Skin Care Glossary

Refer to our skin care glossary to learn more about skin care.

ACNE GRADES

Grade I	Grade II	Grade III	Grade IV
Grade I is considered acne simplex, and may include open or closed comedones. Inflammatory lesions and cysts are not typically seen. Scarring is unlikely in acne simplex as the lesions tend to be superficial; however, patient excoriation may lead to hyperpigmentation or texture changes.	Grade II is also considered acne simplex, and will include the open or closed comedones seen in Grade I, as well as papules and pustules. Cystic lesions and scarring are uncommon.	Grade III is a form of acne vulgaris, where inflammation and bacterial lesions are typical. Open and closed comedones may also be seen, and scarring will be more likely than with the lower acne grades. Medical prescription intervention may be necessary.	Grade IV sufferers experience deeper cystic and nodular lesions, as well as papules, pustules, and comedones. Scarring is very common due to the depth of the lesions. Medical prescription intervention may be necessary.

FITZPATRICK SCALE

Skin Type	Skin Color	Reaction to the Sun	Typical Sensitivity to Chemical Peels	Common Hereditary Background
I	Very White or Freckled	Always burns, but never tans	Very Resilient	Nordic Scandinavian (Swedish, Danish)
II	White	Usually burns	Resilient	Irish English Welsh
III	White to Olive	Mildly burns, and tans relatively well	Moderately Responsive	Asian Mediterranean (Italian, Greek)
IV	Brown	Rarely burns, but tans well	Sensitive	Hispanic Middle Eastern African American Native American
V	Dark Brown	Very rarely burns, but tans easily	Moderately Sensitive	Hispanic Middle Eastern African American Native American Southeast Asian
VI	Black	Least likely to burn, but tans very darkly	Very Sensitive	African American Southeast Asian

STAGES OF AGING

Mild Stage I Aging “No Wrinkles”	Moderate Stage II Aging “Wrinkles in Motion”	Advanced Stage III Aging “Wrinkles at Rest”	Severe Stage IV Aging “Only Wrinkles”
Ages 20-30	Ages 30-40	Ages 40-55	Ages 55+
Early mid-photoaging Dull skin tone Hyperpigmentation – uneven tone and texture First expression lines Fine wrinkles	Moderate photoaging Thinning skin Deeper lines and wrinkles Dehydrated skin	Advanced photoaging Thin skin with loss of elasticity Deep wrinkles/dehydrated skin – loss of water volume in the skin Reduction in skin’s elasticity and firmness Skin with visible signs of external stress from smoking/alcohol/pollution	Severe photoaging Fragile, thin, crepe-like skin Hyperkeratinization of the skin – rough to the touch Loss of definition of facial contours – flaccid skin Very deep lines and wrinkles Loss of metabolic function

Back to Top ▲