Page 45 -- HUMAN SKIN TYPES
Normal skin

The characteristics of so-called 'normal' skin can be summarised as follows:
  • a clear appearance
  • an even color
  • feels neither tight nor greasy
  • soft and supple to the touch
  • a high degree of elasticity.
Normal skin may be said to have nothing obviously wrong with it, and no sensations of discomfort. It results from a balance of the normal skin functions (including new skin cells being formed and old ones being lost, together with well-controlled water loss, sebum secretion and sweating). This creates a balanced state of suppleness, elasticity, color and hue which is often characteristic of pre-adolescents.
    Normal skin can quite quickly become 'abnormal', however. Failure to look after it, or abuse by sun, wind or cold, may lead to dry and damaged skin and ultimately the risk of premature development of lines and wrinkles.		  

Dry skin

Dry skin:

  • feels tight and irritable
  • often looks flaky
  • often develops fine lines around the eyes
  • tightens after washing with soaps or detergents or prolonged exposure to low humidity.
Dry skin is characterised most of all by this sensation of tightness, with the skin feeling rough and scaly and visible lines developing. At its worst it may look cracked. The problem lies in poor epidermal function and damage to the water/lipid barrier film, shown by an increase in the rate of transepidermal water loss (TEWL).
    Patches of dry skin may arise from apparently normal skin, or sometimes even greasy skin, that has been temporarily dried out, whether by sunburn, or by exposure to extremes of climate (cold, heat, wind or dryness) or to chemicals such as detergents and solvents or to air conditioning. In young people the main problem of dry skin is a reduced production of sebum.
    Dryness is a significant problem associated with mature skin as hydration ability progressively decreases and the skin's mechanical properties deteriorate, with loss of suppleness and flexibility.