Merle Norman Skin Types and Building a Daily Routine

Four types, sorted by how much oil your skin produces: Dry, Normal to Dry, Normal to Oily, and Oily. There is also an All Skin Types category for products that suit everyone.

Merle Norman's own answer is to come in for a complimentary skin assessment, where a trained beauty expert looks at your skin and your concerns and recommends from there.

The quick self-check they publish: if the surface of your skin often feels greasy or wet through the day, you are on the oily end. If parts of your face feel comfortably hydrated while other areas turn shiny, you are normal to oily.

No, and this is worth knowing. Merle Norman says oil production varies with the time of year, your genetics and your location — and that oiliness strongly affects how your skin handles products. The routine that worked in July may not be the right one in January.

Yes. Merle Norman states it plainly: moisturizing is important for oily skin. What changes is the format — lightweight or oil-free moisturizers, oil-balancing cleansers, and treatments that help control excess oil.

Gentle cleansers, richer moisturizers, and hydrating treatments that replenish moisture. Merle Norman recommends moisturizing daily, especially right after cleansing, to lock hydration in.

They also note dryness can come from weather, low humidity, aging, or from products that strip the skin's natural moisture — so it is worth checking what you are already using.

1. Cleanse. 2. Tone. 3. Treatments and serums. 4. Moisturizer. 5. Eye product as needed.

Merle Norman describes each step as preparing the skin for the next one, which is why the order matters more than people expect.

Merle Norman's own floor is a cleanser, a moisturizer, and targeted treatments such as serums, eye care or lip care. Everything else builds on that.

In Merle Norman's system, toner preps the skin for moisturizer. It is the bridge step between cleansing and everything that follows.

After cleansing and toning, before moisturizer. Merle Norman describes serums as designed to penetrate deep into the skin, so you get the targeted benefit more intensely than from other topical products — which only works if nothing heavier is applied first.

Yes. Day creams are for your daytime routine and can be used every day or as needed. Night creams are meant to go on before bed, so the cream can soak more deeply into your skin overnight.

Merle Norman organizes guidance by decade, since skin changes with genetics, environment and hormones. Broadly: teens focus on oil and breakouts; twenties on probiotic technology and SPF; thirties on dullness and discoloration; forties on anti-aging complexes; fifties and beyond on lines, wrinkles and firming.

Merle Norman suggests starting in your twenties or thirties, to help support skin hydration and elasticity rather than to correct something later.

Yes, there is a men's skincare category. Come by the studio and we will walk you through what is on the shelf.