Your skin tone is the color, or hue, of your skin, and is determined by the amount and type of melanin in your skin, and the size and number of blood vessels that are closest to the skin's surface. Skin tones vary greatly from person to person, although those of the same ethnic group tend to fall within the same type of tone. Also, getting a tan will deepen skin pigmentation, but it won't change your color. You can figure out what your color is by following these steps.
Steps
Step 1. Wash your face with warm water and a facial cleanser
Your skin should be completely free of makeup or impurities. Pat your skin dry with a dry towel. Do not use a moisturizer or toner and avoid rubbing the skin with the towel, as the rubbing will cause the skin to redden and make it difficult to distinguish your more natural complexion.
Step 2. Wait 15 minutes
Give your face some time to recover from the water temperature and subsequent drying, to allow it to return to its most natural state.
Step 3. Stand in front of a mirror
Make sure you are in an area full of natural light, as shadows and / or fluorescent lights can alter the appearance of your skin tone.
Step 4. Determine if your skin complexion is hot or cold
Choose one of the following methods:
- Hold a sheet of white paper near your face. Notice the color of your skin in contrast to the white. If it looks yellow or golden, then you are a warm color. If it looks rosy, you are a cool tone.
- Alternate holding gold, then silver foil next to your face to determine the color of your skin. Notice the effect on your skin. The right sheet will give you a healthy and bright look. The wrong paper will make you look gray and sick. If the right sheet for you is gold, you are a warm tone. If the right sheet is the silver one, you are a cool tone.
- Thoroughly clean behind the ears and have someone lean your ear forward and look back in natural light. The skin behind the ear is pure in terms of tone, and a yellow or pinkish tint is easily discernible. If the viewer sees a yellow tone, you are a warm tone. A pinkish tone means a cold tone.
- Stretch your wrists out in front of you and face them up in direct sunlight. If the blood vessels under the skin appear greenish in color, you are a warm tone. If they appear to have a bluish tint, you are a cool tone.
