How do I know if my skin is oily or combination?

When choosing the right skincare products, you need to consider your skin type and needs. Dry skin can be more obvious, presenting with flakiness, tightness, or a dull appearance. However, people often struggle to discern whether they have oily or combination skin.

Determining your skin type can be a challenge. But here’s a quick way to check: Oily skin has an overall shine and a tendency to break out on the cheeks and T-zone. Combination skin also has an oily T-zone, but the cheeks are normal or dry.

A common mistake for both skin types is using harsh, drying, oily skin products. What you need is the right skincare routine.

What is oily skin, and what does it look like?

Oily skin occurs when your body produces too much oil — called sebum — from the sebaceous glands. As oil production increases, the sebaceous glands can get bigger and increase the size of our pores. This can result in shiny or oily-feeling skin, open or clogged pores, and breakouts.

Sebum, which not only contains oil but also triglycerides, free fatty acids, wax esters, squalene, cholesterol esters, and cholesterol, accumulates on the skin’s surface along with lipids from skin cells, sweat, and environmental matter.

Oil is produced by the skin to keep it lubricated, supple, and healthy to function as a barrier — keeping moisture in the body and protecting it from external pollutants, and bacterial and fungal infections. If you’re producing too much oil, it’s nothing to be concerned about. You’ll simply require different skincare products and routines. But how do you know if your skin is oily?

Common signs of oily skin

Key ways to tell you have oily skin include these familiar signs and symptoms:

• ● Shine on the skin that feels oily to the touch
• ● Open or clogged pores, concentrated in the oilier areas of the face
• ● Dull-looking skin
• ● Whiteheads and blackheads
• ● Regular breakouts
• ● A tendency to get pimples on the chest and back
• ● Oily hair that needs washing often

What is combination skin?

If you’ve been wondering whether your skin type is dry or oily (or both), here’s a quick checklist to help differentiate:

• ● Dry skin produces too little oil.
• ● Normal skin has a good balance of oil.
• ● Oily skin overproduces natural oils. This can trap dirt and bacteria in the skin, resulting in blackheads, whiteheads, and pimples — some of the most common characteristics of oily skin.

Combination skin is oily and dry. It’s essentially a mix of different skin types on different areas of the face. Typically, the T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin) tends to be oilier, while the cheeks and other areas may be normal or dry. This means you might notice shine and enlarged pores in some spots while others feel tight or flaky.

Unlike purely oily skin, which produces excess sebum all over, combination skin requires a more balanced approach to skincare — hydrating dry areas without overloading oily zones. Seasonal changes, hormones, and even stress can influence how it behaves, making flexibility in your routine essential.

Key signs of combination skin include a shiny T-zone with occasional breakouts, drier patches elsewhere, and the need for lightweight hydration that won’t clog pores. The goal is harmony — keeping skin nourished and comfortable without overcorrecting one way or another.

Tip: To help minimize the appearance of blackheads quickly, try Clarins SOS Pure Rebalancing Clay Mask purifying mask for oily skin or combination. This face mask quickly absorbs impurities, leaving skin visibly mattified.

What are common characteristics of oily and combination skin?

Oily skin comes from an excess of sebum, wax, and other substances our skin makes to help protect itself. If your skin is oily, you may notice it’s shiny and has open or clogged pores, white or blackheads, and regular breakouts.

If you notice you have an oily T-zone and cheeks that tend to be normal or dry, you have an oily and dry skin combination. The forehead, nose, and chin are often oily because there are more oil-producing glands in this central facial zone. The way to tell the difference between oily skin and combination skin is that those with truly oily skin are oily all over their face, even if the T-zone appears oilier than the rest of the face and has a tendency toward acne.

What daily routine is recommended for oily and combination skin?

One of the most common mistakes in skincare for oily skin is including harsh and drying products. If you originally suspected you had oily skin but now are unsure, the incorrect use of face wash and moisturizer may have led to your oily skin presenting as combination skin (an oily T-zone and dry cheeks), sensitive skin that is red and itchy, or even dry skin.

