Skincare | Finding my skin type

Skincare - Finally understanding my skin type; what issues I am going through and how I am try to solve it. Skin type: sensitive, dry and dehydrated.

Hi, I’m Barbara, 33 and only know I know what skin type I am!

Yes, it took me this long to realize what my skin really is and what does it need. 
For the longest time, I thought I was one of those blessed girls out there with “perfect skin”. Meaning, I didn’t have to spend time taking care of it that it would always be okay.
But eventually, the game changed…
How or why it remains a mystery to me.
From one point to another, some years ago, my skin became sensitive. Anything would irritate it, blemishes appear, redness as well… What a lovely cocktail.
At this point, I visited a dermatologist who did an excellent job and fixing this up and telling me that I had sensitive skin.
I kept this in mind, but as the issues became to be solved, I thought “oh, I do not have sensitive skin anymore!”… Oh boy…
Little I knew that my sensitive skin would show its true colors (figuratively and really speaking) as soon as I stopped giving it as much as care as it required.
Mea culpa!
Now, this wasn’t a fast process, I have to say. It took months, a year perhaps until it became more reactive to whatever I would use.
Firstly, I started using makeup on daily basis and moved to another country where the weather is quite more severe to my skin as I ever imagined.
Also, the water is different in the sense of drying my skin a lot faster than before.
If you add lack of proper cleansing & moisturizing to this cocktail you can imagine what happened.
I became a dry, dehydrated and sensitive skin person.
(yes, dry and dehydrated are two different things I also didn’t know that!)
Doesn’t it sound like great fun to have such skin type?
Let me tell you, it isn’t!
Not until very recently, I was unable to identify all these issues, to be honest.
So I made a promise to myself: I MUST take good care of my skin, or else, it will only get worse.
May sound obvious to most people, I know…
At this point, I have finally been able to make an appointment with the dermatologist mentioned above. The problem (or problems) is that she is a very busy lady (directly related to her skills!) and it’s located in Portugal…
As you may know by now, I do not live in Portugal anymore, and can’t go there just any time she is available.
So it took quite some planning to get an appointment, but it will happen.
But since there are still some months ahead, my goal is to try to improve the situation by myself, in the hopes that when I got to the appointment she will say “job well done!”.
*fingers crossed.*
Long story short, now that I have identified my skin issues and requirements, I believe I am on a right track.
What have I done so far?
– Always cleanse my skin, properly, twice a day. 
– Select skincare products who are gentle to my sensitive skin. (soon a post on this)
– And that provides enough hydration (for the dehydrated issue) and moisture (for the dry issue).
– Drink more water (also helps my kidney stone issue – read more here).
– Switch makeup products. (soon on the blog!)
What I still have to do?
– Visit the dermatologist, like I mentioned.
– STICK to the regime – this is hard for me, I must confess – no matter what!!!
– Do more research about adequate skincare
So yeah, this is quite a self-reminder type of post, to be honest.
But I hope if someone out there is having similar troubles, may find this post helpful.
Ultimately, our skin will translate how well we take care of it.
Anyone out there with similar issues? Please share with me your tips; I am currently an info-sponge-person! haha
If you made it this far in the post: THANK you!!
See you soon!
Follow on
Pin this post to Pinterest
Skincare - Finally understanding my skin type; what issues I am going through and how I am try to solve it. Skin type: sensitive, dry and dehydrated.

Share this article

Maybe you will like these as well

Hello, again!

Long time no see, am I right? 👋It has been so long that it feels awkward to type anything Porty’s Diary related.As if I got

Read More »

0 Responses

  1. Hi, Drinking water is very healthy, however there is no research it will actually help your skin. Hydrating and protecting it seems to be the only thing you can do. Protecting your skin in more then one way : Use an SPF product daily, come rain come shine. Further more use products without alcohol and perfume. If it smells nice, chances are it is doing harm to your skin. There is a lot more you can do( use or avoid) but with these two you could already get very far in achieving a better skin. Good luck

  2. Hi! Thanks for your comment!
    Indeed, protect against sun and avoid alcohol & perfume are a must for taking good care of sensitive skin (or any type, I believe). I do avoid any type of skincare products that contain perfume in them. It's hard but it's a must.
    And regarding SPF, you are right, and I have just started to use it daily! And it doesn't affect makeup application which is great!

    Thanks for stopping by & your thoughtful comment.

  3. Hi Julia!
    Indeed, water is very important I believe, along with finding good skincare products that target your skin's issues.
    It's a learning journey, I think.
    Thanks for your comment! 🤩

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi, I'm Bárbara!

From PT living in NL

Love to travel & photograph as many memories as possible!