Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale: Classifying Sun Response

The scale runs from type I, which always burns and never tans, through type IV, which burns minimally and tans easily, to types V and VI, which rarely or never burn. Classification is based on the person's reported reaction to about thirty minutes of sun after the winter, not on an examiner's judgement of their appearance.

Thomas Fitzpatrick devised it in 1975 to choose an initial dose for ultraviolet phototherapy, and that origin explains both its structure and its limits. It is a functional classification of photosensitivity. Types V and VI were added later, and the scale has repeatedly been criticised for performing poorly in people with darker skin, where self-reported burning correlates weakly with measured pigmentation. Using it as a proxy for race or ethnicity is a misuse of the instrument, and using it to select laser parameters in darker skin without other assessment is a known source of harm.