Letter to the editor

✍ Scribed by Wolbarsht, Myron L.; Urbach, Fredrick

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 17 KB
• Volume: 25
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0196-8092
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1999)25:2<105::aid-lsm1>3.0.co;2-e

✦ Synopsis

The Lancer Ethnicity Sale [1] represents a useful concept for guidance in exposing the skin to laser radiation for cosmetic or therapeutic procedures. To the extent that the Fitzpatrick Skin Types represent cutaneous melanization, it is reasonable to assume that it can be correlated with susceptibility to possibility to injury from laser radiation.

However, hair color is a poor index of skin type. The classic Irish Celts with Fitzpatrick Type 1 skin usually have brown, or even black, hair . On the other hand, the blonde blue eyed Scandinavian represents Type 2.5 to 3 skin. These are important considerations, otherwise any brunette would automatically be put in LES Skin Type 3 or 4, whereas the Scandinavians would go to type 1. Furthermore, people with truly red hair are, for practical purposes, always Fitzpatrick Skin Type 1, whether they are Scots or Ashkenasi Jews.