What Is My Skin Type? Guide, Quiz and Butters and Oils to Try

Your skin type is the way your skin behaves when it is bare and clean: dry, oily, combination, normal or sensitive. An at-home test shows which one is yours. Baraka's shea butter, shea oil and baobab oil are made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana, and are used differently for each.

What is my skin type?

Most people fit one of five skin types: dry, oily, combination, normal or sensitive. Your type describes how your skin feels and looks a little while after washing, before you put anything on it. Here is what each one usually looks like.

• Dry skin often feels tight after washing and can look dull or flaky. It may feel rough on the cheeks, hands, elbows or shins.
• Oily skin looks shiny across the whole face, usually within a few hours of washing. Pores can look larger, and makeup may slide.
• Combination skin is oily in some places and comfortable or dry in others. The classic pattern is a shiny forehead, nose and chin with drier cheeks.
• Normal skin feels comfortable, neither tight nor greasy, and does not change much through the day.
• Sensitive skin reacts easily. It may sting, redden or itch with new products, weather changes or some fragrances. Sensitive describes how skin reacts, so it can sit alongside any of the other four types.

Your skin can shift with the seasons, the climate, your age and your routine. Many people are drier in winter and oilier in summer, so it is worth checking again now and then.

A skin type is not the same as a skin condition. If you have eczema, psoriasis, rosacea or acne, or any patch that is painful, spreading or not going away, see a doctor or dermatologist. The butters and oils below are moisturisers, not treatments.

How do you find out your skin type?

The simplest way is the bare-face test, which takes about an hour and needs nothing but a gentle cleanser and a clean towel.

1. Wash your face with a gentle cleanser and rinse with lukewarm water.
2. Pat your skin dry with a clean towel. Do not apply any cream, oil, toner or makeup.
3. Wait about one hour, and try not to touch your face.
4. Look in a mirror in good light, then notice how your skin feels.

Here is how to read the result:

• If your skin feels tight, looks dull or has flaky patches, you probably have dry skin.
• If it looks shiny all over, you probably have oily skin.
• If your forehead, nose and chin are shiny but your cheeks feel normal or dry, you probably have combination skin.
• If it feels comfortable and looks even, with no tightness or shine, you probably have normal skin.
• If it stings, itches or looks red, with or without any of the above, treat it as sensitive.

For a second check, press a clean tissue lightly on your forehead, nose, cheeks and chin at the end of the hour. Oil marks on the tissue show where your skin is oily. A clean tissue from every area points to dry or normal skin.

Repeat the test in a different season to see whether your type has changed. If you would rather answer a few questions than do a test, the Skin Concern Finder quiz at the end of this page does that.

Which natural butters and oils suit my skin type?

Rich, solid butters such as shea butter and cocoa butter are what people most often use on dry skin. Lighter, liquid oils such as shea oil and baobab oil are more often used on combination and oily skin. Normal skin can go either way depending on the season, and sensitive skin does best with one simple ingredient at a time.

Dry skin: shea butter and cocoa butter

Baraka shea butter is the rich, unrefined butter many people with dry skin reach for, because it is strained and filtered only, with no refining, bleaching or deodorising. It is made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana. Shea butter is traditionally used on dry skin, lips, hands, feet and hair, and it naturally contains vitamins A and E. It is solid in the jar and melts on contact with skin, so warm a pea-sized amount between your palms and press it onto slightly damp skin.

Baraka cocoa butter is unrefined and keeps the chocolate smell of the bean. It is hard and brittle at room temperature and melts close to body temperature. It is used where a firm, stable product is wanted, such as balms, bars and sticks. Most people melt a little gently and blend it with shea butter or an oil rather than using it on its own.

Combination skin: shea oil and baobab oil

Baraka shea oil is the liquid fraction of shea, so it stays pourable at room temperature. It is lighter on the skin than the whole butter and absorbs more readily, which is why it suits facial oils, serums, and hair and scalp use. Baraka baobab oil is pressed from the seeds of wild baobab trees. It absorbs quickly without the heaviness of a richer oil. Both are made by hand by the women of the Konjeihi Women's Enterprise Centre in Wa, Ghana.

For combination skin, many people press two or three drops of one of these oils over the whole face. They then add a little shea butter only on the drier areas, such as the cheeks, or on elbows and hands.

Oily skin: a few drops, or very little butter

People with oily skin usually keep things light. One or two drops of baobab oil or shea oil is a common amount, pressed in rather than rubbed. Some skip the whole butter on the face, because they find it feels heavy. The next section covers shea butter and oily skin in more detail.

Normal skin: match the season

Normal skin can use either. Many people choose a little shea butter in cold, dry months and a few drops of shea oil or baobab oil in warm weather.

Sensitive skin: one ingredient, patch test first

If your skin reacts easily, start with a single ingredient rather than a blend, and add one thing at a time. Patch test first: dab a small amount on the inside of your arm, leave it for 24 hours, and check for redness or itching before using it on your face. If you get a reaction, stop using it and ask a doctor or pharmacist.

If you want to try kombo butter, patch test it the same way. Kombo butter is traditionally used as a massage butter in Ghana, and it is best blended at 20 to 30% with shea butter rather than used neat.

Butters and oils by skin type

Is shea butter good for oily skin?

It can be, in small amounts, but it is not the first choice for most oily skin. Shea butter is a rich, solid butter, and some people with oily skin find it feels heavy on the face. Shea oil or baobab oil is the lighter option and the one more often chosen.

Oily skin can still have dry patches. Hands, elbows, heels and lips are common, and there a little shea butter is traditionally used. Many people with oily skin keep the butter for the body and use a few drops of oil on the face.

If you try shea butter on an oily face, start with less than you think you need, warm it in your palms and press it in. If it feels heavy, switch to shea oil or baobab oil. Shea butter is not a treatment for acne; ask a dermatologist if breakouts are a concern.

A few practical notes

• Shea butter keeps 2+ years when stored properly, away from heat and direct sun.
• The natural colour of shea butter ranges from ivory through cream to pale yellow, and it varies between batches. A mild nutty smell is normal.
• Cocoa butter may develop a pale surface bloom after a change in temperature. This is a change in crystal structure, not spoilage, and it disappears on melting.
• This is general advice, not medical advice. See a doctor or dermatologist for eczema, rosacea, acne or any skin concern that is persistent.

Take the Skin Concern Finder quiz

If you would like a faster route, answer a few questions in the Skin Concern Finder quiz to see which type and concerns fit you. You can also find all of Baraka's quizzes on the Baraka quiz page.

Quick answers

What is my skin type?

Most people have one of five skin types: dry, oily, combination, normal or sensitive. Your type is how your skin looks and feels when it is clean and bare. Skin can change with the seasons and with age, so it is worth checking again now and then.

How do you find out your skin type?

Wash with a gentle cleanser, pat dry, apply nothing and wait about one hour. Then look and feel: tightness suggests dry skin, shine all over suggests oily, shine on the forehead, nose and chin only suggests combination, and comfortable skin suggests normal. Stinging or redness points to sensitive skin.

Which natural butters and oils suit my skin type?

People most often use rich butters such as shea butter and cocoa butter on dry skin. They use lighter oils such as shea oil and baobab oil on combination or oily skin. Normal skin can use either by season, and sensitive skin does best with one simple ingredient at a time after a patch test.

Is shea butter good for oily skin?

In small amounts it can be, but many people with oily skin find the whole butter feels heavy on the face. Shea oil or baobab oil is the lighter choice. Shea butter is not a treatment for acne; ask a dermatologist if breakouts are a concern.