Skin Analysis and Skin Types
The consultation is the analysis
Skin analysis begins with a client intake: medications, allergies, pregnancy, recent peels or waxing, sun exposure, and product use. Then observe under good light: pore size, oiliness, texture, hydration, pigmentation, vascularity, and lesions. Palpation (with permission and clean hands) assesses elasticity and oiliness.
Fitzpatrick and skin typing
Fitzpatrick types I–VI describe sun reactivity and guide treatment intensity and waxing temperature. Type I burns easily and never tans; type VI rarely burns and tans deeply. Lower types are more photosensitive and more prone to burning and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation risk after aggressive treatments.
Classifying skin
- Oily: enlarged pores, shine, comedones, thicker texture.
- Dry: tightness, flaking, fine lines, small pores.
- Combination: oily T-zone, normal or dry cheeks.
- Sensitive: reactivity, redness, stinging; patch test products.
- Dehydrated is a condition, not a type - skin can be oily and dehydrated.
Traps
- Calling dehydration a skin type.
- Confusing hyperpigmentation (excess melanin) with erythema (redness from vascularity).
- Treating a lesion that should be referred to a physician - any suspicious mole, changing lesion, or undiagnosed rash is a referral, not a service.
Rule of thumb
"Analyze before you treat, patch test before you apply, and refer anything you cannot name." Document findings and products used in the client record.