
Your skin makes more sebum than it needs. It looks shiny across most of the face and pores are easy to see. The upside: oil helps keep skin supple, and lines often show later.
Morning
Cleanse a gel or foaming cleanser
Treat niacinamide serum, if you like
Moisturize a light, oil-free gel
Protect SPF 30 or higher in a fluid or gel texture
Evening
Cleanse the same gentle gel cleanser
Treat 2% salicylic acid (BHA), three nights a week
Moisturize a light gel moisturizer
Washing more often makes shine worse, not better. Twice a day is enough.
Read next
Why is my face so oily?
How to shrink pores
Your skin type
Dry skin
Your answers also point to sensitive skin. Introduce new products slowly.
Your skin makes less oil. It can feel tight, look dull, and get rough or flaky, especially in cold weather. It needs help holding on to moisture.
Morning
Cleanse lukewarm water or a creamy cleanser
Treat hyaluronic acid on damp skin
Moisturize a cream with ceramides
Protect SPF 30 or higher with a moisturizing finish
Evening
Cleanse a creamy, non-foaming cleanser
Treat lactic acid once or twice a week, not daily
Moisturize a richer cream, with petrolatum on very dry patches
Put moisturizer on within a minute of washing, while your skin is still damp.
Read next
Dehydrated vs dry skin
How to get rid of texture on your face
Your skin type
Combination skin
Your answers also point to sensitive skin. Introduce new products slowly.
Your T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) is oily while your cheeks are normal or dry. It is the most common skin type, and it does best when you treat each zone a little differently.
Morning
Cleanse a gentle gel cleanser
Treat niacinamide all over
Moisturize a light lotion, with a little more on the cheeks
Protect SPF 30 or higher
Evening
Cleanse the same gentle cleanser
Treat BHA on the T-zone only, two or three nights a week
Moisturize a richer cream on dry areas and a light gel on the T-zone
Treat the zones separately: oil control where you shine, extra moisture where you feel tight.
Read next
Combination skin guide
What do clogged pores look like?
Your skin type
Normal skin
Your answers also point to sensitive skin. Introduce new products slowly.
Your skin is balanced: not very oily, not very dry, and rarely reactive. Your job is mostly protection and consistency.
Morning
Cleanse a gentle cleanser or just water
Treat vitamin C serum, if you like
Moisturize a light lotion
Protect SPF 30 or higher
Evening
Cleanse a gentle cleanser, twice if you wore sunscreen or makeup
Treat a retinoid two or three nights a week, building up slowly
Moisturize the same lotion or a slightly richer cream
Add one new product at a time and give it four weeks before you judge it.
Read next
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Glow up tips
Your skin type
Sensitive skin
Your answers also point to sensitive skin. Introduce new products slowly.
Your skin reacts easily with stinging, redness, or itching. Sensitive skin can also be oily, dry, or combination underneath. Start by calming it down.
Morning
Cleanse lukewarm water or a fragrance-free cream cleanser
Treat skip actives until your skin settles
Moisturize a fragrance-free cream with ceramides
Protect mineral SPF 30 or higher (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide)
Evening
Cleanse the same gentle cleanser
Treat nothing new for two weeks, then one product at a time
Moisturize a soothing cream with oat, panthenol, or ceramides
Patch test anything new on your jaw or inner arm for a few days first.
Read next
How to reduce redness on your face
Dehydrated vs dry skin
What are the different skin types?
Your skin type describes how much oil your skin makes and how easily it reacts. It shapes which cleanser, moisturizer, and actives will feel good. It is worth knowing before you buy anything.
Skin type
How it feels
How it looks
Focus on
Normal
Comfortable all day
Even, small pores
Protection and consistency
Dry
Tight, sometimes itchy
Dull, rough or flaky patches
Rich moisturizer, gentle cleansing
Oily
Slick by midday
Shiny, visible pores, breakouts
Oil control without stripping
Combination
Oily T-zone, normal or dry cheeks
Shine in the center only
Treating zones differently
Sensitive
Stings or burns easily
Redness, reactive patches
Fewer, fragrance-free products
How to find your skin type without a quiz
The bare-face test is the simplest method. Wash with a gentle cleanser, pat dry, and apply nothing. After 30 to 60 minutes, check how your skin feels and looks. Tight and matte points to dry skin. Shine everywhere points to oily. Shine only on the forehead, nose, and chin points to combination.
The blotting paper test is faster. Press a blotting sheet on different parts of your face and hold it to the light. Lots of oil from everywhere means oily skin, oil only from the T-zone means combination, and almost none means dry or normal skin.
Skin type is not the same as skin condition. Acne, redness, and dehydration can show up on any type. If you want to see those too, a skin analysis looks at visible concerns trait by trait.
From skincare quiz to routine
Using products made for a different skin type is one of the most common reasons a routine fails. Heavy creams can clog oily skin, and stripping foam cleansers can leave dry skin raw. That is why this skincare quiz ends with a routine instead of a label: each result lists a cleanser, a treatment, a moisturizer, and sunscreen by ingredient, not by brand.
Start with the basics for two to four weeks before adding anything else. When you do add products, the skincare routine builder puts everything you own in the right order, morning and night. For a deeper look at the most common type, read our combination skin guide.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 5 skin types?
Dermatologists usually describe five: normal, dry, oily, combination, and sensitive. Sensitive can overlap with the others, which is why this quiz can return a result like “combination, sensitive”.
How can I tell my skin type at home?
Do the bare-face test: wash with a gentle cleanser, pat dry, apply nothing, and check your skin after 30 to 60 minutes. Tight means dry, shiny all over means oily, shiny only in the T-zone means combination, and comfortable means normal.
Can your skin type change?
Yes. Hormones, age, climate, medication, and your routine can all shift it. Many people get drier with age or in winter, and oiliness often peaks in the teens and twenties.
Is dehydrated skin a skin type?
No. Dehydration is a temporary condition where skin lacks water, and it can happen to any skin type, including oily skin. Dry skin lacks oil and is a type.
