Welcome to part two of our ‘understanding skin types’ guide. This article examines the second scientific method used to distinguish skin types – the ‘Fitzpatrick Scale’. Both approaches are relevant to understanding your skin type, as they determine the amount of protection you need from the sun, your susceptibility to skin cancer, and which treatments are most suitable for each skin type.
Armed with this knowledge, you are better informed about keeping your skin youthful and radiant. After all, the sun is the biggest accelerator of ageing, and arguably your skin’s nemesis, so knowing your skin’s weakness is the first step to shielding it.
Opulent Aesthetics advocates investing in skin care routines that enhance your skin quality beyond protection. Everyone feels good when their skin is youthful and radiant. Your skincare journey starts at home, and Opulent Aesthetics aims to educate you on how to get the best results. However, the best enhancements come from our professional treatments that enrich your skin from deep within.
We provide specialist beauty treatments from our cosy studios in Purley and Caterham. If you find the information on our website helpful and want to learn more about the best treatments for your skin type, give Sadie a call to book a free consultation.
Now, let’s explore those skin types.
What is the Fitzpatrick Scale?
The Fitzpatrick scale was developed by Harvard Medical School Doctor Thomas B. Fitzpatrick in 1975. Since then, it has been adopted as the standard classification model by dermatologists and cosmetic scientists.
The Fitzpatrick scale remains widely used to determine susceptibility to skin cancer, sunburn risk and is accordingly used in treatment planning, particularly concerning laser and chemical peel treatments.
Everyone fits somewhere on the Fitzpatrick scale. In many instances, it is determined by ethnicity and the general region of your genetic heritage. Understanding where you fit on the scale assists you in taking the right precautions when it comes to skincare.
How the Fitzpatrick scale works
The Fitzpatrick scale classifies skin types into six categories (Type I to VI), based on:
- Genetic disposition (e.g. skin colour, eye colour, hair colour)
- Reaction to sun exposure (i.e. whether the skin burns or tans easily)
- Tanning habits and history of sunburns
Assessments are conducted either by self-reporting questionnaires, often asking about ethnicity and regional genetic heritage, past sunburns, tanning ability, and natural hair, eye, and skin colour, or clinical evaluation by a dermatologist based on visual examination and patient history.
The six Fitzpatrick skin types
The table below explains how each skin type is categorised under the Fitzpatrick model.
| Type | Skin Colour | Burns | Tans | Typical Ethnic Backgrounds |
| I | Pale white, freckles | Always | Never | Celtic, Northern European |
| II | Fair, blue/green eyes | Usually | Slightly | Northern European |
| III | Beige, light brown hair/eyes | Sometimes | Moderately | Mediterranean, Southern European |
| IV | Olive or light brown | Rarely | Easily | Middle Eastern, Hispanic, and some Asian |
| V | Brown | Very rarely | Very easily | South Asian, Latin American, and some African |
| VI | Dark brown/black | Never | Profoundly | African, Aboriginal, Afro-Caribbean |
Each skin type has its merits and constraints. For example, those who fall between categories I-III are more likely to burn in the sun, but as this shows very clearly, they will likely intervene early with sun protection measures and treatment, if necessary. Their lighter skin tones make it easier to detect anomalies caused by the sun and burning, compared to the clear contrast with lesions.
These skin types are more susceptible to wrinkles caused by photoageing and require daily application of a high-factor SPF cream. Unfortunately, these skin types are much more susceptible to skin cancers like basal cell, squamous, and melanoma, reinforcing the need for using sunscreen daily.
Skin types IV-VII, which are darker, have natural photoprotection and are less likely to wrinkle owing to the lower UV-penetration. They experience fewer incidences of melanoma and skin cancers. However, when they do experience melanoma, they are often difficult to identify and diagnose, leading to late diagnosis.
They are also prone to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which causes skin areas to darken following trauma, which can come from insect bites, eczema, burns, cuts, and even cosmetic procedures like laser treatment or deep skin peels. This is why knowing your skin type is important before engaging in professional treatments. Dark patches on the skin appear because these skin types stimulate melanocytes that produce melanin during the wound healing process, even with mild inflammation or triggers.
How does my skin type affect the treatments I can have?
Knowing your skin type regarding how much sebum and moisture it produces, and its sensitivity to sunlight, microtraumas, burns, and peeling, is essential because many professional treatments expose you to those very things to stimulate collagen production and your body’s natural healing response.
Take microneedling, for example; this involves creating micropunctures in the outer layer of your dermis to stimulate the wound healing response. As noted above, some skin types respond badly to such traumas, so more harm than good can be caused. Skin peels, which involve removing the outermost layer of skin using a mild acidic formula, can potentially cause hyperpigmentation in some skin types. And, laser therapy makes some skin types more susceptible to burning, and others to hyperpigmentation.
For this reason, knowing your skin type and selecting the most appropriate treatments for your skin type is not merely desirable; it is imperative.
To find out more about which skin type you are and the best treatment options for you, give Sadie a call to book a consultation.
Which treatments are best for your skin type?
For skin types I-III, the following treatments are considered safe and beneficial:
- Facials of all kinds are generally beneficial.
- Microneedling, even more aggressively, is typically fine
- Skin/chemical peels, both superficial and deeper peels, tend to be okay.
- Dermaplaning carries little risk of long-term harm to your skin, if you are in this category.
- Skin booster injections are always safe and stimulate collagen production from within. They pose almost no risk to any skin type.
- Polynucleotide injections, safe and stimulate collagen production from within. They pose almost no risk to any skin type
- Anti-wrinkle injections are generally safe for all skin types.
- Laser treatments, so long as you have not experienced sunburn, avoid sun exposure, and apply a factor 50 SPF cream, laser treatments pose a low risk of skin harm.
Even though these treatments are safe, care is required before, during, and after treatments, taking into account your skin’s specific needs, owing to its skin type.
For IV-VI, the following treatments can be safe:
It is not totally out of the question for darker skin types to benefit from treatments like microneedling, skin peels, and derma planing, but extra caution is advised to avoid too great an inflammatory response.
Final thoughts
Your skin type should not be a barrier to having wonderful and radiant skin. To the contrary, understanding your skin’s needs based on its classification helps you to provide it with precisely what it needs.
That said, professional beauty treatments are designed to enrich your skin, both from within and visibly on the outside. Opulent Aesthetics is a driving force for high-quality skin, no matter what your skin type.
We provide our clients with high-quality treatments from our cosy studios in Purley and Caterham, ensuring that each customer walks away glowing with pride and higher self-esteem.
To find out more about how Opulent Aesthetics can help give your skin that radiant look, book a consultation with Sadie today.
