How to Identify Your Skin Type and Tone

When the sun comes out to play at the beginning of spring, you will notice the way your skin reacts. Do you tend to get sunburns easily, or just tan? It’s helpful to find out your skin’s exact tone to find out just how much sun you can soak up before you put yourself at risk for sun damage.

It’s also important to identify your skin type- whether it’s oily, dry, combination, or somewhere in-between- in order to understand which skincare products and procedures are safe for you. It also provides a great reference for picking out the best products to ensure your skin looks and feels its healthiest.

What is Your Skin Tone?

Dermatologists use the Fitzpatrick scale to identify skin tones. The scale was created in 1975 by Harvard dermatologist Thomas Fitzpatrick, who found a direct correlation between a person’s skin color and how the skin responds to UV light. Which of the following best describes the way your skin typically reacts to the sun?

Type I  Always burns, never tans

Type II  Usually burns, then tans

Type III  Sometimes burn, tans well

Type IV  Rarely burns, tans well

Type V  Rarely burns, tans well, brown skin

Type VI  Very rarely burns, tans very well, very dark

What Determines Your Skin Tone?

It all comes down to pigments. Pigments are responsible for all of the different skin colors in the world. One of those pigments; melanin, is like a natural sunblock, protecting you from damaging UV rays. The more melanin your skin contains, the darker your natural skin color will be. This means that those with naturally darker skin are less prone to burns, whereas fair-skinned people tend to burn easily.

Choosing the Right Products for Your Skin Tone

If you fall on the lighter end of the scale, from Type I – Type III, you can safely use Jessner peels, and the entire range of other peels, including TCA peels up to 30% concentration.

If you have very dark skin, some products may permanently change your skin’s pigment. If your skin tone is darker, Type IV, V, or VI, and are considering a TCA peel, make sure to pick one that has a concentration of 10% or lower. Avoid Jessner peels if you fall into these darker skin tone categories. Glycolic peels are a great, safe option for darker skin tones as are AHA Vitamin C peels. 

Learn more about peels here.

What is Your Skin Type?

Once you have identified your skin tone, you should also consider your skin type. Choose products specifically designed for your skin type in order to meet your skin’s unique set of needs from the following:

Normal Smooth and supple, doesn’t produce excess oil or become dry and flaky. You’re lucky if you fall into this category, and can safely choose from a variety of products.

Oily You tend to have larger pores and can be prone to acne. Acne-prone skin can occur well into adulthood and should be treated with products that remove the dead skin from clogged pores to clear blackheads and acne marks.

Dry Your pores tend to be smaller, with visible dry flakes. Moisturizer is important, so pick one tailored to the amount of moisture your skin needs based on its level of dehydration.

Combination The most common skin type. If you have combination skin, your face will typically be normal or dry with an oily area in your T-zone. You may need to treat these separate areas of your face with different products.

Sensitive Sensitive skin which is easily irritated by products designed for normal skin, and becomes red or itchy. Stick to milder treatments specifically designed for you.

Aging Advanced signs of aging include wrinkles, fine lines, age spots, and sun damage. These visible issues can be minimized through a variety of treatments.

Want a personalized skincare routine for you? Take our quiz! 

Benefits of Vitamin C in Skincare

Vitamin C skincare provides potent antioxidant protection from damaging free radicals within the environment that cause premature aging. These environmental factors include: sun-damage, pollution, and oxygen. Vitamin C skincare can provide a range of anti-aging benefits which include:

• Boosts collagen production
• Reduces age and brown spots
• Soothes irritation and inflammation
• Treats discoloration from past acne
• Boosts your skin’s defense against UV rays

One of the most effective forms of Vitamin C that  is within Vitamin C skincare products is L-ascorbic acid. When combined with other antioxidant based products or when used alone in high concentrations of 20% or above can help firm the skin and treat the  most stubborn skin conditions such as signs of sun-damage and old acne blemishes. Other forms of effective Vitamin C that are found in Vitamin C skincare are: sodium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl palmitate, retinyl ascorbate, tetrehexyldecyl ascorbate and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. The stability of Vitamin C products are vulnerable when exposed to both air and light, therefore the type of packaging of these products is very important. You will want to make sure that these products are packaged in air-tight, non-transparent dispensers.

With years of research behind Vitamin C skincare, it is proven to help you achieve healthy radiant skin. Lower percentages of Vitamin C are also effective with providing anti-aging benefits when infused with products that repair and nourish the skin. To gain the most optimal results, make sure a Sun Protection Factor is included with your daily skincare regime to enhance the ability of Vitamin C nourishment. Vitamin C skincare is a powerful essential that should be included in the skincare arsenal for all skin types.

Enemies to your skin: what really causes damage and aging

Many factors and harmful habits can alter the protective function of our skin. Until recently it was believed that smoking and excessive exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays were the worst offenders. Now, however, it is known that pollution is equally harmful.

Polluted air

Pollution is inevitable in large cities. Traffic contaminates the air and pollution particles penetrate the skin and cause oxidative stress, the best known mechanism for causing cells to age. The pollution particles carried in the air, which include tiny specks of dust, enter the outer layer of skin cells. There they react to create molecules called free radicals, which can even alter the properties and structure of this skin layer. Fortunately, vitamin E is a potent antioxidant of lipids (fats) that acts to slow down the ageing of the skin.

What damages the skin, ages the skin

A recent study compared the condition of the skin of 400 women, aged between 70 and 80 years old and living in rural areas and large cities. The results revealed that women living in urban areas with high pollution levels had 20% more pigmented spots on their foreheads and cheeks. It was also observed that urban women had more pronounced wrinkles in the facial area around the nose and mouth.

Extreme temperatures

When the thermometer falls below 5ºC and humidity levels are extremely low, the risk of skin dehydration increases. Air conditioning devices further dry out the air and also release ozone, which, according to recent studies, can react with certain skin components to produce irritants. When humidity and temperature levels are very high, water loss through perspiration makes the skin appear damp, although in fact it needs more moisturizing to prevent it from drying out. As a general rule, temperature extremes have detrimental effects on the skin. Experts even warn that climate change, over the long term, could have negative dermatological repercussions in that it could lead to dramatic swings in annual temperatures in large parts of the world and increase exposure to the sun.

Harmful lifestyles for the skin

Smoking and alcohol cause premature ageing by reducing the supply of oxygen to the skin, while diets poor in fresh fruit and vegetables deprive the skin of essential nutrients. Similarly, tattoos, piercings and synthetic clothing can affect people with particularly sensitive skin, causing mild rashes or even serious infections. Readers can refer to the tips for a healthy skin provided in an earlier blog post.

So, some of the things we can do to limit the daily aggressions that make us seem older than we really are include giving up smoking, eating healthily, avoiding extreme temperatures and properly cleansing and moisturizing the skin to reduce the effects of particle pollution.