Quick answer
Oily, dry, combination and normal is only half the picture. The other half is whether your skin is sensitive — and that decides what you can actually use.
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Find your skin type →Two questions, not one
Most guides ask only "oily or dry?". That tells you which *texture* to buy. The second question — sensitive or resistant — tells you which *actives* you can tolerate, and it is the one that decides whether a routine works or causes a month of irritation.
1. Question one — how much oil does your skin make?
Wash, wait two hours, touch nothing. Tight and flaky = dry. Shiny all over = oily. Shiny only on forehead and nose = combination. Comfortable and even = normal.
2. Question two — how easily does it react?
Stinging, redness or breakouts from products other people use happily = sensitive. Tolerates most things = resistant.
3. The eight combinations
Oily-sensitive, oily-resistant, dry-sensitive, dry-resistant, combination-sensitive, combination-resistant, normal-sensitive, normal-resistant.
4. Why the cross matters more than the type
An oily-sensitive person and an oily-resistant person need the same light texture — but the first cannot use the strong acids the second tolerates. Buying by skin type alone is how people end up with a damaged barrier.
5. Skin type changes; sensitivity mostly does not
Oil production shifts with season, age and climate. True sensitivity tends to be lifelong. If your skin *became* sensitive, that is usually a damaged barrier — which repairs.
Find your guide
Sensitive: oily · dry · combination · normal
Resistant: oily · dry · combination · normal
Also: dehydrated vs dry
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