The Right Way To Moisturize Combination Skin

As skin types go, combination skin can be one of the trickiest to care for. It’s not just one thing, but rather a mix of different textures and issues that can be hard to address with just one product. Nowhere is this more apparent than with moisturizers, as what works for your dry areas will most likely be too heavy for your oily zones.

Which is why it’s so important to both understand exactly what your skin needs and to invest in combination skin face moisturizers that can help create that ideal balance of hydration and oil-control.

Ahead, our experts have put together their best tips on caring for combination skin, from how to tell if you have it to the best hydration regimen to help you manage it. Keep reading to learn the secrets to moisturizing combination skin.

What Exactly Is Combination Skin?

Just as its name implies, combination skin is a mix of skin types — usually dry and oily. It happens when your skin’s moisture and oil production levels are out of balance, causing some areas to have one issue, while others have a different set of problems. In the case of dry and oily skin, you’ll usually see areas like the cheeks are dry and sensitive while the nose, forehead, and chin are oily or breakout-prone. How severe those differences are depends on how unbalanced your skin is.

Do I Have It?

If you find yourself feeling greasy in some areas, but having dry or sensitized patches in others, chances are you have combination skin. You might also find that products can either be too heavy or too drying on some parts of your face and not others. For instance, a clay mask might be just right for your forehead and chin, but it may cause your cheeks to be red and irritated because they aren’t producing enough natural oil to maintain hydration.

What Can I Do About It?

While combination skin is tricky, the good news is it is relatively easy to craft a skincare routine that works. It’s all about balance — you need products that can manage the excess oil in your T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) without irritating the dry areas around your cheeks and eyes. You also need to take into account that as the climate changes, you may need to adjust your regimen to take that into account, For instance, in the winter, when the air is drier, you’ll want to double down on hydration. While in the summer, when your oil glands go into overdrive, look for products that can mattify.

What Products Will Help Hydrate?

There are more ways to moisturize than you might think possible. Here are our four favorite ways to get the hydration your skin craves.

Hydrate With A Serum

Just because your skin has excess oil, doesn’t mean you get to skip moisturizer. It just means you need to be a bit more tactical with your application. A serum that provides lightweight hydration and won’t clog pores, like the Hydro-Plumping Re-Texturizing Serum Concentrate, is a great choice for combination skin. It not only plumps skin, but also helps smooth the appearance of fine lines and reduces dullness. Plus, it absorbs quickly, meaning no greasy after-feel is left behind.

Hydrate With An Oil

If your combination skin skews a bit more dry and irritated, a moisturizing oil can help counteract the dehydration without throwing skin’s natural sebum levels off balance. In the morning, our Daily Reviving Concentrate visibly revitalizes tired skin with a mix of Ginger Root, Sunflower, & Tamanu Oils. At night, when your skin needs a little extra hydration help, the Midnight Recovery Concentrate replenishes with Squalane and pure essential oils of Lavender and Evening Primrose — replenishing skin’s moisture barrier while you sleep so you can wake up with a more hydrated, smoother, softer look and feel to your skin.

Hydrate With A Moisturizer

An easy way to add moisture back into the skin is with a water-based moisturizer like the Calendula Serum Infused Water Cream. It provides a concentrated dose of our skin-soothing Calendula Petal serum to soothe discomfort and reduce the appearance of uneven texture, dullness, and dry fine lines without feeling heavy or making skin look oilier.

Hydrate With Multi-Masking

Multi-masking — a.k.a. applying different face masks on different areas of the face — was practically made for combination skin. It allows you to deliver specific, concentrated treatment to meet your skin’s unique needs.

For combination skin, we recommend the duo of Avocado Nourishing Hydrating Mask and the Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Mask. The Amazonian White Clay in the Rare Earth mask helps purify the skin and minimize the appearance of pores, two issues that are prevalent in your oilier T-zone. For those dry areas, the Avocado Fruit Extract and Avocado and Evening Primrose oils in the creamy Avocado Nourishing Hydrating Mask offer a comforting cocoon of moisture to instantly nourish, and hydrate skin.

Combination skin might not know exactly what it wants, but with a little ingenuity on your part, you can mix and match the right products to give it everything it needs without confusing it even more.