Why can't I tan in the sun? Why do I burn in the sun so easily? These are common questions amongst the paler of us, and one we are here to help you understand. How your skin responds to the sun depends on your skin type.
Fitzgerald's skin type describes 5 different skin types, listed below. Once you identify and understand your skin type, you'll know how you should approach sun exposure and what your future risk to skin cancer and other skin related health issues is.
Your skin type is based on how much Melanin is in your skin, and therefore how naturally resistant your skin is to the sun. The scale above shows the different skin types.
If you have blue eyes, it is very likely that you are in Skin types 1-3. Red heads are almost guaranteed to fall in to type 1 and are at the highest risk of skin cancer. You should consider your hair colour, eye colour, and how easily you tan and burn when identifying your skin type.
The bad news for skin types 1-3 is that you are at increased risk of developing skin cancer. If you fall in to these groups, you should be avoiding sun exposure as much as possible. This is more important the lower the number of your skin type (i.e if you have type 1 skin you are most at risk).
