Fitzpatrick Skin Type Calculator
Determine your Fitzpatrick skin type (I-VI) from tanning and burning response.
Returns classification, melanin level, minimum SPF, and UV protection advice.
The Fitzpatrick scale classifies skin by one thing only: how it responds to ultraviolet light. Thomas Fitzpatrick, a Harvard dermatologist, published it in 1975 because he needed a way to predict how patients would react to the UV doses used in psoriasis phototherapy. Guessing from appearance was getting people burned. The scale is still the standard for setting phototherapy doses, laser settings, and skin cancer risk stratification.
The six phototypes:
- Type I: Always burns, never tans. Very fair, often freckled, red or light blond hair.
- Type II: Usually burns, tans minimally. Fair, commonly blue or green eyes.
- Type III: Sometimes burns, tans gradually. Medium, any eye colour.
- Type IV: Rarely burns, tans easily. Olive to light brown.
- Type V: Very rarely burns, tans darkly. Brown.
- Type VI: Never burns, deeply pigmented. Dark brown to black.
How the score works
The questionnaire adds up genetic traits and sun response, each answer scoring 0 to 4. This calculator uses the four questions that carry the most weight: eye colour, natural hair colour, burn-versus-tan response, and freckling on skin that rarely sees the sun. That last one is the tell people forget, and it is why the question specifies unexposed areas. Freckles that only appear after a summer are sun damage; freckles on your back in February are genetic, and they point hard toward Type I or II.
| Score | Phototype |
|---|---|
| 0–2 | Type I |
| 3–5 | Type II |
| 6–8 | Type III |
| 9–11 | Type IV |
| 12–14 | Type V |
| 15–16 | Type VI |
Worked example
Blue eyes (1), blond hair (1), usually burns and tans minimally (1), several freckles on unexposed skin (1). Total 4, which lands in the 3 to 5 band: Type II. Minimum effective sun protection at that phototype is SPF 50, and the burn threshold in strong summer sun is roughly 10 to 20 minutes unprotected.
What the type does and does not tell you
It predicts burn risk, not cancer immunity. Melanin in Type V and VI skin gives an intrinsic sun protection factor of only about 13, nowhere near enough on its own, and skin cancer in darker skin is diagnosed later and carries worse outcomes precisely because it is assumed not to happen. Everyone needs SPF 30 or higher. The scale also handles mixed heritage poorly, since it was built around a fairly narrow population, so treat a borderline score as a range rather than a verdict.
Answer for your natural, untanned state. A summer tan will push your score two or three points high and hand you the wrong advice for next spring.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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