DEALING WITH COMBINATION SKIN

Combination skin is something that both of us deal with: an oily spotty t-zone and dry cheeks. It can be a real struggle to find products that not only combat acne and mattify our shine but also moisturise the dry skin on our cheeks. There are very few products that we have found to work so we thought we would share our tips as well as favourites for dealing with combination skin...

WASHING YOUR FACE

If you are using face wipes stop, honestly just stop - they are the devil of skincare! Well that's a bit dramatic but they definitley are not good for your skin and can often be the cause of many problems. Due to the alcohol in the solution on the face wipe, although it may feel as though your skin is fresh and soft, in reality the face wipe only removes the top layer of makeup and tends to dry your skin out. Face wipes are great for festivals or when you come in after a late night but not for everyday use. We used to use face wipes but switched to using cream cleansers or micellar water with cotton pads to remove our makeup. Our skin has definitley benefitted from it and feels much cleaner after cleansing now. Our favourite cleanser is the Garnier Micellar Water as it works for taking make-up off your eyes and face.
So after you have cleansed, the next step is to wash with a facial soap and water. By doing this, you are removing any excess cleanser from your face as well as any traces of dirt that may be left behind. Having combination skin can make finding a suitable facial wash difficult as many can be overly drying or moisturising. However, we have been using the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Facial Wash for the past few years and would highly recommend it - it smells really nice as well! Just because you have oily skin and you want to get rid of the oil, washing your face twice is not great for your skin as it strips your skin of all oils and can lead to further oil being produced in order to restore the moisture.

MOISTURISING AND TONING
Moisturising can be one of the trickier aspects of dealing with combination skin; balancing the need for shine control and moisture. No matter what product we are using we try to go for oil-free formulas which can still offer hydration but without adding shine across the t-zone. Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil-Free Moisturiser is an item that we have been using for a while, it is great if you want something that will lightly moisturise but not look greasy - however if you have more dryness then this isn't the best. An idea if you have both very dry and very oily skin is to use two different moisturisers - one which mattifies and another which hydrates. Garnier Pure Active Matte Control is a new product that we have been trying out and although it doesn't quite keep shine away for the 8 hours that it claims to, it definitley does leave you with a matte but still healthy finish. This product is excellent for the t-zone area but it doesn't give enough moisture for our dry areas and so a slightly heavier product can be used across the cheeks.
Toning is a key aspect of skincare as it balances the pH of your skin after you have washed and cleansed your face. Also, toners can be a great step for adding an extra treatment to your skin, especially good for working to prevent and reduce acne. Lush offer a great range of natural toners, each one aimed at a different skin issue. If you have more extreme acne then the Lush Tea Tree Toner is an amazing option, as the name suggests it contains tea tree - a well known acne treatment. Lush Breath of Fresh Air is an alternative for someone who struggles with some acne but more with a lack of moisture, it contains aloe vera gel which is another spot fighting ingredient.

TREATMENT
Face masks are great for combination skin, you can apply different products to different areas in order to tackle each problem. The Body Shop Tea Tree Mask is aimed at acne, it has a slightly cooling sensation when applied and you end up looking like Shrek! The Sanctuary Spa 5-Minute Thermal Detox Mask is brilliant for excess shine although try to avoid any dry areas when using this one as it can make things worse, but it does work really well for removing dirt and oil from the skin.
We have recently started using products from La Roche Posay - a french pharmacy skincare brand that has a range of products aimed at sensitive skin. They have a handful of skincare products specifically aimed at oily-blemish prone skin and although we have combination skin we have found that they work really well and do not cause any dryness. If you would like to hear a bit more about what we think of these products as well as how we use them, take a look at this post here.

The key to dealing with combination skin and skincare in general is to not over complicate things. Once you have an everyday routine, try to stick to it for a few weeks and if you want to change or add in extra products then do so gradually, don't just suddenly completely flip your routine upside down.