Everyone has a different skin type. This includes both men and women. Some have dry skin, others have oily skin, and some have any number of combinations in their skin. You may find yourself wandering the isles of skin care products, pondering what you will need.

A product may say it is for oily skin, and yet still not seem to help. Even though skin care companies are better than they have ever been in terms of helping our skin get to that place of perfect balance, there are still a few things you may want to check out before you go to the check out.

Skin care products come in all shapes, sizes, and ingredients. There are various types of facial and body lotions/moisturizers/sunscreens available that may or may not have what your skin is looking for. What you should keep in mind as you buy is that your skin needs may change as the seasons come and go; what may cause your skin to be dry during one month may not be true for the second month. The came can be said of your location.

If you used to live in an area with a lot of wind, a fairly dry climate, and an abundance of sun, your skin may have been dried out much of the time. Moving to a place that has a much higher humidity, more shade from the sun, and a lot less wind can help your skin in retaining moisture, thus that thick cream you bought just before you moved may prove to be more than your skin really needs.

Many skin care products may have some of the following as their main enticement or ingredient, in which case you should decide accordingly when it comes to your present skin needs.

Oil-free Obviously if you have oily skin, this is the type of product you want to avoid. There is nothing wrong with lightly moisturizing an oily face, but you still will want to do so without adding extra oil; you already have enough. When it comes to an all over body moisturizer, one that does have oil can feel greasy and unpleasant.

You want your products to go on nicely and make you feel fresh and confident the rest of the day. Most products that are oil-free will say so right on the label. If not, check the ingredients to see what comes first. If it isn’t water, then it may very well be an oil-based product.

Water-based This is the alternative to the moisturizer that contains oil. Oil-free and water-based are not the same thing. Even though a moisturizer may be water-based (and even when the first ingredient is water, there can still be oils involved, so do some research to find out what oils to avoid so you know what to look for), there are ingredients that can allow it to contain oil and not separate out, though usually it will be safe.

This product is what you want when it comes to oily skin, and depending upon what you like your skin to feel like, any skin type. It is also less likely to clog pores and seems to be the most popular type of skin care product available as opposed to oil-based.

Emollient When you have dry skin and a regular moisturizer just is not enough, it can be time to bring in the extra help. Emollients allow the skin to retain even more moisture than your everyday products, so if you see “emollient” on the label, you can expect to find a thick cream that may take a little time to work into your skin. However, once it does, your skin is sure to stay moisturized for much longer. Check the ingredients though, as some emollient products may clog up pores, and it is not recommended for those with oily skin.