You are the best expert of your own skin so it's important that you make sure you know it well. Are your prone to dry patches or is your skin oily? Are you sensitive to certain products or do you get spot outbreaks at certain times of the month? Knowing as much as possible about your skin helps you to devise a beauty routine that suits you best.

Don't worry if you're not tuned into your skin's behaviour already. Female First are here to guide you through the steps to create your perfect skincare routine.

Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin is very fragile, has small pores and tends to flush easily. If you break out in blotches at the sight of a perfumed face mask or feel the winter chill stinging your face every time you head outside the chances are you have are one of the delicate sensitive skin posse.

Tips:
Try not to use too many products on your face. Go for a minimal natural make up look because heavy foundation and lots of eye make up will only irritate your skin.
Choose make up and moisturisers that are hypo-allergenic and fragrance free to avoid any bad reactions.
Only wash your face twice a day, use mild soap-free face washes or face wioes designed for sensitive skin and try to avoid exfoliants.
If you do have a spot outbreak and you feel you need to exfoliate to clean out your pores use a cleanser with salicylic acid. This will gently clean pores without irritating the skin.

Oily Skin

Oily skin is usually shiny with enlarged pores. Breakouts of blackheads are also a sign of oily skin. So if your forever applying anti-shine powder or covering up your blemishes it looks like you might be an oily skin kind of girl.

Tips:
Don't be tempted to try and get rid of all the oil on your face by using alcohol products. Use an astringent once a day to remove excess oil but stop at that. Removing all the oil from your skin encourages it to over compensate by making more oil.
Don't go mad with moisturiser. Your skin produces lots of moisture anyway so there's no need to moisturise everyday. When you do feel your skin is a little tight use a small amount of a simple oil-free moituriser without any extra cocoa butter or other rich ingredients.
Cleanse your face with a mild cleanser at least twice a day. This stops your pores clogging up and prevents blackheads and spots.

Dry Skin

Dry skin is one of the hardest to deal with and everyone suffers from areas of dryness from time to time. Typically dry skin is sore, patchy, flaky and for black women can leave areas of skin that look duller than others.

Tips:
Use plenty of moisturiser under you foundation and use make up with moisturising ingredients to stop skin flaking and your make up going clumpy part way through the day.
Don't use soap as this dries the skin more. Use a gentle moisturising face wash once a day. Choose face wipes or cleanser designed for dry skin to remove make up.
People with dry skin tend to have chapped lips too, especially in the winter, so make sure you carry and lip balm or some vaseline with you at all terms and apply it constantly throughout the day.

Combination Skin

Combination or normal skin tends to be reasonably healthy looking however it can still be hard to look after. Those with combi skin often find they have dry cheeks with an oily t-zone (forhead, nose and chin) so this means combining the beauty routines of different skin types to achieve the perfect balance.

Tips:
A simple 3-step daily routine of cleanse, tone and moisturise is the best option. This makes sure that all the different areas of the skin get treated.
Treat different areas differently. Apply moisturiser to the most dry areas. No one says you have to plaster your face in cream. If your cheeks are the only try places then just moisturise them. The same goes for astringent. Just use it on your oily zones - simple as that.

Female First- Tilly Harris