It is important to know your correct skin tone before you choose makeup or hair colors so that they work best for you. Summer is a very good time to find out your skin tone. Here's a simple way to determine your skin tone:

1. If you are very fair and your skin burns easily before it starts tanning, your melanin level is lower and you have pink or porcelain undertones.

2. If your skin tans well and does not burn, your melanin level is higher and you are likely to have yellow to olive skin tone. Most Caucasian women fall under the Yellow skin tone category whereas most Mediterranean, Latino, Hispanic and Fairer African Women fall into the Olive category.

3. Dark skin is pre-dominant in African, African-American and dark complexioned Indians.

4. If your skin tone does not show any pre-dominant color tones, you have a neutral skin tone.

5. A very small section of women also have a reddish tone. Makeup products with slight red undertones will be a good choice in this case.

Other than tanning method, you can also observe your body parts that are unexposed to the sun and determine which color your skin tone tends to bend towards.

Other Ways of Describing Skin Tones

You will read in many places about Winter, Summer, Autumn, Spring and Warm and Cool skin tones. Warm tones are Autumn and Spring tones and Cool ones are Summer and Winter tones.

Winter Skin Tones (Warm)

Light, Yellow and Olive skin tones mostly fall into this category. Generally, there is a large difference in the hair, eye and skin color. Brunettes with fair skin fall into this category. Many Asians and African-Americans fall into this category.

Summer Skin Tones (Warm)

Pale skin with blue or pink undertones falls in this category. Generally natural blondes with pale eyes and pale skin are typical of this category.

Autumn Skin Tones (Cool)

If your skin has golden undertones like peaches, golden beige or browns etc., you fall in this category. Redheads generally fall in this category. Women with dark eyes also usually are found to have autumn skin tones.

Spring Skin Tones (Cool)

Very subtle golden undertones are characteristic of this type. A pale complexion bending slightly towards gold is called Spring skin tone. Redheads and Auburn hair with pale eyes like green and blue with generally rosy cheeks are typical of this category.

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