What Is My Skin Type – Discover Your Skin Type [Infographic]

August 29, 2016 The Ancestry Scale

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Each skin type has different needs and requires treatments that address the concerns unique to each skin type. Get to know your skin so you can treat it accordingly.

What is My Skin Type?

  • Dry – Feels tight or itchy without enough moisture. Gets rough and flakes, accompanied by small pores. Rarely breaks out.
  • Oily – Gets shiny, visible oil on tissue when skin is blotted. Enlarged pores, breakouts not uncommon.
  • Combination – Enlarged pores and oil across forehead, nose, and chin. Parts of the face are normal or dry. Breakouts not uncommon.
  • Normal – Fairly uniform without excess oil or flakiness. Breakouts are rare.
  • Sensitive – Easily reacts with redness and irritation to hot water, alcohol, spicy foods, and products. Requires special care.
  • Aging or Sun damaged – Begins to lose elasticity. Fine lines and wrinkles begin to appear, skin can sag or appear crepey. Areas of discoloration appear and skin becomes less smooth.

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You may appear to have one type of skin, but your skin may react in surprising ways because of your heritage.

Know Your History.

  • Understanding your ancestry can help you understand your skin and address any skin problems. Your visible pigmentation isn’t necessarily reflective of how your skin will behave.
  • Understand the Lancer Ethnicity Scale (LES), which accounts for five different skin types based on geography and heredity. Each skin type has its own challenges and benefits.
    • LES I is extremely fair skin that burns quickly and tends toward sensitivity. Your ancestors are:
      • Celtic
      • Nordic
      • Northern European
    • LES II is fair skin that does not burn quickly, but still wrinkles and sags and can scar easily. Your ancestors are:
      • Central, Eastern, or Northern European
    • LES III is golden skin, possibly with olive undertones, that can scar easily or become easily inflamed. Your ancestors are:
      • European Jews
      • Native American and Inuit
      • Southern European and Mediterranean
    • LES IV is olive or brown skin that can become easily inflamed and can tend toward acne. Your ancestors are:
      • Sephardic Jews
      • Central and South American Indian
      • Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Vietnamese
      • Filipino and Polynesian
      • Southern European and Mediterranean
    • LES V is black skin that can react to irritation with discoloration or texture changes. Your ancestors are:
      • Central, East, and West African
      • Eritrean and Ethiopian
      • North African and Middle East Arabic
  • To find your LES skin type, add up the four numbers that correspond to your grandparents’ ethnicities on your maternal and paternal sides. Divide that total number by four to find your LED score.
  • A higher LES score means a higher risk with treatments. No matter what, there is always risk with any treatment that requires healing. A higher LES score comes with a higher risk of adverse reactions to resurfacing treatments.
  • Communicate with your dermatologist so they’re aware of your ancestral history. They’ll be better able to anticipate how skincare or treatments may affect your skin. Research into your family history can reveal more about your skin than you’d think.

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