Your grandmother would not have faced this problem. Choosing makeup articles was not difficult for her because there were not many options available, anyway. Those days, it was a question of just looking "made up" during special occasions.
These days, however, beauty product manufacturers, after a lot of research and development, have come out with products that you can choose according to your skin type. This helps each person look their best by enhancing their strong features and playing down their weak ones. You can choose your makeup according to your skin tone. However, to benefit from this privilege, you need to know about your skin tone; this will help you enquire about various products according to your skin type when you are out shopping.
Enhance Your Looks
We all know that we look good in certain color dresses and not so good in others. Understanding your skin tone will also help you choose dress colors that complement your skin tone and give you a glow, thereby enhancing your beauty.
What Causes Different Skin Look Different?
When it comes to skin tone, melanin is the key word. The amount of melanin in your skin decides you skin tone type. The more the melanin, the darker will be your skin. So Caucasians have the least melanin and Africans have the highest level of melanin in their skin, and every other race comes in between these two.
Fitzpatrick Skin Types
Many scientists tried categorizing skin types, but the most widely used skin tone typing is that of Dr. Thomas B. Fitzpatrick of the Harvard Medical School, developed in 1975. Based on factors like the genetics and reaction to sun exposure, Fitzpatrick skin tone typing has come up with 6 types of skin tones:
- Type I: This skin color is light. The skin of this type burns easily but does not tan. Examples are some pale Caucasians albinos, and people with freckles.
- Type II: This skin color is fair or light. They burn easily and sometimes get tanned. Examples are fair-skinned Caucasians.
- Type III: Medium to dark-skinned Europeans come under this category. They may sometimes get sunburns, but tan easily.
- Type IV: Asian, Hispanic, Native Americans, and some Europeans have this type of skin. Their skins rarely burn, but tan easily.
- Type V: Brown skin. Hispanics and Afro-Americans have this skin type. They rarely suffer from either burning or tanning.
- Type VI: Black skin color. Africans and Afro-Americans come under this category. They never have any sunburn or tanning issues.
Type VI skin have double the amount of melanin as compared to Type I. This makes type I more prone to skin cancers than type V or VI. Therefore, people having type I, II, III, etc., should avoid sun compared to others.
This is just a general categorization. Thanks to many inter-racial marriages, you can find all the skin types in each race, these days. Understanding your particular skin type will help you choose more natural-looking makeup aids that are suitable for your type of skin.
These days, a lot of stress is laid on looks and the way you dress. Fashion faux pas (an error in style judgment) seems to be an unpardonable offence. Even if we are not up to date with the latest fashion, it definitely is worth it if we can dress according to our body type and skin tone, choosing the colors that will complement our skin and using the most natural-looking makeup aids.
