THE ULTIMATE SKIN-CARE GUIDE

WISH YOUR COMPLEXION WOULD MAKE AN ABOUT-FACE? JUST RELY ON THESE ESSENTIAL CREAMS AND CLEANSERS — TESTED BY WOMEN LIKE YOU AND HANDPICKED FOR YOUR SKIN TYPE

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Best Skin-Care Products for Normal Skin
Your skin is neither too oily nor too dry, and you rarely break out or experience redness. Your pores are small (practically invisible), and though an occasional blemish may surface, it's usually tied to your period.
Best Regimen: Cleanse and moisturize daily with gentle, basic products. Look for those with antioxidants, which fight free-radical damage and stave off the signs of aging. You might also consider adding retinoids or vitamin C to your routine several times a week to boost collagen production, says Ava Shamban, a dermatologist in Santa Monica. Finally, don't forget moisturizer - one with sunscreen for the day and one without SPF at night.

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Best Skin-Care Products for Dry Skin
Blame the flakiness — along with redness and itchiness — on your skin’s barrier layer, which doesn’t retain natural oils or water as well as it should.
Best Regimen: To keep your complexion quenched and healthy, use cleansers and creams with emollient ingredients, like hyaluronic acid and ceramides. Skip foaming face washes, since they strip away lipids, and avoid anything containing harsh retinoids and alpha hydroxy acids, says Fran Cook-Bolden, a dermatologist in New York City. If your skin is very flaky or peeling, try a face oil under your moisturizer — it will smooth out your skin in a flash.

Best Skin-Care Products for Oily Skin
Soon after you wash your skin, it looks shiny. You may suffer from blackheads and breakouts that aren't tied to your monthly cycle, and your pores are medium to large.
Best Regimen: Help keep your pores unclogged by sloughing away dead skin cells daily with products that contain salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acids. And, logic to the contrary, it's important to moisturize: If your skin's surface gets dehydrated, your sebaceous glands, which produce oil, will kick in to action (brace yourself!). Use oil-free lotions and sunscreens, which won't exacerbate acne, says Leslie Baumann, a professor of dermatology at the University of Miami, in Florida, and the author of The Skin Type Solution

Best Skin-Care Products for Sensitive Skin
Almost any new product, especially one that contains fragrance or preservatives, provokes a response - usually in the form of redness or stinging.
Best Regimen: A daily dose of gentle products is the way to go. Avoid anything with an added scent, says New York City dermatologist Doris Day, and pass up eye creams, which can irritate that delicate area. Calm itchiness and redness with products that contain anti-inflammatory ingredients, like green tea and licorice-root extract. And don't skimp on sun protection: Just choose products with gentle UVA-blocking ingredients, like zinc oxide and Mexoryl.

Best Skin-Care Products for Mature Skin
As you enter perimenopause and estrogen levels begin to drop, you experience a slowdown in both oil production and skin-cell renewal. The result: skin that lacks elasticity and looks dull. You may also start noticing fine lines, brown spots, and rough patches as past sun damage (oh, misguided youth!) manifests itself.
Best Regimen: Get your youthful glow back with products that contain antioxidants and retinoids. The former fight the free-radical damage that ages skin, and the latter boost collagen production to keep it firm. Since your skin is slow to slough off dead cells, dermatologists recommend using a weekly at-home peel to help it along.