Skin Basics 101 for Aestheticians: Special Considerations for Non-Caucasian Patients

Aestheticians generally serve a wide and diverse variety of clientele, which is the nature of our society today. With that in mind the special considerations that must be considered for those with darker skin tones are an important educational topic for the aesthetician. Treating skin is not ‘one size fits all’.

Many clinical studies on ethnic skin differences have been held and are currently underway which reveal that complexions differ in many ways. The production of sebum, moisture loss and even the sensitivities to various chemicals used in cosmetic work mean learning more about the six continents of the world and the skin types unique to those continents, which are Africa, Antarctica, Australia, Eurasia, North America and South America. The new buzz phrase here is geographic positioning. Inherent differences exist including the level of pigmentation. The esthetic community utilizes the Fitzpatrick scale but it is primarily covering paler complexion types. New clinical trials are now being conducted gaining a broader understanding of African, Hispanic, Asian and Caucasian skin types in response to polydroxy acid in the course of routine therapy.

Why Is This Skin Analysis Concept Becoming Prevalent?

An aesthetician uses knowledge as a tool, and having knowledge of global skin type casting provides methods to handle situations unique to certain skin types. Many people of darker skinned ethnic groups often feel as though their unique skin situations are not understood, and in the past this has been the case more often than not. Knowledge of culturally diverse clients and their conditions fills a void and helps the aesthetician provide the high quality of customer service that is a standard to be strived for. For example, one of the most effective ways to assess skin tones is by using the FitzPatrick Scale for Skin Analysis (click for more info)

Fitzpatrick Skin Typing Scale

Skin Type	Skin Color	Hair & Eye Color	Reaction to Sun	Common Ethnic Considerations
Type I	White	Blond Hair & Green Eyes	Always burns, freckles	English, Scottish,
Type II	White	Blond Hair & Green/Blue Eyes	Always burns, freckles, difficult to tan	Northern European
Type III	White	Blond/Brown Hair & Blue/Brown Eyes	Tans after several burns, may freckle	German
Type IV	Brown	Brown Hair & Brown Eyes	Tans more than average, rarely burns, rarely freckles	Mediterranean , Southern European, Hispanic
Type V	Dark Brown	Brown/Black Hair & Brown Eyes	Tans with ease, rarely burns, no freckles	Asian, Indian, some Africans
Type VI	Black	Black Hair & Brown/Black Eyes	Tans, never burns, deeply pigmented never freckles	Africans

Other Important Considerations

A few examples of the type of thing to watch for are pigment variations from mild to moderate or high skin coloring and prevalent undertones of cool or warm hues, pore size and the location of hair follicle clusters which indicate higher levels of sebum flow and greater oil production. Also watch for signs of dryness which can come from smaller pores, and consistent patterns of scarring or hyper pigmentation.

What it finally comes down to in the end is that the professional aesthetician is just that, a professional. Maintaining professionalism means making the extra effort to learn about different types of skin in order to serve all clients in as professional and as effective a manner as possible.