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Find my skin typeYour skin has an imbalance of sensitivity, heat, and wetness/oiliness, much like the Humid Subtropical climate
Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification: Cfa
Profile: Humid Subtropical
Your skin has an imbalance toward sensitivity, heat, and slight wetness (oiliness), much like the subtropical climate found in Sydney, Australia. The subtropical climate is typically characterized by hot and arid to humid summers with tropical rainstorms and mild winters. These climates normally exist on the southeastern side of continents, between latitudes 25° and 35°, like Sydney in Australia, or Georgia in the United States. Additional cities with subtropical climates include Buenos Aires, Argentina; New Orleans, Louisiana; Tokyo, Japan; Sochi, Russia; and Milan, Italy. Subtropical climates typically have average temperatures between 0 °C (32 °F) and 18 °C (64 °F) in the coldest months and around 22 °C (72 °F) or higher in the warmest months.
Similarly, your skin tends to be consistently hot or warm throughout the year. It is generally sensitive, making it prone to irritation. The skin can also tend toward oiliness and moistness and dryness depending on the environment. Furthermore, like the subtropical climate, which is susceptible to cyclones, monsoons, and more extreme weather, your sensitive skin is susceptible to its own extremes in the form of breakouts and inflammation.
The Humid subtropical skin type is especially prone to redness and irritation. Your skin is very sensitive and products containing even slightly harsh or irritating ingredients can lead to inflammation and heat. People with this skin type must carefully choose gentle and soothing skin care products. Although you may be tempted to use popular anti-aging serums or exfoliators, this will usually just lead to excessive irritation if they contain irritating chemicals and abrasive ingredients. Instead, you can promote balance in your skin by choosing soothing, cooling, and gentle skin care products.
Examples of products and ingredients that are balancing and well tolerated by the Humid subtropical skin type include:
The Humid Subtropical skin type is very sensitive and naturally warm, so products that are irritating can be extremely aggravating to this skin type. Avoid any product that makes your skin feel as though it is tingling, burning, or more red than usual. Examples of products and ingredients that should be avoided in your skin type include:
The Humid Subtropical skin type is naturally sensitive to warm temperatures. Your skin will best benefit from daily bathing with a gentle cleanser as needed and opt for cooler shower water temperatures.
Choose a facial cleanser that is very gentle without any added harsh or abrasive ingredients.
Since your skin is already warm, you should never take hot showers and baths. Prolonged hot showers will make your face even redder, which can be embarrassing for some if they are going straight to work or an event. Hot water may trigger more redness in the skin, more itching, and may even trigger hives. This can be avoided by taking cool and soothing showers.
People with the Humid Subtropical skin type should strive to eat a cooling and drying diet to balance out their naturally sensitive, warm and slightly oily skin type. This is the law of opposites, so consuming cool meals and beverages can help bring your skin type towards balance. Take advantage of all the local produce to make delicious cooling fruit smoothies, colorful salads rich in drying vegetables, and hearty pasta and squash meals. Examples of balancing foods and beverages for the Humid Subtropical skin type include:
The warm and moist Humid Subtropical skin type should reduce hot and spicy foods as much as possible since this can make the skin excessively warm and red.
The Humid Subtropical skin type benefits greatly from regular exercise. You should opt for methods of exercise that are more on the cooling side. It is normal to sweat and a flushed face getting your heart rate up is nearly unavoidable, but some exercises and activities tend to be more cooling and grounding than others. Also, activities that repeatedly dilate your facial blood vessels can increase the risk of developing rosacea.
If you haven’t discovered the exercise that fits best with your lifestyle, see the following list of activity ideas that are balancing for Humid Subtropical skin types:
Any activity that makes you excessively sweaty, hot, and flushed should be reduced. Overdoing an exercise to the point that it begins to wear you down is extremely disruptive to your skin type and overall well-being. Your skin tends towards being easily irritated and inflamed, and high intensity or prolonged workouts in hot environments without breaks or cooling periods can lead to greater imbalance. Instead, choose more moderate to low intensity activities or high-intensity activities that can be cooling at the same time (such as swimming). Here are examples of exercises and activities that are best avoided in your skin type:
Exercise routines should be discussed with a physician first to ensure that you are fit enough to engage in exercise.
