Guide
How to Work Out Your Skin Type
Skin type determines textures more than ingredients — a gel or a balm, not a different active. It is worth getting right because the most common misidentification, dehydrated skin mistaken for oily, leads people to strip skin that actually needed moisture.
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The bare-face test
Cleanse with a gentle cleanser, apply nothing at all, and wait an hour. Then look.
- Comfortable, no shine: normal.
- Shiny across forehead, nose and chin, and also on the cheeks: oily.
- Tight, rough, or flaking anywhere: dry.
- Shiny down the centre, comfortable or tight on the cheeks: combination.
- Red, stinging, or reactive regardless of shine: sensitive, which sits alongside any of the above.
Dry is not the same as dehydrated
Dry skin lacks oil. It is a skin type — generally lifelong, and it needs richer textures and barrier lipids.
Dehydrated skin lacks water. It is a temporary condition, and any skin type can have it, including very oily skin. It is usually caused by over-cleansing, over-exfoliating, weather, or a compromised barrier.
This matters because the treatments differ. Dry skin needs oils and ceramides. Dehydrated skin needs humectants, a gentler routine, and time.
Why oily skin is over-diagnosed
Skin stripped of oil frequently responds by producing more. People then read the shine as confirmation of oiliness, reach for a stronger cleanser, and the cycle tightens.
If your skin is shiny but also feels tight, stings with products, or flakes in patches, you are more likely dehydrated than oily. Try two weeks of gentler cleansing and a proper moisturiser before treating yourself as oily.
What your type actually changes
- Cleanser: gel and foaming for oily, cream and balm for dry.
- Moisturiser: gel or lotion for oily, cream or balm for dry.
- Sunscreen: matte finishes for oily, hydrating for dry, mineral for sensitive.
- Frequency of actives — sensitive skin needs longer between introductions.
What it does not change
Which actives address which concern. Salicylic acid treats congestion on any skin type; the difference is how often you use it and what you pair it with. Skin type shapes texture and pacing, not the ingredient list.
Common questions
Can my skin type change?
Yes. Age, hormones, climate, and medication all shift it — skin often becomes drier over time. It is worth retesting occasionally rather than assuming the type you had at twenty still applies.
Can oily skin be dehydrated?
Very commonly, and it is one of the most frequent misreadings in skincare. Shiny skin that also feels tight and stings is usually dehydrated, and stripping it further makes it worse.
Is sensitive skin a type?
It behaves more like a state that sits alongside your type — you can be oily and sensitive, or dry and sensitive. It also fluctuates, particularly with a damaged barrier.
Skip the guesswork
CURA scans your skin and builds the routine for you — the right steps, in the right order, paced so you do not irritate your way back to the start.