Pollution, sun, cold… The skin of your face is the most exposed to daily external aggressions. We often forget that it is the largest organ in the human body. In order to best protect it, it is important to bring treatments adapted to your skin type. As Alice Delvaille points out in her book Take care of your faceit is essential to determine what your skin type is.
In her work, she specifies that it is above all necessary do not confuse “skin type” and “skin tendency”. Indeed, Alice Delvaille assures that “the type of skin is determined from birth and, in principle, does not change even if it can evolve somewhat”. Conversely, “the tendency of the skin, it is rather akin to a particular state, often more or less temporary, and is dependent on many factors such as the age of the person, the climatic conditions, the quality and balanced diet or drug treatment”.
What are the 4 major skin types?
chemically, beautiful, balanced and healthy skin contains 70% water, 27.5% protein, 2% fat and 0.5% of a mixture of trace elements and mineral salts. Normal skin is “that which presents the best balance”. It does not produce too little or too much sebum, does not shine, does not pull. In summary, it is the ideal skin that can withstand external aggressions such as pollution, heat or wind. “With this type of skin, the complexion is in principle fresh and luminous”, assures Alice Delvaille. Oily skin is characterized by “an imbalance between water and fat”. “Thick, it produces too much sebumwhich gives it a shiny and greasy appearance”. As the sebaceous glands work a lot, “the pores tend to be dilated and more visible and are the door open to blackheads and pimples”.
Conversely, dry skin does not produce enough sebum. “Often associated with symptoms of discomfort, dry skinwhich is very thinis characterized above all by very inconspicuous pores, a feeling of dryness and roughness, a lack of suppleness and fairly marked fine lines”. Finally, Alice Delvaille specifies in her book Take care of your face that combination skin is “probably the most problematic because it combines the disadvantages of oily skin with those of dry skin. In practice, ‘the skin is oily in areas where the sebaceous glands are particularly active, such as the T zone, and dry where they are not very active’. Such skin is characterized by dilated pores and shine on oily areasbut by drought everywhere else.
In order to adapt to the needs of each type of skin, Alice Delvaille offers 4 face mask recipes depending on your skin type.
1 – Special oily skin mask
Ingredients :
- 1 handful of fresh lavender flowers
- 2 tablespoons sweet almond oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh cream
Put the fresh lavender flowers in the bowl of a food processor, then add the sweet almond oil and the fresh cream. Activate the device until you obtain a perfectly homogeneous preparation. You can then apply the mask to your face avoiding the contours of the mouth and eyes. Leave on for 20 minutes before rinse your face with clear water. Alice Delvaille recommends “for maximum effectiveness to apply this mask twice a week”. You can store this preparation in the refrigerator. “The advantage of this simple, economical and natural mask is that it relieves inflammation and soothes skin irritations”.
2 – The special sensitive skin mask
Ingredients :
- 2 tablespoons of red clay
- 1 teaspoon macadamia oil
- 1 teaspoon wheat germ oil
- mineral water
Pour the red clay into a wooden or glass container (neither metal nor plastic) and add the two vegetable oils. Then add mineral water to obtain a very homogeneous pasty preparation. You can immediately apply the mixture to your face using a brush, taking care to avoid the eye area. Leave to dry for 5 to 7 minutes before rinsing well with clean water. For help very reactive sensitive skin macadamia nut oil has moisturizing and softening properties. According to the author of Take care of your facethis oil will quickly penetrate your skin without leaving a greasy film but will “reinforce the hydrolipidic barrier thanks to its richness in oleic acid for preserve the hydration and elasticity of the skin while protecting it“.
3 – The special combination skin mask
Ingredients :
- 3 tablespoons powdered clay
- 1 teaspoon sweet almond oil
- 5 teaspoons orange blossom water
Pour the clay into a wooden or glass container (not metal or plastic) and add sweet almond oil and orange blossom water. Mix until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous paste. You can immediately apply it to your face, avoiding the eye and mouth areas. Leave on for about 30 minutes and rinse well with clear water. Alice Delvaille specifies that “you have the choice of clay depending on your predominant skin type”. In effect, choose white clay if you have combination/dry skinred clay for irritated combination skin or green clay for combination/oily skin. “Combination skin is the most common type of skin but also the most difficult to manage because of its unstable nature”, assures the author of “Taking care of your face”.
4 – The special tired skin mask
Ingredients :
- 2 tablespoons ultra-ventilated pink clay
- rose floral water
- 7 to 8 drops of rose geranium essential oil
- 1 tablespoon evening primrose oil
Pour the clay into a wooden or glass container (neither metal nor plastic) and cover it with rose water. Let stand for about ten minutes. Then add the rose geranium essential oil previously diluted in evening primrose oil. Mix until you obtain a smooth paste, neither too liquid nor too thick. You can immediately apply the preparation to the face, insisting on the forehead, nose and chin, but avoiding the contour of the mouth and eyes. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse with lukewarm water.
According to Alice Delvaille, “rose water helps to gently purify even sensitive and has astringent propertiespurifying and balancing for combination to oily or acne-prone skin”. acts on hydration and the revitalization of tired skin. “By his sweetness rose water helps soothe itching and redness as well as to regenerate very dry or scaly skin”.
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