How to winter - proof your combination skin

Oily in some places, dry in others – what do you do when your face leads a double life? Ingeborg van Lotringen has the answers

Like peanut butter and jam, the flaky cheeks and oily T-zone so typical of combination skin make an unlikely but very common pair: it’s thought 60% of us* grapple, at some level, with this skin type. But though you need to be mindful of each area having its own needs, you won’t have to apply your entire regime in a colour-by-numbers fashion. Just stick to our plan to find a peaceful middle ground of oil-slick-free comfort – yes, even in the throes of winter.

1 DIAGNOSE IT RIGHT

Wash your face with a mild, sulphatefree, water-soluble cleanser, such as Plenaire Rose Jelly, £30, or Dr Roebuck’s Kibosh Weightless

Foaming Cleanser, £22. Wait 20 minutes, and if your T-zone is now greasy, with pores more visible, while your cheek area feels OK, tight or rough, you have combination skin. It’s genetic, but lifestyle factors and the wrong skincare can make oily areas oilier and spottier, and normal-to-dry bits drier and flakier.

Or you may have sprouted oil all over your visage, but unlike those with oily skin, your face still feels uncomfy and tight. This means your skin is oily and dehydrated. It can be a result of bad skincare habits, but can also be genetic. “Dark skins (Fitzpatrick type V and VI) may be genetically more prone to a weak skin barrier,” says dermatologist Dr Mary Sommerlad, “leading to a lack of water (but not always oil).” Often, the resulting spot-prone yet tight skin is not recognised as combination, but it is and should be

treated as such.

2 UNDERSTAND ITS CAUSES

Combination skin can play nicely under the radar, managed with the odd blotting paper on your T-zone – until, seemingly out of nowhere, it goes haywire. “People often don’t realise it’s hormonal activity that causes T-zone sebum levels to increase,” says aesthetician Emma Coleman. Anything that sends hormones into overdrive – puberty, the second half of your cycle and menopause, but also stress and drugs like the Pill – can aggravate this skin type. Environment and lifestyle play a part as well: winter’s freezing gales, central heating and long hot showers painfully parch dry areas and make oily zones act up. Diets high in sugar and processed foods (hello, Iceland party selection) also cause hormonal imbalances and therefore skin flare-ups. And, warns cosmetic dermatologist Dr Sam Bunting, “product hopping” – switching between multiple products with actives such as glycolic acid and retinol – is a major modern culprit for messing up healthy barrier function. Basically, combination skin is a diva; she needs to be handled with a level of (grudging) respect or you’ll just make matters worse.

3 FLIP YOUR APPROACH AROUND

The tendency with combination skin is to attack the oil and spots first and worry about the rest later. But you need to turn that thinking around. Trying to correct T-zone issues with stripping cleansers and harsh acids isn’t only too much for drier areas, it also confuses the oily zones, making them pump out even more sebum. “Be guided by your drier areas instead,” says Bunting. That means mild cleansers, gentle actives, quenching moisturisers and calming ingredients. Essentially, the rules for sensitive, dehydrated skin apply all over your face, followed by a few targeted products for problem zones.

4 LAYER YOUR HYDRATION

After the mildest possible cleanser (avoid anything with sulphates, alcohol or essential oils and never use bar soap on your face), apply a gel, serum or lotion moisturiser all over. These light, fresh formulas are based on humectants (glycerin, sorbitol, hyaluronic acid, urea) that attract water to the skin, plus low levels of occlusives (shea butter, modern silicones) that keep moisture from evaporating. They may also have skin-identical lipids, such as ceramides and cholesterol to reinforce your skin barrier. But they contain few to no emollients (oils), so they will quench dry and dehydrated areas without adding too much grease to spot-prone zones. We like Dr Sam’s Flawless

Moisturiser Light, £22, and Florence By Mills Dreamy Dew

Moisturizer, £14. Feeling flush? Consider layering a hydrating toner under your moisturiser. It may sound like an unnecessary step, but 21st-century toners are instant quenchers and pH-resetters packed with restorative, calming ingredients. We like Curél Moisture Facial Lotion Enrich, £17.50,

and Decree Preparatory Mist Daily/AM+PM, £52.

5 CHOOSE YOUR ACTIVES WISELY

Exfoliating acids cause problems when over-used, but the right ones, employed judiciously, can rebalance combination skin. “I really like azelaic acid (try Garden Of Wisdom Azelaic Acid

10% Serum, £9) for combination skin,” says Bunting. “It refines pores and smoothes texture, but also calms rednessprone skin, minimising the T-zone/cheek differential.” Coleman recommends polyhydroxy (PHA) acids (Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads,

£65), known to both gently peel and hydrate. Apply acids after cleansing and before other skincare. But the best single active for combination skin is niacinamide. This multitasking vitamin is famed for its ability to both regulate sebum and strengthen skin’s protective barrier (among other things). A concentration of 5% or more will make a real difference; apply it as a serum (we like Tandem Back-On-Track

Booster, £22) after toner and before moisturiser. Or make sure your toner or moisturiser has niacinamide in it: try Olay Total Effects 7 In One Anti-Ageing Moisturiser, £14.99, or Paula’s Choice Pore-Reducing Toner,

£21. If your moisturiser doesn’t have an SPF, layer an oil-free one over skincare. PCA Skin Weightless Protection SPF 45, £40, is the lightest of all.

6 PRECISION-TARGET WHERE REQUIRED

Your aqua-light moisturiser will probably not quite cut it when it comes to painfully dry, red, flaky areas, particularly when it’s freezing outside – so this is where you want to do a skincare colour by numbers. You can simply layer a rich cream, or a nourishing face oil or balm (try Superdrug Me+ 100%

Squalane Booster, £6.99, or Emma Coleman Healing Night

Balm, £37.50), on dry areas (make sure these go on top of your gel moisturiser and under any sunscreen) day and night.

For the odd boost, multi-masking is ideal. Clay, charcoal and peet will all absorb oil and leave skin temporarily more matte and purified, while salicylic acid, with its pore-clearing, inflammationquenching superpowers, is the gold-standard for treating spot-prone T-zones. Find them in The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2%

Masque, £9.90. On your dry areas, spread a generous layer of The Body Shop British Rose Fresh

Plumping Mask, £17, or Korres Hydra-Biome Probiotic Superdose

Face Mask, £36. Watch Netflix for 20 minutes, remove, and behold your uniformly happy face.

CLEVER CLEANSING HACK

At times, congested areas will need a deeper cleanse than your gentle purifying wash or gel can provide, but don’t reach for a harsher cleanser. “Cosmetics Cop” Paula Begoun suggests massaging yours in with a non-abrasive cleansing device like the Foreo Mini 3, £139, where needed. ◆