Skin Analysis and Skin Types
Skin analysis turns observation into a treatment plan. The exam tests whether you separate skin type (largely genetic: normal, dry, oily, combination, sensitive) from skin condition (temporary or treatable: dehydration, acne, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, aging), and whether you use tools correctly.
Consultation first
Intake form, medications, allergies, pregnancy, recent peels, laser, or waxing, sun exposure, and home products (retinoids, acids, benzoyl peroxide). Estheticians observe and describe; we do not diagnose disease. Suspicious lesions (asymmetry, border, color, diameter, evolving) are referred out.
Analysis method
Analyze clean skin under a magnifying lamp; palpate for texture and oil; ask about the client's own routine. Confirm with a Wood's lamp, which fluoresces porphyrins and shows surface oil and hydration. It supports, never replaces, visual analysis.
Typical Wood's lamp reading:
- Light blue/white - normal, balanced
- Yellow - oil (sebum)
- Violet/purple - dehydration
- Coral pink/red - congestion, acne bacteria
- Brown - hyperpigmentation
Fitzpatrick scale
Types I–VI describe burning and tanning response. Type I always burns, never tans; type VI never burns. It guides waxing, peel selection, and laser referral caution.
Worked example
A client is tight after cleansing, shiny by noon, has visible pores on the nose, and flakes on the cheeks. That is combination skin with dehydration - oil in the T-zone, water loss on the cheeks. Do not prescribe a stripping oil-free regimen; use a gentle cleanser, a light hydrating serum, and a gel moisturizer.
Traps
Treating dehydration as dry skin (dry = lacking oil; dehydrated = lacking water); typing skin from self-report alone; using the Wood's lamp to diagnose; and forgetting that sensitive skin is a type while rosacea is a condition needing medical referral.