Is there any way to change your skin type?

Is there any way to change your skin type?
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The answer is yes - and no.

Can you change your skin type permanently? No - it's part of your physical makeup, like your blood type.

Can your skin type change temporarily? Yes - through environment and lifestyle.

The things that can alter your skin type include climate, season, stress, smoking, health, hormonal changes (mostly in women), medications, skin disorders, diet, exposure to sun, personal hygiene and the use of certain kinds of skin care or acne products.

For example, someone using an acne product like accutane may find his skin getting exceptionally dry. The dryness, however, does not help the oily situation. In fact, it makes it worse.

Dryness is lack of moisture, not oil. Dryness actually causes the body to secrete more oil, creating more pimples. (See oily skin).

Another instance is season. In a dry season, like summer in a desert area or winter where people spend a great deal of time indoors in heated rooms and cars, skin can become dry.

The dry heat of either place can suck moisture out of skin,
making skin dry temporarily. Again, dryness only makes any skin condition worse.

If you have sensitive skin, it can react faster to any of these situations.

Excess exposure to sun dries out the skin and can be harmful in many other ways.

Your skin type can change over time. Aging tends to dry out skin. Those with oily skin generally age better, skin-wise, than those with dry skin.

Medications and skin care products are well known for affecting all skin types, especially sensitive skin, making it drier and more prone to reactions.

When your skin experiences conditions that affect it, it can change type. When those conditions stop, it will go back to being the skin type you've always had.