Skin type test: find yours at home or from a photo
Three simple ways to find your skin type: the bare-face test, the blotting-paper test and a free photo scan, and what each can and cannot tell you.
Glow Team ·
Knowing your skin type makes every other choice easier: which cleanser, how rich a moisturiser, which foundation finish. There are four common types, and most people can tell theirs within an hour.
The four skin types
| Type | What you notice | | --- | --- | | Oily | Shine across the forehead, nose and chin by midday; pores easy to see | | Dry | Tight after washing; flaky patches; makeup clings to dry spots | | Combination | Oily T-zone (forehead, nose, chin) with normal or dry cheeks | | Normal | Comfortable most of the day, little shine, few dry patches |
Sensitive skin is not a separate type so much as a tendency: it stings, flushes or turns red easily, on top of being oily, dry or in between.
Test 1: the bare-face test (1 hour)
- Wash your face with a gentle cleanser and pat it dry.
- Put nothing on it: no toner, serum or moisturiser.
- Wait an hour, then look in daylight.
Shiny all over points to oily. Tight or flaky points to dry. Shiny T-zone with comfortable cheeks points to combination. Comfortable and matte points to normal.
Test 2: blotting paper (2 minutes)
After the bare-face test, press a clean blotting paper on your forehead, nose, chin and each cheek. Hold it to the light. Oil on every sheet suggests oily skin, oil only from the T-zone suggests combination, and almost none suggests normal or dry.
Test 3: a photo scan
A guided selfie can measure what a camera actually sees: shine, redness, uneven tone, visible pores, texture and dark circles, zone by zone. Glow's free AI skin analysis does this in the app and keeps each scan, so you can see whether a new routine is working.
What a photo cannot measure is how your skin feels. Tightness, stinging and how much water is in your skin are not visible in pixels, so an honest scan reports them with low confidence or not at all. Use the bare-face test for those.
For a fair result:
- Scan in even daylight, facing a window, not under a yellow bulb
- Bare skin, no fresh makeup or sunscreen
- Hold the phone at eye level and keep your face still
Skin type changes
Skin often gets oilier in hot, humid months and drier in winter, and it changes with age. Repeat the test when the season turns. Our winter skin care guide covers the cold months.
When to see a doctor
These tests describe your skin's everyday behaviour. They do not diagnose anything. Painful breakouts, a rash that spreads, or a patch that changes shape or colour belong with a dermatologist.