“You have combo skin. Try a face wash that controls those oils in the T zone and make sure to blot or apply powder throughout the day”. Nearly all of us have heard this recommendation at least once in our lives. The few who haven’t gotten this advice most likely suffered with skin on the other end of the spectrum—dry skin. Our understanding of skin types from those young, teenage years, was that skin can be oily, combination, normal, or dry. Combo and oily skin were the most common, presenting the risk for acne, enlarged pores, and embarrassing shininess with it. This led to a years-long struggle for so many, trying to understand what would save their skin, what would finally make it “normal”.

normal skin is a lie

What is normal skin? There is no normal! Our “normal” depends on countless factors, including age, lifestyle, and even where we live. The mainstream understanding of oily, combination, normal, and dry skin oversimplifies skin, and sadly, often misses the underlying causes of skin issues. This takes our opportunity to truly heal our skin away, making us resort to band-aid solutions like harsh cleansers and blotting papers.

When our skin is acting up, when it’s clearly hurting, we need care that takes into consideration our uniqueness, our predispositions, and our lifestyle. After over 50,000 interactions with clients and in-depth, professional product training and education on skin health, we have identified 144 unique skin types, a stark contrast to the four we grew up knowing. At portia-ella, we take it a step further, we consider more than just your oil levels. We go past conventional skin typing to help you get your unique, best skin.

balanced skin > normal skin

When it comes to skin health, the key word is balance. The balance between skin hydration and oil will never look exactly the same in two different people, but achieving the best balance that you can, will unlock the skin health we’ve been seeking all this time. At the core of it, skin firmness, plumpness, evenness, appearance, and our skin barriers’ all depend on that hydration and oil balance. Without it, we become prone to thin, wrinkle-prone skin, uneven skin, skin that may be easily irritated, damaged, and more. When we only consider the oil levels of the skin, so many people are wrongly informed that they have combination skin when in reality, their skin is simply out of balance. Most unfortunately, the products that they’re recommended to use to treat their “combination skin” often push the skin further out of balance, taking it further away from optimal health.

finding your true skin type

If you’ve ever visited us in-studio, you’re familiar with our skin tester. Pressing its nodes onto the skin in different areas provides us with your current hydration and oil levels, giving us a clue as to what your skin type may be. But this never provides the full picture. Questions are the key to understanding your true skin type, and recognizing how your hydration and oil levels are influenced by your environment, your daily activities, the other products you use daily, and much, much more. Only after this comprehensive process is complete can we accurately figure out your individual skin type, and curate a customized routine or recommendation to bring your skin closer to balance, while meeting your skin goals like brightening, clarifying, firming, or reducing sensitivity.

From December 20th to 30th, our amazing studio team is offering a Consultation Happy Hour, where our most popular appointments, the Skin Fit Upgrade and Makeup Discovery, are available for 50% off. Whether you book online or in-studio, the minimum purchase for the appointment is only $25, making it easy if you’re curious and just looking to get started! Reach out to our team or book your appointment here.

looking for an express recommendation that’s still customized for you?

Try our skin quiz for a quick alternative. This highly specialized quiz seeks to understand your skin through a dozen questions and then connect you to the products in our vast collection that will not only fit your skin type but also help you achieve your skin goals! Take the quiz here.