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More than 35% of the U.S. is comprised of non-Caucasians. This includes Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, and Native Americans. There are several different methods of classifying these different skin types, but the most common is the Fitzpatrick photo type. The Fitzpatrick method takes into account not only the color of unexposed skin, but also sensitivity to light and sunburn and tanning history. More elaborate Fitzpatrick scales also take into account presence of freckles, hair and eye color. The following chart is a good guide regardless of race for the purpose of laser hair removal.

One of the most important factors in deciding what Laser to use (and the settings) for Laser Hair Removal is the patient’s skin type. The following is a table that categorizes skin from skin type 1 (light skin) to skin type 6 (dark skin). The Fitzpatrick classification is determined by genetics, reaction of the skin to sun exposure and tanning habits.

Genetic Disposition
Score	0	1	2	3	4
What are the color of your eyes?	Light blue, Gray, Green	Blue, Gray or Green	Blue	Dark Brown	Brownish Black
What is the natural color of your hair?	Sandy Red	Blond	Chestnut/Dark Blond	Dark Brown	Black
What is the color of your skin (non exposed areas)?	Reddish	Very Pale	Pale with Beige tint	Light Brown	Dark Brown
Do you have freckles on unexposed areas?	Many	Several	Few	Incidental	none
Total score for Genetic Disposition: _____

Reaction to Sun Exposure
Score	0	1	2	3	4
What happens when you stay in the sun too long?	Painful redness, blistering, peeling	Blistering followed by peeling	Burns sometimes followed by peeling	Rare burns	Never had burns
To What degree do you turn brown?	Hardly or not at all	Light color tan	Reasonable tan	Tan very easy	Turn dark brown quickly
Do you turn brown within several hours after sun exposure?	Never	Seldom	Sometimes	Often	Always
How does your face react to the sun?	Very sensitive	Sensitive	Normal	Very resistant	Never had a problem
Total score for Reaction to Sun Exposure: _____

Tanning Habits
Score	0	1	2	3	4
When did you last expose your body to sun (or artificial sunlamp/tanning cream)?	More than 3 months ago	2-3 months ago	1-2 months ago	Less than a month ago	Less than 2 weeks ago
Did you expose the area to be treated to the sun?	Never	Hardly ever	Sometimes	Often	Always
Total score for Tanning Habits: _____

Add up the total scores for each of the three sections

for your Skin Type Score.

Skin Type Score	Fitzpatrick Skin Type
0-7	I
8-16	II
17-25	III
25-30	IV
over 30	V-VI

Fitzpatrick Classification for Skin Types

Skin Type	Color	Reaction to UVA	Reaction to Sun
Type I	Caucasian; blond or red hair, freckles, fair skin, blue eyes	Very Sensitive	Always burns easily, never tans; very fair skin tone
Type II	Caucasian; blond or red hair, freckles, fair skin, blue eyes or green eyes	Very Sensitive	Usually burns easily, tans with difficulty; fair skin tone
Type III	Darker Caucasian, light Asian	Sensitive	Burns moderately, tans gradually; fair to medium skin tone
Type IV	Mediterranean, Asian, Hispanic	Moderately Sensitive	Rarely burns, always tans well; medium skin tone
Type V	Middle Eastern, Latin, light-skinned black, Indian	Minimally Sensitive	Very rarely burns, tans very easily; olive or dark skin tone
Type VI	Dark-skinned black	Least Sensitive	Never burns, deeply pigmented; very dark skin tone

TYPE 1: Highly sensitive, always burns, never tans. Example: Red hair with freckles	TYPE 2: Very sun sensitive, burns easily, tans minimally. Example: Fair skinned, fair haired Caucasians	TYPE 3: Sun sensitive skin, sometimes burns, slowly tans to light brown. Example: Darker Caucasians
TYPE 4: Minimally sun sensitive, burns minimally, always tans to moderate brown. Example: Mediterranean type Caucasians	TYPE 5: Sun insensitive skin, rarely burns, tans well. Example: Some Hispanics, some Blacks	TYPE 6: Sun insensitive, never burns, deeply pigmented. Example: Darker Blacks

FROM MISC. SOURCES.