NationStates

So I decided I'm gonna take a little break from my usual political threads to talk about a more mundane and down to earth topic that some people are very passionate about. Boys and girls, let's talk about skin, specifically melanin. your body is filled with trillions of skin cells which are created, live and die every day, and our skin cells produce melanin when exposed to UV radiation, which helps protect our skin from sunburns and other solar damage. Many people, especially in the west, harness this special feature of the skin to improve their appearance in a process known as tanning. Indeed, every summer you probably see a lot of your friends and family get that glowing sun kissed look, sometimes after only a few hours out in the sun and in other cases after several days of outdoor sunbathing.

Nope that we're done with all that scientific gibberish that no one cares about, this is where it gets interactive. What skin type are you? You probably have never thought about this question before, but skin comes in multiple types that vary in color greatly, and people aren't simply "dark skinned" or "light skinned." Human skin varies between type 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and knowing your skin tone can greatly benefit you if you're an avid sun tanner.

Type I: type 1 skin is what we think of as nordic, being extremely light in complexion and unable to tan. Type 1 skin will always burn in the sun and those with it should avoid long periods of sun exposure even with sunscreen.

Type II: Type 2 skin is less fair than type 1 but is also your typical northern or central European tone. Type 2 burns easily but can mildly tan a little darker.

Type III: This is my skin tone right here. Type III is the lightest tone within the olive skin range, and is found among some central europeans and many southern europeans, latinos, levantine people, North Africans, iranians, northern indians, Chinese, korean, thai, vietnamese, burmese and Japanese people. Type III is naturally a light color but can tan moderately or darkly, although it can still burn

Type IV: type 4 skin is naturally a light brown color and can dark. It rarely burns and is found among people around the mediterranean, latin america, east asia, southeast Asia and North India.

Type V: type 5 is dark brown skin that rarely tans and never burns. 5 is found among some people from the mediterranean, people in the Arabian oeninsula, east africa, india, southeast asia, latin America and native Americans

Type VI: the darkest skin. This tone is found throughout africa, melanesia, southern India and central American native americans. It never tans or burns

So what skin tone are you? Do you tan at all or do you avoid the sun at all costs? Is anyone you know into tanning a little too much? Let me know down below

My skin is pretty light, probably Type 2 by shade, but I don't sunburn easily and tan moderately. I don't actively tan because it's not good for your skin, but I spend a lot of time walking or sitting outdoors and end up getting somewhat tanned in the summer.

Cekoviu wrote:My skin is pretty light, probably Type 2 by shade, but I don't sunburn easily and tan moderately. I don't actively tan because it's not good for your skin, but I spend a lot of time walking or sitting outdoors and end up getting somewhat tanned in the summer.

Shit, you might even be type 3

Rojava Free State wrote:

Cekoviu wrote:My skin is pretty light, probably Type 2 by shade, but I don't sunburn easily and tan moderately. I don't actively tan because it's not good for your skin, but I spend a lot of time walking or sitting outdoors and end up getting somewhat tanned in the summer.

Shit, you might even be type 3

My ancestry is like Irish, English, and German or some shit, so that seems weird.

Is type 5.
Also, you might wanna add aborigines to your type 6 list.

I’m ethnically Korean, and my skin tone is basically the same as your average Korean (although not the kind that are whiter than Norwegians [Ex: K-Pop stars]). I suppose that’d be Type III, although the definitions sound like I fit more in Type IV.

I’m a dark II. I seldom burn unless im by a pool. My mom is Type I. Even with sunscreen she burned quickly.

Cekoviu wrote:

Rojava Free State wrote:
Shit, you might even be type 3

My ancestry is like Irish, English, and German or some shit, so that seems weird.

Could be from the German side. My best friend is a white guy and he's the same color as I am even though he's definitely anglo. It happens

Kowani wrote:Is type 5.
Also, you might wanna add aborigines to your type 6 list.

They're definitely 6

Type II, but I don't burn easily. Out working the garden or golfing, I'm fine in the sun for hours. Apparently most of my ancestors in Austria-Hungary and the UK worked on the surface rather than the mines.

I'm as white as a ghost during the winter, though.

Rojava Free State wrote:

Cekoviu wrote:My ancestry is like Irish, English, and German or some shit, so that seems weird.

Could be from the German side. My best friend is a white guy and he's the same color as I am even though he's definitely anglo. It happens

Yeah, I do recall reading that some Anglo guy back in the day referred to Germans as "swarthy," so...

Cekoviu wrote:

Rojava Free State wrote:
Could be from the German side. My best friend is a white guy and he's the same color as I am even though he's definitely anglo. It happens

Yeah, I do recall reading that some Anglo guy back in the day referred to Germans as "swarthy," so...

That wasn't any old anglo. That was Ben Franklin

I would say I'm type two bordering on type 3, most of my ancestry is northern/western european (English,Irish, Scottish, German, Dutch) minus my Thai ancestry on my fathers side, I don't tend to burn all that easily

Rojava Free State wrote:

Cekoviu wrote:Yeah, I do recall reading that some Anglo guy back in the day referred to Germans as "swarthy," so...

That wasn't any old anglo. That was Ben Franklin

Oh yeah, that's right,

Type three here. Hurr durr.

IV to V, wish I had freckles and a more evened out skin complexion. Like the colour though.

Type II. I'm very fair but I tan in the sun.

Rojava Free State wrote:

Cekoviu wrote:Yeah, I do recall reading that some Anglo guy back in the day referred to Germans as "swarthy," so...

That wasn't any old anglo. That was Ben Franklin

No wonder us Slovaks were so loyal an ally of Germany in WWII, both at home and at war against the Bolshevik enemy.

Type 1. I'm super white.

Type II. I wish I was Type III like my dad.

I'm type II, but I don't spend enough time in the sun to tan.

Rojava Free State wrote:Type V: type 5 is dark brown skin that rarely tans and never burns. 5 is found among some people from the mediterranean, people in the Arabian oeninsula, east africa, india, southeast asia, latin America and native Americans

Doesn't sound like you've met many Vietnamese. I note you did not mention Southeast Asians under III or IV where most of them actually fit.

If you've got no rutting clue what people in Southeast Asia actually look like, maybe you should just not mention them.

USS Monitor wrote:

Rojava Free State wrote:Type V: type 5 is dark brown skin that rarely tans and never burns. 5 is found among some people from the mediterranean, people in the Arabian oeninsula, east africa, india, southeast asia, latin America and native Americans

Doesn't sound like you've met many Vietnamese. I note you did not mention Southeast Asians under III or IV where most of them actually fit.

If you've got no rutting clue what people in Southeast Asia actually look like, maybe you should just not mention them.

While I'd have put SE Asia under Type IV I know some Cambodians who would fit with type 5 and can think of a couple of dark brown Vietnamese(though that might have been due to 'tanning'). Not to mention that the Negrito peoples are SE Asian too

It would be good if OP actually posted a visual sample of the skin tones being referred to as a guide
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I remember many years ago my white (Type I) friend Sally was telling her mother about my sister (who has dark blonde hair) being 'quite dark', I (type 4?) was confused and rebuffed "eh? my sister is fair"" leading to a minor debate until Sally's mother counselled that perhaps we were each working off a different standard of what constituted 'fair' or 'dark'.

I don't seem to tan, people ask sometimes if I'm ill because I'm "so pale", but I regularly go for 40 minute plus walks at midday in the middle of summer without any suncream and I don't burn.

Where's the alien option?

Type 3.