What Is My Skin Type? Take the 1-Minute Quiz

Not sure whether your skin is oily, dry, combination or normal? Answer seven quick questions and I will tell you your type, what that means for your routine, and where to start. It takes about a minute, nothing you answer is sent or saved, and it works best on a regular day, not right after a new product or a facial.

Question 1 of 7An hour after washing your face, with nothing on it, how does it feel?

Tight, maybe a little flaky Comfortable Shiny on the forehead and nose only Shiny all over

Question 2 of 7By midday, your forehead and nose are:

Matte, sometimes tight A little shiny Noticeably shiny Very shiny or greasy

Question 3 of 7By midday, your cheeks are:

Tight, rough or flaky Comfortable A little shiny Shiny or greasy

Question 4 of 7Your pores look:

Barely visible Small Visible on the nose, small elsewhere Visible across most of the face

Question 5 of 7How often do you get dry, flaky patches?

Often Sometimes, mostly in winter Rarely Never

Question 6 of 7When you try a new product, your skin:

Often stings, itches or goes red Sometimes reacts Rarely reacts

Question 7 of 7How often do you get breakouts?

Most weeks Now and then Rarely

See your skin type

How to find your skin type at home

The quiz is built on the same idea dermatologists and facialists use at home: look at how your skin behaves when nothing is on it. You can check the result with this bare-face test.

1. Wash your face with a gentle, non-foaming cleanser and pat it dry.
2. Apply nothing at all: no serum, moisturizer or sunscreen.
3. Wait about an hour, doing something normal indoors.
4. Look in daylight, or press a clean tissue or blotting paper to your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks.

Oil on the tissue from every area means oily skin. Oil from the forehead, nose and chin only means combination. No oil and a tight, rough feel means dry. Comfortable with very little oil means normal. If washing always leaves you tight but you are shiny again by afternoon, your skin may be oily but dehydrated, which I explain in dehydrated skin vs dry skin.

The four skin types, briefly

• Oily: shine across the whole face, visible pores, makeup slides off by midday. Needs gentle cleansing and light, oil-free hydration, not harsh stripping.
• Combination: an oilier T-zone with normal or dry cheeks. Needs a light moisturizer, sometimes a richer one on the dry areas.
• Dry: tight, rough, sometimes flaky, rarely shiny. Needs a creamy cleanser and a rich moisturizer with ceramides on damp skin.
• Normal: balanced, comfortable, few flaky patches. Needs a simple routine and daily sunscreen.

Whatever your type, the order you apply things in matters. The full sequence is in skincare routine order, morning and night, and there is more in the routines hub.

Sensitive and breakout-prone are not skin types

They are traits that can sit on top of any type. Oily skin can be sensitive; dry skin can break out. That is why the quiz asks about them separately and adds a note to your result. If your skin stings or goes red with most products, choose fragrance-free formulas and introduce one product at a time. If redness is constant, or your skin is itchy, cracked or painful, see a GP or dermatologist rather than switching products again.

Skin type vs Fitzpatrick skin type

If you searched for a skin type quiz for tanning, you are looking for something different. The Fitzpatrick scale sorts skin into types I to VI by how it reacts to the sun, from always burning and never tanning to rarely burning. DermNet explains the scale in detail. It describes sun sensitivity and burn risk, not oiliness, so it is a separate question from this quiz. Every Fitzpatrick type still benefits from daily sunscreen, applied in the right amount, which I cover in how much sunscreen to use on your face.

Questions people ask

Can your skin type change?

Yes. Hormones, age, climate and the season all shift it. Many people are oilier in their teens and twenties and drier later, and most skin is drier in winter. Retake the quiz when the seasons change or your skin starts behaving differently.

How accurate is an online skin type quiz?

It gives a good starting point, not a diagnosis. The bare-face test above is a useful double check, and a dermatologist can assess anything that does not fit a simple pattern.

Can you find your skin type without washing your face?

Roughly. Notice how your face looks and feels by midday on a day with no makeup and a light moisturizer. The quiz questions are written so you can answer them from memory.

This quiz is general guidance, not medical advice. For a skin condition, please see a dermatologist or GP.