Skin types chart
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Dermatology recognize six skin-type categories:
| Skin types |
Sun history |
Example |
| I |
Always burns easily, never tans, extremely sensitive skin |
Red-headed, freckled, Celtic, Irish-Scots |
| II |
Always burns easily, tans minimally, very sensitive skin |
Fair-skinned, fair-haired, blue-eyed Caucasians |
| III |
Sometimes burns, tans gradually to light brown, sun-sensitive skin |
Average-skinned Caucasians, light-skinned Asians |
| IV |
Burns minimally, always tans to moderate brown, minimally sun-sensitive |
Mediterranean-type Caucasians |
| V |
Rarely burns, tans well, sun-insensitive skin |
Middle Easterners, some Hispanics, some African-Americans |
| VI |
Never burns, deeply pigmented, sun-insensitive skin |
African-Americans |
Updated December 2005
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