Is your skin dry on the cheeks and jaw line but your T-zone including forehead, nose, and chin have quite visible pores which excrete oil? If your answer is yes then most probably you have the combination skin type, a combination of both oily and dry skin types. The T-zone of combination skin has larger pores than the rest of facial skin and is prone to breakouts. So at a time you have to deal with two areas on your face differently and it makes combination skin the toughest skin type to take care of.

The main cause of combination skin is hormonal changes due to age, menstruation and birth control pills. Although these changes are unavoidable most of the times, we can take care of our skin in such a way that at least these changes are balanced with the proper treatment. Most of us with this skin type either use products meant for oily or dry skin, but this practice contributes to further skin problems including excessive oiliness or dryness. This article discusses skin care regime for all this difficult-to-manage skin type.

The basic rule for every skin type is to cleanse it properly, then tone and moisturize it. For combination skin it’s quite difficult at times to find beauty products that balance the skin. Formulas meant for oily skin may dry out the already dried cheek,s while the dry skin formulas may cause blackheads, breakouts and excessive oiliness in the T-zone. Look for products with the words “oil-free”, “non-comedogenic” and “balancing” on the labels as such products contain ingredients to balance your skin out. Follow this simple daily regime:

1. Cleanse twice daily, once in the morning and once before going to bed. http://www.articlesbase.com/skin-care-articles/how-to-take-care-of-combination-skin-374629.html For a perfect solution, use a foaming or gel cleanser to get rid of dirt and oil without irritating or drying out your skin. You can also look for cleansers with tiny beads that will exfoliate your face to prevent the blackheads and breakout to some extent.
2. Tone soon after cleansing since the pores opened during cleansing need to be closed before any dirt enters into them. Look for astringent toners that contain alcohol since alcohol has drying properties, but make sure you only use it on the T-zone.http://skincare.about.com/od/combinationskin/qt/TZone.htm
3. Moisturize very lightly with a water-based balancing moisturizer designed for combination skin. You can also use two moisturizers: one very light balancing type for T-zone and the other heavier one for dry areas.

Exfoliation removes dead cells from your skin and brings out the healthy complexion. Like every skin type combination skin needs proper exfoliation or you’ll end up with blackheads, blocked pores and blemishes. Choose a good scrub that is meant for combination skin and exfoliate your skin with it twice a week. You may consider buying a blackhead and blemish prevention scrub that will ensure a problem-free facial skin. Look for salicylic acid (2%), and glycolic acid (1%) in your exfoliator since these ingredients are best for heavy-duty exfoliation.

Apart from the daily regime and exfoliation you can pamper your combination skin with masks and special treatments. Below are some tips you can follow:

1. Try putting on a mask weekly for treating various skin concerns like blackheads, acne, oiliness and deep cleansing. Look for tea tree oil as a natural ingredient for acne. For blackheads, go for peel-off masks or ones that contain glycolic acid.
2. Use pore strips to clean the blocked pores and blackheads. Make sure you apply toner after using pore strips to shrink the opened pores.http://skincare.about.com/od/combinationskin/qt/TZone.htm