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Skincare 101: How to Actually Know Your Skin Type (Without Guessing or Gambling)

 

🧴 Skincare 101: How to Actually Know Your Skin Type (Without Guessing or Gambling)

By Barbosa, Tech Guy & Reluctant Skincare Translator for Send Me Cosmetics

🎥 [Video Below This Line]

Ever tried to fix something without knowing what’s broken?

That’s what it’s like slapping random skincare on your face without knowing your skin type.

I’ve seen people treat their skincare routine like spinning a roulette wheel—“Maybe this one will work!” They gamble, lose, repeat. Not because they’re clueless—nah. It’s just that nobody ever explained this stuff without trying to sell them a miracle in a bottle.

So let me walk you through the real deal. The basics. The manual your skin never came with.

🚫 Common Mistake #1: Falling for Fast Fixes

Quick results? Sounds good until your skin decides to throw a tantrum. Most newcomers (myself included back in the day) want a product that works in 2 days or less. But here's the catch: instant gratification often equals long-term irritation.
It’s like throwing duct tape on a leaking pipe—it might hold for a sec, but you’ll be ankle-deep in regret real soon.

And don’t even get me started on IV cocktails or influencer trends. If your solution involves a needle and a kidney test six months later, it might not be the “glow-up” you were hoping for.

🔍 So… What Is Your Skin Type?

We’re breaking it down like a backyard mechanic explaining engine noises to a 10-year-old. Because once you know what kind of skin you’re working with, picking products gets waaay easier.

1. Flaky Skin

Your skin looks like frosted glass—smooth but kind of dry-cracked underneath? You may not even see visible pores. That usually means there’s a blockage somewhere deeper—like traffic jam levels of blood flow or internal imbalance. Might even point to something more whole-body related (shoutout to our gut, again).
If your skin flakes and feels fragile, you’ve got more going on inside than out.

2. Dry Skin

Simple test: you shower, step out, and 30 seconds later—poof—your moisture vanishes like it owed you money. That tight, chalky, itchy feeling? Classic dry skin. You need moisture reinforcements, like butter-level heavy hitters.

3. Mixed (Combination) Skin

You’ve got both Sahara Desert cheeks and T-zone oil fields. Some parts of you are thirstier than others. You’ll need a routine that says, “Moisture here, chill out over there.” Double cleansing or zone-targeted care is key.

4. Oily Skin

Cooking? Just thinking about heat? Suddenly you’re glistening like a stick of melting shea. That’s oily skin for you. It reacts to heat like butter in a hot pan. But surprisingly, you don’t need to fight the oil—just balance it.

🧪 Ingredient Simplicity Test: Can You Pronounce It?

Pull up the ingredient list on your favorite product. Can you read it out loud without sounding like you’re casting a Harry Potter spell?

If it takes a PhD to understand your face wash… red flag. That’s why every single item we carry has an ingredient list you can understand, recognize, and maybe even eat (don’t eat them, though… just saying).

Black soap? Honey. Turmeric. Neem oil. Plantain base.
Vanilla body butter? Shea, cocoa, avocado, vanilla.
Ash mask? Green clay, cocoa pod ash, charcoal.
Lip balm? Shea butter, honey.
Coffee scrub? Coffee and dates. That's it. No invisible ink formulas here.

🔄 The Bottom Line

Your skin has a personality—and just like people, you don’t treat everyone the same. Learn how it behaves, what it’s trying to tell you, and give it what it actually needs, not what some ad says it does.

The beauty industry’s job is to keep you buying.
Ours?
To make sure you don’t need them anymore.

👉 Recommended Next Read:

Check out:
📖 [New to Skincare? Start Here — The Real First Step Nobody Talks About]
(coming soon to the Skincare 101 blog section!)

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    👉 wa.me/2347061643938 — Talk to Mama Laguda

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