Determining a client's skin type helps you and your tanning salon operators decide how an individual client's skin will react to UV light. It helps you determine safe exposure times so you can help protect the client from overexposure and other potentially harmful reactions.
Skin type depends on several factors including a person's heritage, natural hair color, eye color, un-tanned skin coloration, and tanning history.
Feel free to use these charts to help figure out a customer's skin type:
Skin Type Determination Based on Hereditary Characteristics
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eye Color | Light blue, gray or green | Blue, gray or green | Blue | Dark brown | Brownish black | |
| Hair Color | Sandy red | Blond | Blond chestnut or dark blond | Dark brown | Black | |
| Color of Skin | Reddish | Very pale | Pale with beige tint | Light brown | Dark brown | |
| Freckles | Many | Several | Few | Incidental | None |
Skin Type Determination Based on Tanning History
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What happens when you stay in the sun too long? | Painful redness, peeling, blistering | Burns regularly with peeling | Burns sometime with peeling | Burns rarely | Never burns | |
| To what degree do you turn brown? | Hardly or not at all brown | Tans a little with light color | Tans moderately | Tans very easily | Quickly turns brown | |
| Do you turn brown immediately after tanning? | Never | Hardly | Sometime | Often | Always | |
| How does your face react to the sun? | Very sensitive | Sensitive | Normal | Barely sensitive | Never a problem |
Score from Two Charts Above Indicates Skin Type
| Total Points | Skin Type | Skin Reactions to the Sun |
|---|---|---|
| 0-7 | 1 | Burns easily and severely; peels and does not tan |
| 8-16 | 2 | Burns easily and severely; tans minimally or lightly |
| 17-25 | 3 | Burns moderately; tans about average |
| 25 or more | 4 | Burns minimally; tans above average |