Delicate as velvet and silk, fine-pored, well supplied with blood and very elastic – this is what the ideal skin type looks like. However, only very few people can be happy about this. Combination skin, oily and dry or sensitive skin are the skin types that characterize real life. How our skin looks and feels depends heavily on sebum production. Sebum surrounds moisture and distributes it on the surface of the skin.
Combination skin performs function best
Depending on the stress and tasks, the skin in different parts of the body is different. And this is also true for the face. Usually, the skin in the middle of the face is rather oily, the remaining parts rather dry. The more oily zones run from the chin over the nose to the forehead and spread out in a T-shape above the eyebrows. A combination skin of this type is most likely to meet the demands of the environment. In the T-zone, which must be intensively protected against sun, heat, cold, wind and rain, numerous sebaceous glands are present in the skin tissue. The sebum they produce coats the skin with a protective film. In the peripheral zones, which are less exposed to environmental influences, there are fewer sebaceous glands.
Sebum protects the skin
Sebum (or sedum) is an important factor in keeping our skin environment in balance and protecting our skin from dehydration. In addition, it protects against skin diseases, germs and external influences such as chemicals. It is produced by the sebaceous glands – around 1 to 2 g a day – and is a smooth, greasy mix: sebum is composed of around 45 % trigylcerides and 15 % free fatty acids, 20 to 25 % waxes, 10 to 15 % squalene, and small amounts of cholesterol and residues of sebaceous cells. When the activity of the sebaceous and sweat glands is normal, the skin is said to be normal. When the sebaceous glands overproduce, it is called seborrhea (also known as water-in-oil type or W/O type in the cosmetic industry), and the underactivity of the sebaceous glands results in the appearance of dry skin (oil-in-water type, O/W type).
Every skin looks different
Younger people tend to have oily skin, and after the age of 45, the normal to dry skin type predominates. The explanation for this is simple: after birth, there are enough producing sebaceous glands in the skin, but they regress during the first year. Therefore, young children have dry skin. During puberty, the sebaceous glands become fully developed due to the influence of male hormones. From then on, sebum production increases steadily until the age of 25, then decreases somewhat until the age of 40, and then decreases steadily. Every skin looks different: Skin type depends on sebum production, the texture of the sebum, metabolism, moisture production and the skin’s ability to retain water. In addition, many other factors are responsible for the appearance:
- Hereditary factors
- Hormonal influences (puberty, menopause, pregnancy, pill, etc.).
- Diet, lifestyle (metabolism)
- Cosmetic measures
- Vegetative influences, diseases
- Weather influences (climate, humidity, UV irradiation).
- Aging process
Wrinkles – traces of time
At the age of late twenties, early thirties already begins a slow and initially inconspicuous aging process. Then, as the years go by, wrinkles start to appear more frequently. These most visible signs of aging are the result of a natural process that occurs in different phases: First, fine lines form between the nose and mouth, around the eyes and on the forehead. As a result of recurring facial movements, these so-called expression lines become ingrained. This is because the elastic fibers in the connective tissue lose their elasticity, leaving tiny furrows in the surface of the skin. The collagen fibers, which together with the elastic fibers permeate the connective tissue, diminish over the years. Less moisture can be stored in the skin, it no longer looks as smooth and velvety. The skin’s ability to constantly renew itself diminishes. As a result, the horny layer is no longer as intact as it is in young skin. The sebaceous and sweat glands do not work less intensively, the acid mantle changes and the skin becomes drier.
Skin types
Basically, the following types can be distinguished; in practice, the most important are the oily and dry skin types:
- Dry skin: is usually a very delicate, fine-pored skin that suffers from a lack of moisture (technical term sebostasis).
- Oily skin: is usually very shiny and looks rather thick and coarse-pored
- Mature skin: the skin older people with increased wrinkles and folds.
- Normal skin: is characterized by its uncomplicated, is neither too dry nor dehydrated
- Acne skin: a large-pored skin with papules and pustules.
- Sensitive skin: usually prone to dryness and redness and has fine pores
- Combination skin: is characterized by an oily T-zone (forehead, nose and chin) and dry cheek areas.
