It’s that day when you slathered a “recommended” product onto your face for the 15th day at a stretch only to notice that it isn’t making much of a difference. Have you questioned it or have you now moved on to another recommendation? What if we tell you that maybe the product wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t meant for your skin type and concern?
To say, skin is complicated is an understatement. Everyone has different skin and it’s the different concerns that make it your own. It is very important to understand what your skin concern is, to get the right product that will work wonders for you. But how to identify what your skin is troubled with?
Unlike yesteryears when people just had 1 all-purpose product that would fit everyone, regardless of age, skin type, and concerns, today we are spoilt for choice. But not all of these products are meant for you and your specific concerns. Imagine using an acne control serum to treat dullness, of course, the result wouldn’t be satisfactory.
Concerns can include anything from acne to fine lines, pigmentation to dullness, and these concerns span across people with different skin types. For example, people who struggle with acne feel that they have an acne-prone skin type, which isn’t necessarily true. People with all skin types can struggle with acne, as acne is a skin concern, not a type.
Another key difference is that your skin can have multiple concerns at once, say acne, dullness, and pigmentation. But skin type can only be characterized into three, dry, oily, and combination.
Now that we know the difference, let’s start understanding what your skin concern is, by explaining the most common skin concerns that people usually struggle with.
Dryness:
Dryness can be both a skin type as well as a skin concern. When your skin feels dry and flaky all year round, regardless of the season, you most likely have dry skin. But if it is seasonal, like your skin feels dry during winters, but is oily the other times, dryness is your concern and not your skin type. If your skin concern is dryness, a hydrating product will help your skin be supple and well-nourished.
Acne:
Acne is the most common skin concern, and most of us have had acne at some point in our lives, either during adolescence or adulthood. It is natural for you to develop acne during puberty, as sebaceous glands tend to be more enlarged, causing overproduction of sebum. Similarly hormonal changes, change in diet, or environmental disturbance can also trigger it once in a while. But it does not determine that it is your skin concern. If you notice red, painful bumps and blackheads on your face ever so often, then your primary skin concern is most likely to be acne.
Pigmentation:
When we talk about pigmentation, we talk about it as a whole which includes dark spots and uneven skin tone caused by sun exposure, inflammation, as well as a skin condition called melasma. Pigmentation is caused when melanin (pigment cells) is triggered unevenly, causing the skin to darken in some areas. Again pigmentation can originate from hormonal changes, sun damage, hereditary, as well as lifestyle. If you notice blotchy and uneven patches throughout your skin, you are more likely to have hyperpigmentation, as a primary concern.
Aging:
Aging cannot be termed as a concern, because it’s a natural process. Fine lines are small creases that appear on your face, which are the telltale signs of aging, especially around your mouth and eyes. But they don’t only necessarily appear as you age because these are also a sign of premature aging. Sun damage, stress, unhealthy lifestyle drastically affect the way you look. If you see visible lines on your face, aging can be your primary skin concern that you need to address.
Dullness:
How do you identify whether your skin is constantly dull or you are just tired? Simply put, dullness refers to a lack of luminosity in your skin. Dullness is caused due to the lack of water content in your skin, accumulation of dead skin cells, and even aging. When your skin looks a little patchy, and uneven and does not reflect light uniformly, you probably have dull skin that needs to brighten up.
These were some of the most common skin concerns that people struggle with and want to find a solution to. But to overcome these, you first need to know what your skin needs. Misidentifying skin concerns may lead you to buy products that won’t make a difference and will prevent you from meeting your desired skin goals. Also finding products that are tailor-made to help you achieve your skin goals is a big plus.
The Theory provides you with products that your skin needs by simply asking 2 simple questions. Once you’ve identified your primary concern, just share it with us on a 2 step questionnaire and we provide a curated product that not only helps solve that 1 skin concern, but also helps achieve your required skin goals.
Get your curated kit today.