How to find your true skin tone –

When buying foundation or concealer, you always seem to get the shade wrong. After all, is there a way to know, once and for all, what your skin tone? The answer, thankfully, is yes!

THE FITZPATRICK SCALE

According to the dermatologist Dr. Maria Paula Del Nero, the best known and most used scale to determine a person’s skin tone is the so-called Fitzpatrick Scale. This scale was developed according to the responses of the different tonalities to the sun exposure: that is, the ease with which the skin tans or burns when in contact with the sun.

In total, this scale has 6 phototypes, starting with the lightest skin tone, reaching the darkest. All this, of course, based on the ability of each shade to produce melaninthe substance responsible for skin color.

– (Dr. Maria Paula Del Nero/Disclosure)

“The biggest mistake people make when trying to find their skin tone is not knowing that the classification is not based on their tone, but on how much they burn or tan when exposed to the sun”, explains the professional.

Another important point raised by Luigi Morettomakeup artist and hairstylist, are the subtonalities that interfere, for example, in the choice of a base color. “There are warm and cool skin tones,” he says. “It is necessary to understand the temperature (hot or cold) in order to value the natural features even more.”

In this case, the color of each person’s veins also comes into account – purplish or bluish veins indicate a colder hue, and reddish veins, a warmer hue.

– (Dr. Maria Paula Del Nero/Disclosure)

HOW TO FIND MY SKIN TONE?

For the dermatologist, this process is simpler than it seems: just look at the table above to identify where you are on the Fitzpatrick scale. This first step will determine how you relate to your skin and even your needs.

For example, skins with lower phototypes are more likely to develop cancer because of the low melanin content. On the other hand, skins with higher phototypes are less likely to develop the disease, but still need photoprotection. With this information, it is easier to choose the type of sun protection, for example, with the help of a dermatologist.

“Warm tones always refer to browns, golds or yellows”, explains Luiz, about the other aspect of skin color. “The cold ones are directed towards pink tones. It is important to compare with a skin tone table, this is the easiest way to identify.”

CAN SKIN TONE CHANGE?

The Fitzpatrick scale doesn’t change: if you’re a type 1, you’ll be a type 1 for the rest of your life. What changes is only the level of tanning or redness of the skin, according to its response to the sun.

Stains, marks and other details can appear to change the skin tonebut Fitzpatrick’s determination is final, because it deals with the amount of melanin in the organism and also takes into account the natural colors of the eyes and hair to determine each phototype.

What changes, therefore, are the needs of the skin at every moment – ​​in the summer, photoprotection must be higher and hydration must be kept up to date. In winter, the need for photoprotection remains, but the hydration should be highlightedas the cold and wind can peel and hurt the skin.

Make-up, however, must adapt to these different nuances: if you are a phototype that tans easily, you may need to adjust the foundation color to a shade higher in the summer, and go back to a tone lower in the winter, considering this answer in the sun.

Oh, and it’s worth remembering that sunscreen doesn’t interfere with your skin tone, it just protects the organ from sun rays.

“The skin tone is genetic, it is stable throughout life”, reinforces the dermatologist. “It’s a rating for life. Sunscreen helps a person not to tan or burn. The scale will be the same, but she may have a tanner or lighter skin tone, depending on the sun exposure.”