What it your Skin Type? Why do we care?
The Fitzpatrick scale for skin typing is a widely used method of identifying the amount of pigment in a person’s skin and tolerance to sun exposure. In fact, the FDA & Health Canada uses it when evaluating the SPF values of sunscreens and determining the risk of developing skin cancer in people with light to darker skin. Lighter, sun-reactive skin types often need a broad-spectrum high SPF formula to prevent skin cancer and maintain healthy skin.
The Fitzpatrick scale is based on a quiz that assigns points to your response to various questions, such as the natural color of your hair, skin, eyes and ethnicity as well as whether you have freckles and what happens when you spend time in the sun. The total score at the end places you in one of six types, indicated with roman numerals, from lightest to darkest.
Knowing which skin type you are on this professional scale is important for two main reasons: safety and pro activity. Certain skin types on either end of the scale may not be good candidates for aggressive professional facial procedures such as chemical peels or certain laser treatments. That’s because the melanin that causes pigmentation in darker skin tones is often accidentally targeted with laser light energy, causing negative pigmentation change. On the other end, fair skin is at the highest risk to develop skin cancer and sun damage, so it’s important to help your skin with high quality sun care products.
Knowing what type of skin you have, and even what undertones you have, can help you more objectively identify products and makeup supplies that help you accentuate and take care of the skin that makes you who you are.
Understanding your skin is both simple and complex. Both your skin type and type of skin and skin conditions need to be considered when curating your skincare routine. Given our skin does change, it follows that we should be flexible with our skincare routine. A good habit to get into, is to check your skin around a change of season to see if you need to modify your skincare.
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What causes damage to our skin?!?
From genetics to sun damage, here’s what’s damaging your skin.
Your skin endures a lot. Every day, natural (intrinsic) and environmental (extrinsic) triggers change its structure from inside and out. Over time these factors lead to the accumulation of molecular damage in the skin, ultimately resulting in premature signs of aging like hyperpigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles.
Let’s take a closer look at how each of these triggers affects skin.
Intrinsic triggers
The intrinsic aging process is largely hereditary, and guided by our genes – so the best way to address it is through preventive skin care. Intrinsic aging generally includes:
- The slowing of cell turnover and renewal rates, leading to dull skin
- Uneven melanin production, leading to hyperpigmentation
- Decreased sebaceous activity, leading to fine lines and wrinkles
Extrinsic triggers
The good news: these are things you can control! It just takes a little work; reducing your exposure to extrinsic triggers is all about making healthy lifestyle decisions. Some extrinsic triggers include:
- Lifestyle habits like smoking, drinking and an unhealthy diet
- UV-induced sun damage from not wearing sunscreen
- Exposure to pollution like ozone, smog, smoke and exhaust
Together these triggers can cause uneven pigmentation, wrinkles, loss of elasticity and other signs of aging. This is where we enter!!