Cool and somewhat dry climates, such as the Mediterranean or boreal climates, can help bring the hot and oily tendencies in your skin into balance. Exposure to these environments can help decrease the chance of sensitivity and inflammation. Enjoy clear radiant skin while watching the movie stars in Los Angeles or when exploring the nature and snow in Anchorage, Alaska.
Hot and wet climates can exacerbate the hot and oily tendencies in your skin, which can lead to breakouts and inflammation. Avoid exposure to hot and rainy climates to minimize your skin’s sensitivity. The hot sun during a tropical vacation can make your skin more sensitive and the increase in moisture can cause pimples to occur. Make sure to bring your sunscreen and oil wipes before you travel to cities like Sydney, Australia, West Palm Beach and Miami, FL.
Ayurveda is a health system that is from India and is over 5000 years old. The basic concept in Ayurveda is that each person can either be in balance or have imbalances. Everyone has the potential to balance their body and their skin if they can pay attention to their imbalances and their skin’s natural tendencies. Imbalances are described by the Ayurvedic concepts of the doshas which describe three unique physiological building blocks for the body and skin. These doshas are known as vata, pitta, and kapha. Ayurveda is a practical approach to skin care. Learn more about how Ayurveda works and what makes up the doshas.
This skin type is associated with an imbalance in the pitta dosha. Individuals who have more pitta in their constitution tend to be ambitious and driven and can often experience rashes, impatience, anger, reflux, and indigestion when Pitta is out of balance.
Pitta represents transformation and metabolism in the body and is made up of the elements fire and water. Fire is hot and water is wet, and this is represented in the inflammation and slight oiliness in the skin for this skin type. Heat, vitamin D production, and skin radiance are all thought to be mediated by Pitta. When Pitta is in excess, your skin may be prone to inflamed acne, redness, increased sensitivity and rosacea.
Each dosha is exacerbated when it’s elemental qualities are in excess. Anything hot and wet can exacerbate Pitta, whereas anything cooler and slightly dry can calm Pitta. Sun exposure, spicy food, hot and humid weather, and increased stress or anger are all considered heating and can contribute to skin sensitivity and acne seen with excess Pitta. If your skin becomes too dry then air, which stirs up fire, can cause your skin to be more inflamed as seen with red chapped skin in the winter.
While the skin is often affected by the environment, it also often reflects what occurs internally. Stress, in particular, exacerbates Pitta and can also be associated with worsening of acne, rosacea, and eczema. What we eat can also have an effect.
In Ayurveda, foods have different effects on the body and skin. One of the most important ways to balance Pitta is to avoid spicy, sour and salty foods. Spicy and hot foods, in particular, can increase flushing in the skin and worsen rosacea. You can learn more about Pitta balancing foods here.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, imbalances in the doshas, or the physiologic mind-body constitution types, lead to different issues in both mental and physical well-being. The mind-body connection is well recognized in many different healing traditions and is now being recognized more in conventional medicine.
Ayurvedic philosophy focuses heavily on prevention and advocates adequate sleep, specialized healthy diet principles, and stress management. Herbal regimens can also be of benefit. Topical aloe vera is known to be cooling for Pitta and can also help decrease redness and inflammation in the skin. One study showed that a mix of oral and topical Ayurvedic herbs helped improve acne. Managing stress is especially important for those with Pitta, who tend to worsen their stress by overworking at times. Self-care through meditation and coconut oil self-body massage can calm the fire of the Pitta mind but also the skin.
Those with the Humid Subtropical skin tend to have an internal fire to their personality. They are the classic “Type A” individual. Those with this personality type know what they want in life and usually stay motivated to achieve their goals, given their focus and willingness to prioritize. While intelligent, ambitious, and assertive, they can even come off as aggressive at times. They are highly influential and often motivate others around them or those who work for them. They have difficulty with stopping projects once they start them, to the point that their work can take over their life. If this personality type does not take care to tame their focused drive, they can burn out quickly. Making a conscious effort to take time to enjoy life instead of working all the time can be very helpful for this personality type. Working on being less critical of one’s self can also be of benefit.
In terms of friendships and relationships, they are dependable but can sometimes come off as judgmental or impatient. It’s hard to miss this person at a gathering since they can often be the life of the party. They can also become angry and critical, both with themselves and others, so it important for them to take time to self-reflect on themselves and the world around them.