system benefits each skin type.

There are really only three skin types: oily, dry and combi- nation. The way to classify your skin is to determine the quality of the greater portion of your skin. If your skin is very shiny, if you can feel the oil when you touch your face, yours is oily. If your skin chaps easily in cold weather and tends to be flaky, it is dry.

I do not consider "nor- mal" to be a real skin type. Few women have a perfect, flawless complexion has everyone trouble spots. A shiny nose and forehead with dry cheeks, for in- stance, is a combination com- plexion. For some women the type may not be as easy to de- fine. Your skin may feel all right, but examine it closely. It may be a little drier around the eyes than you may wish or a little oilier in the center of your face. This is a combination skin. Many of us have this type.

Although oily skin is gene- rally associated with younger wo- men, and dry with older women,

at times mature skin may have a few oily areas. Oily skin is constantly shiny, it perspires easily, has open pores and a ten- dency to form blackheads and blemishes. In youth it is very acne-prone.

Oily skin does not hold makeup very well or for a long time. After makeup has been ap- plied the color seems to disap- pear; it sinks into the skin and frequently changes color. Foundation may turn orange, a powder yellow. Oily skin needs frequent attention, but it is certainly not cause for despair. You can correct oily skin with a little time and effort and quickly see noticable signs of improve-

ment.

The most effective cleanser for oily skin is a water soluble milky liquid or a light, vanish-

ing cold cream. I prefer the milky cleanser because it rinses off so ideally with water. Beauty grains or scrub creams are an excellent once-a-week treatment for young oily skin.

Daily, thorough cleansing of an oily face is a guarantee of improvement because it gradual- ly discourages oil production beneath the surface of the skin. Washing your face every hour with soap and water is not the answer, because your skin will fight back against the sudden shock by secreting more oil. This is a mistake many young people make, and it is a mistake because there aren't enough in- gredients in soap alone to derma- tologically correct the problem.

A soap that I DO recom- mend is a medicated bar, to be used twice daily, after the clean- ser, to help pores reach a balance in oil secretion. Modern multi- purpose soaps perform miracu- lously because they are so much improved from the old concept of a detergent-action soap. They start the fight, with a milky cleanser, against oil.

A skin freshener and toner should be used after you have rinsed off every trace of the cleansing agents, when your face is really clean. The proper one for oily skin is an astringent or a medicated lotion that tightens the pores and skin. The astrin- gent is a key product for your skin type because it gets beneath the surface of the skin to cleanse pores thoroughly. It penetrates deeply to the oil glands to help correct the oil secretion while it tones and freshens at the skin's surface. By stroking your face with a cotton ball that has been saturated with the liquid, you wipe away deep-down dirt and oil and leave your skin as clean as it can be.

The ingredients in these ducts, while getting rid of dirt

and excess oil, do take away too much of the oils that are essen- tial. Along with the oil the skin loses some of its moisture, which must be replaced. The ideal lubricant here is a light- weight whipped moisturizing lotion or cream, which should be used very sparingly before make- up and a touch more generously at night. It will replace the mois- ture lost through cleansing and will restore the skin to its proper pH balance the equal acid and alkali concentration of the skin without adding any oil.

At times even an oily skin may need extra lubrication for certain areas. If you are in your thirties, an eye cream is in order, no matter how oily your skin is. You should make sure that this delicate area gets the proper amount of pampering. There are no oil glands under the skin of the eye area, and it therefore needs all the help we can give it. A throat cream is advisable if the skin of your throat is dry. The cream will prevent early aging and that crepe-y Somerset Maugham skin.

Masks are wonderful ideas they also help correct the skin's secretion of oil, making skin look and feel better. A beauty mask is an immediate condition- ing of the skin; it's like spending a day at a spa. The best ones con- tain special tightening as well as absorbing clays and an astringent all the elements needed to make your skin cooler and fresher. There are several different types of masks for oily skin, all of which work well: the peel-off mask; the cream mask; the powdered mask you mix yourself. I prefer the cream mask with its medicated base and

pleasant freagrance. These are used like packs and are left on for five or ten minutes and then rinsed off. Astringent masks go deeply into the pores, tightening