Flaky cheeks + Shiny T-zone? Why You Might Need More Than One Moisturiser
Main image – Nabitang/Stocksy
Jordan Samuel Pacitti is an aesthetician, skincare founder and regular Live That Glow columnist. He is a go-to source of beauty advice for skincare fans across the world. Here, he advises a reader on how to balance moisture in combination skin. Got a question for Jordan? Send it to columnists@livethatglow.com for a chance to have it featured.
Okay random but… my cheeks are dry and flaky but my T-zone is shiny by lunchtime. Am I supposed to moisturise more or less?? I’m scared of breaking out if I use anything ‘rich’.
Jordan says:
This is one of my favourite topics to talk about, as the most prevalent skin type/skin condition I have seen in my facial practice is a true combination skin – someone who gets oilier through the t-zone (the area that covers the forehead, nose and sometimes the chin) and is drier through the cheeks.
The best thing you can do when trying to “balance” a combination skin is to use two different moisturisers. For the most part, your cleanser and treatment serum can remain as is. However, your moisturiser, the final icing on the cake, often needs to be differentiated for specific zones on a combination skin.
Sometimes when you try and use one mid-weight moisturiser it can leave your drier zones feeling like they need more while your oilier zones are left feeling over-nourished. That is why the recommendation of treating your skin like mini little eco-systems, as opposed to a cohesive whole, will help create the perfectly balanced skin you are looking for.
After cleansing your skin and applying any treatment serums, you will then want to apply your richer cream to your cheeks and neck, and your lighter cream to your t-zone. This will set your skin up to feel comfortable throughout the day. Since your skin will be treated with separate creams, you then can choose the lightest SPF that will offer little to no added nourishment to finish your skin routine.
While it may initially seem ‘extra’ to have two moisturisers, you will be using them only on their specific areas, so both bottles will last much longer than using one moisturiser for your entire face and neck. Though this two-cream strategy can be effective year-round for many with combination skin, you may find that you can use just one of the moisturisers for your full face at certain times of the year due to environmental fluctuations in temperature, humidity, wind and indoor heating.
As always, check in with your skin each season to make any necessary adjustments to your moisturising routine to keep all your skin’s mini ecosystems optimally nourished and happy.
Jordan Samuel Pacitti
Founder & CEO, Jordan Samuel Skin
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