I’ve identified as someone with dry skin for years now. And for good reason. I have had dry skin! I built my skincare routine around this fact, packing it full of moisturizing products meant to breathe life back into my parched skin. It worked too, for a while. Blemishes were a thing of the past and my skin constantly felt hydrated (thanks to products like Embryolisse’s Lait-Crème Concentré).
That is, until 2019. In just a few months, my dry skin suddenly took a 180 turn, and now my skin is decidedly oily—seemingly out of nowhere. Acne is a thing I’m struggling with again, too, which was fun to be rediscovering at 28 years-old. At the end of every day, I’m left with oily skin, a skincare routine that’s designed for dry skin types, and wondering what I’m supposed to do now. How does your skin just… change?
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Your Skin May Change Again
While my skin did grow oilier once, that doesn’t mean it won’t revert back again. Like Green said, our skin type is influenced by a host of factors, and it’s not always easy to predict what it’s going to do. You just need to learn what it needs now, while it’s in flux. “If your skin type changes, it’s time to explore and learn what products and treatment works best for your skin as it goes through the transition,” Green says. “The first step is putting together a skincare routine. It’s important to know what products to use and the order in which they should be used.”
And You Can Keep Adjusting Your Routine to Compensate
Of course, if you suspect your skincare routine may be doing your skin more harm than good, you should see your dermatologist to get some recommendations on what the best course of action to take is. The most important thing, Green tells us, is that you listen to your skin. Make sure you’re adapting your skincare routine to support whatever your skin needs at this present moment—not what it needed before, and not what you want it to need in the future.
Next up: Experts say these face masks actually help heal acne scars.
