Knowing your skin tone can help in many ways-like choosing the right lipstick color, knowing what hair color works best, and knowing what color you should use to look great. Follow these steps to determine your skin tone and tone, and start making the choices that best suit your skin!
Step
Method 1 of 2: Determining the Layers of Color Beneath the Skin
Step 1. Understand what skin tone is
Skin tone, or the layer of color under the skin (undertone), doesn't refer to your skin tone (light, medium, dark)-it's the color of your skin's surface. Your skin tone is determined by the amount of melanin, or pigment, in the skin and doesn't change due to sun exposure or skin conditions such as rosacea or acne. So, although a person's skin may become paler in winter and tanned in summer, the skin tone will remain the same.
- Your skin tone is one of the following: cool, warm, or neutral.
- Remember that your skin tone is not always what you see on the surface. So, you may have rosy skin, but your skin tone is actually yellow.
- Before trying any of the following steps, make sure your skin is clean and free of any makeup, lotion, or toner. If you've just washed your face, wait about 15 minutes before proceeding, as the skin may appear reddish after cleansing and it is therefore difficult to see the true tone of the skin.
- Always use natural light when examining the skin. Different light bulbs can have different effects on your skin – certain bulbs can cast a yellow or green shadow, and hinder the appearance of skin tones.
Step 2. Look at the color of the veins on the inside of the wrist
It's a quick way to determine your skin tone. Be sure to look at your wrist in natural light, either by standing by a window or outdoors, and make sure that your wrist is clean and free of skin care products.
- If the veins appear bluish or purplish, your skin tone is cool.
- If the veins appear greenish, your skin tone is warm.
- If you don't know whether your veins are green or blue, you probably have a neutral skin tone. If your skin tone is olive, you most likely fall into this category.
Step 3. Pay attention to how your skin reacts to the sun
Does your skin turn tan easily? Will the skin burn and freckle? The amount of melanin in your skin determines how your skin reacts to sun exposure and thus helps you determine your skin tone.
- If your skin tans easily and you rarely get sunburned, you have more melanin and you most likely have a warm or neutral tone.
- If your skin burns easily and doesn't tan, you have less melanin and a cooler skin tone.
- Some women with very dark ebony skin may not get sunburned easily but still have a cool tone. Try a few more tests to determine your undertone.
Step 4. Hold a piece of white paper near your face
By looking in the mirror, try to see how your skin looks compared to white paper. Your skin may appear to have shades of yellow, blue-red, or rose-red, or you may not see these colors but look gray.
- If your skin looks yellowish or pale next to the white paper, then your skin tone is warm.
- If your skin looks pink, rose red, or bluish red, your skin tone is cool.
- If the skin appears gray, it may have an olive tone with a neutral undertone. This effect is created by the combination of the green of your skin tone and the yellowish hue. You can experiment with neutral and warm tones, as your skin falls somewhere in between.
- If you can't pinpoint shades of yellow, green, or pink, your tone is neutral. Neutrals can look great with foundation and colors on either end of the cool/warm spectrum.
Step 5. Use jewelry or gold and silver foil to find skin tones
Hold the sheet of gold foil in front of your face so that it reflects light back onto your face. Pay attention to whether the light makes your face look gray or faded, or brightens your face. Then, try to do the same with a piece of foil.
- If the gold foil looks nicer, then your skin tone is warm.
- If the reflection of the foil makes your face glow, then your skin tone is cool.
- If you don't notice any difference (both silver and gold lighten your face), then you most likely have a neutral skin tone.
- If you don't have gold or silver foil, try placing gold and silver jewelry on your wrist, and see which one makes your skin look better.
Step 6. Ask a friend to see the color of the skin behind your ear
If you have acne-prone skin, rosacea, or another condition that might mask your skin tone, you can ask a friend to look at the skin behind your earlobe, as this area is less likely to break out.
- Have a friend examine the skin in the small indentation behind your ear.
- If your skin is yellowish, your skin tone is warm.
- If your skin is pink or rose red, then your skin tone is cool.
- If they have trouble determining your skin tone, they can try holding a piece of white paper close to your skin to help see if your skin looks yellow or pink.
Method 2 of 2: Using Skin Tone to Choose Color
Step 1. Examine the skin under a neutral light to find your skin tone
Facial skin tone refers to the nuances of your skin's surface tone, such as light, medium, olive, tan, or dark and that skin tone can change. So your skin tone can be lighter in winter and darker in summer. By looking at the skin along the jawline, you should be able to determine the color of your facial skin.
- Make sure your skin is clean and not covered in any products, such as foundation, powder, or lotion.
- If your skin can be described as very white, pale, or porcelain-like, then you are fair. You may have freckles or a slight redness on your facial skin. Your skin is very sensitive to sunlight and gets sunburned easily. You may have a cool or warm skin tone.
- If you have pale skin that burns easily but turns tan, then you have light skin. You may have a slight redness and your skin may be slightly sensitive. You may have a cool or warm skin tone.
- If your skin tans easily but rarely burns, then you have medium skin. You may have a warm or golden skin tone. This facial skin color is very common in people.
- If you have olive or tan all year round (even in winter), your skin is most likely tan. You hardly ever get sunburned and your skin tone is likely neutral or warm.
- If you have warm brown skin and black or dark brown hair, then you have a warm skin tone. Your skin tans quickly when exposed to the sun and you rarely burn. Your skin tone is almost always warm. Women of Indian or African descent often fall into this category.
- If you have very dark skin, almost like ebony, and have black or dark brown hair, then you have a dark skin tone. You may have a warm or cool skin tone and your skin almost never burns.
Step 2. Use skin tones to choose the right color for your outfit
Remember, these are not rules, just suggestions. Matching your skin tone to a color that makes your skin look better will make you look your best, but don't be afraid to try and experiment with whatever color catches your eye.
- People with warm tones should try neutral colors, such as ivory, beige, orange-red, mustard, gray, yellow, orange, brown, dark red, and yellow-green.
- People with cool tones should try blue-red, blue, purple, pink, green, plum, navy, magenta, and blue-green.
- People with neutral hues can use colors from both categories. Most colors will make your skin look better.
Step 3. Consider your skin tone and face color to find your new favorite lipstick
Start with these guidelines and recommendations, but don't be afraid to try something else.
- If you have fair or light skin, try a pale pink or coral red, lip color, cream, or brick red. If you have a cool skin tone, look for raspberry or mocha tones or lip colors, in particular. People with warm skin tones can try a red with a blue undertone (this color will also make your teeth look really white), a coral red, a pale pink or a peach-toned lip color.
- If you have olive or tan skin, try cherry red, rose, mauve, or berry. A dark pink or coral red would also look good. If you have a warm skin tone, focus on orange-orange (tangerine), orange-red, copper, or bronze tones. If you have cool skin tones, look for wine red or cranberry tones.
- If you have a dark face, look for lipsticks in brown, purple, caramel, plum, or wine red. If you have warm skin tones, try copper, bronze, or even a blue-based red. If you have cool skin tones, look for metallic tones in a ruby red or dark burgundy.
