The Fitzpatrick skin scale was developed in 1975 and is used to this day as a simple way of classifying different skin tones. As Aesthetic Practitioners the Fitzpatrick scale is very important as the classification will depend on which types of treatments are suitable for each client.
The scale classifies skin in 6 types based on the colour of the skin, sun damage and how the skin responds to the sun.
Skin Type 1: Ivory- white skin, always freckles, always burns, never tans.
E.g: Celtic fair skin
Skin Type 2: Fair- pale skin, usually freckles, often burns, rarely tans.
E.g: Northern European skin
Skin Type 3: Fair- beige skin with golden undertone, sometimes burns, sometimes tans.
E:g: Southern European skin
Skin Type 4: Olive- light brown skin, tans, rarely burns.
E.g: Middle eastern, fairer Asian skin
Skin Type 5: Darker shade of brown skin, always tans, never burns.
E.g: Darker Asian skin
Skin Type 6: Very dark/ darkest shade of brown, always tans, never burns.
E.g: Afro-Caribbean skin
Why is Fitzpatrick Important?
The Fitzpatrick scale must be used to enable us to treat clients skin safely and avoid negative responses such as hyper pigmentation or burns.
Skin Type 1 has the least amount of melanin, therefore will heat up least so higher energies can be used.
Skin Types 4-6 have more melanin so need to be treated with caution or not at all with certain laser treatments.
For darker skin tones we can safely treat skin concerns with peels and laser resurfacing which are suitable for all Fitzpatrick 1-6. All our skin supplements and skin care products are all suitable for skin of colour.
Here at our Fiji Skin Clinic we can treat all skin of colour safely whether it's with skin treatments or skin care products. Depending on a person's skin tone and skin concern will determine which treatment protocol we recommend.
Obagi Medical was developed for skin of colour 25 years ago and has all the clinical white papers to support their findings and results. We are Award Winning Obagi Ambassadors and have extensive training and experience in treating skin of colour even when its sensitive. Visit our social media to see our client before and after photos, you can also visit our extensive Google Reviews too. Ask us about our 14 week skin transformations too!