This is often the result of the overuse of harsh scrubs, drying cleansers, alcohol-based products, and over-the-counter acne treatments. So, out with the harsh and in with a gentle but effective routine for oily and combination skin.

The routine: Step by step

Start with a gentle face wash for normal or combination skin morning and night to wash away excess sebum and impurities. Clarins Hydrating Gentle Foaming Cleanser is a non-drying, creamy facial cleanser with hydrating Aloe Vera extract that water-activates into a silky foam — rinsing away impurities, trapped makeup, excess oils, and dead surface cells while respecting your skin’s moisture balance.

Next, follow up with a toner. The best toner for oily skin is something that’s alcohol-free and refreshing, like Clarins Purifying Toning Lotion. The purifying properties of Witch Hazel and Organic Meadowsweet extracts remove every last trace of your cleanser as well as oil buildup, leaving your skin radiant, beautifully balanced, and visibly refreshed.

The bonus? Purifying Toning Lotion soothes away irritations and helps to visibly shrink pores. Now you’re ready for your serum for oily skin.

Once or twice a week, include a face mask for oily skin in your oily or combination skincare routine. Clarins SOS Pure Rebalancing Clay Mask is a 10-minute reboot. The purifying clay face mask contains plant-based ingredients like Organic Alpine Willowherb extract to help mattify, minimize shine, and reduce the appearance of pores. White Clay and Green Clay help absorb impurities, smooth the skin, and promote a healthy-looking glow, while the powdery cream-paste texture leaves skin clean, visibly refreshed, and glowing!

Note: Oily skin needs moisturizing just as much as dry skin. Opt for a lighter, fluid moisturizer. Bring out the big guns with Lotus Face Treatment Oil, formulated with 100% pure plant extracts. This astringent uses an aromatic blend of essential oils, including Lotus, Rosemary, and Geranium. Hazelnut Oil, rich in Omega 9 and Vitamin E, helps to visibly soften, soothe, and seal in moisture.

Fight stubborn pores

If you’re looking for something extra to unclog and minimize pores, try Clarins Pore Control Serum. This pore minimizer harnesses the plant power of firming Vine Flower cells and mattifying Organic Strawberry Tree fruit extracts to help purify and visibly tighten the appearance of enlarged pores on the surface of your skin. Tamarind pulp acid exfoliates debris from clogged pores to help smooth and visibly refine the skin's texture for a boost of radiance.

What skincare products are suitable for oily and combination skin?

To complete your daily/weekly skincare routine for oily skin, explore these comprehensive oily skincare product collections made from ingredients carefully selected by Clarins’ spa experts:

• ● Oily skin cleansers
• ● Oily skin toners
• ● Oily skin day creams
• ● Oily skin, lip & neck care
• ● Oily skin exfoliators
• ● Oily skin blemish & imperfection treatment

Key ingredients like Crocus, Meadowsweet, and Witch Hazel help fight the challenges of oily skin, restoring your complexion to a healthy level of moisture without the harmful effects of alcohol.

If you have combination skin, here are specific, balancing products that target both oily and dry portions of the face to have you feeling like your most beautiful you:

• ● Combination skincare products
• ● Combination cleansers
• ● Combination toners
• ● Combination moisturizers
• ● Combination lip & neck care
• ● Combination skin blemish & imperfection treatment

These products contain ingredients like Leaf of Life, Furcellaria, Nipplewort, and White Horehound to round out a balanced skin treatment. Together, these ingredients help to hydrate the dry areas of your face while protecting your skin from the harmful effects of air pollution and free radicals.

Can oily and dry combination skin change over time?

Yes! Your skin type can change over time due to factors like aging, hormones, climate, lifestyle, and even stress levels. For example, younger individuals often have more active oil production, leading to oily and combination skin. As you age, your skin may produce less oil, making it drier. Seasonal changes can also have an impact — humidity in summer can make skin oilier, while winter dryness can make it feel parched.

Skincare habits, diet, and even medications can influence whether your skin leans more oily or dry. That’s why it's important to regularly assess your skin’s needs and adjust your routine accordingly.

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