The moment YOU think you’ve figured out your skin type, there it goes changing on you! Yes, your skin type can change. When and why it changes will depend on various factors, and not everyone’s skin type will change over time. 

For anyone who’s ever wondered, can your skin type change?” Here’s what you need to know about changing the type of skin and how you can best support your complexion throughout any transitions, whether they be temporary or permanent!

What Causes Your Skin to Change?

Just as many factors influence your skin type, so many similar elements can cause your skin to change over time. These include:

1. Environmental Factors

These are usually things you can control about your diet or lifestyle that directly impact your skin’s appearance. What environmental factors can cause your skin type to change?

• Sun exposure

Photodamage, another word for sun damage, can lead to wrinkles, fine lines, and an overall more aged appearance. Sun damage can lead to mature-looking skin or drier, thinner skin with age.

• Diet

A diet high in processed foods and trans fats contributes to free radical formation in the body, increasing inflammation and decreasing collagen production, causing the skin to look older.

• Sleep

Without enough sleep, the skin’s natural barrier is compromised, leading to drier skin, inflammation, and even more irritation from sun damage.

• Weather

For many people, skin type can change with the weather. People with combination skin are more prone to these changes. In summer, they may have more oily skin, while dryness can be an issue in winter!

2. Age and Hormones

Of course, you can’t control the natural aging process of your body. Your genetics don’t change with age, but your sebaceous glands—which produce skin’s natural oil, called sebum—will produce less oil, particularly for women after menopause. This can lead oily skin types to transition to combination or even dry skin with age.

Lower estrogen levels in the body after menopause are often to blame for dry skin. Estrogen, an essential hormone, helps with wound healing and protects against skin photoaging, playing many other vital roles in the body. 

On the other hand, being pregnant or even taking birth control pills can change your hormone levels, leading to more oily skin and even breakouts.

3. Other Factors

Besides genetics, environment, and hormones, there are still other factors that can cause your skin type to change.

• Using harsh or irritating skin care products can damage skin over time and cause signs of mature skin, including dryness and hyperpigmentation, or lead you to think you have dry skin. People with dry and sensitive skin need to be particularly careful about which skincare products they choose, as their skin is more susceptible to damage!
• Medications such as diuretics and chemotherapy drugs can cause dry skin, so be mindful that beginning treatment with these medications may cause your skin type to change.
• YOUR skin needs nutrients to properly do its job, just like the rest of your body. If you’re deficient in any nutrients, it could cause your skin to look dull or dry. Some common deficiencies that can affect the skin include iron, B12, and even vitamin D.

Is There a Certain Age When Skin Type Changes?

Nope! While you may see changes with menopause or peri-menopause—the three to a four-year period in which the menopause transition happens for some women—environmental factors or even health issues can transform your skin. The changes may come temporarily or permanently, depending on your unique case.

What Are the Most Common Skin Type Transitions?

Combination skin types are more likely to transition to either more oily or drier, given that both oily and dry types already exist on their face. Other types of skin changes could be:

• The transition from oily to dry
• Going from dry to oily
• From oily to combination
• From dry to combination
• Even from combination to oily or dry
• Any of these skin types to sensitive skin

Skin type changes are not only common with age but also with the weather. These two common factors can often cause your skin type to change. But how do you know that your skin is changing for better or for worse?

How Do I Know My Skin Is Changing, And What Can I Do?

When answering the question of whether your skin type can change, people often have another question: “what are the signs that my skin is changing, and what can I do about it?”

The first sign that people often notice is that their skincare routine just isn’t effective anymore. You may have established a way with beneficial ingredients that’s worked wonders for your skin for years, only to find that now you’re having more breakouts, drier patches, or even signs of irritation such as red or flaky areas.

If YOU notice that your complexion just isn’t responding to your skincare routine anymore, or you’re having issues where you didn’t have problems before, your skin type might be changing. So what can you do?

It’s important not to stop taking care of your skin, even if you’re frustrated. You should still use sunscreen, exercise, and eat healthy foods. That being said, it might be time to change your skincare routine to accommodate your skin’s changing needs for the better.

You may need to reevaluate your products or your routine to better support your skin. This process can take time, but be patient with your skin and see if you notice a pattern. For many, season changes, life changes, and even stress can cause the skin to freak out a little!

Don’t Know Your Skin Type Yet? Find Out Now With This FREE Assessment!

Start taking the best care possible of your skin by finding out YOUR skin type with our free assessment! Can your skin type change? Absolutely. Even if you already know what type of skin you do have, but are concerned because you’re noticing some changes, take the quiz again to determine if your skin is actually changing to learn how you can better care for it!

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