Fitzpatrick and Monk Scales

Clinical studies may reference either the Fitzpatrick or Monk scales to help identify skin type and shade.

What is the Fitzpatrick Scale?

The Fitzpatrick scale is a system that helps determine an individual’s skin type. It is based on each person’s individual reaction to UV light and how it tans or burns. There are six different types that each have a corresponding score. Researchers may use this scale to evaluate how different devices and technologies work on individuals with different skin types. This helps to ensure that people with different skin types can use products safely and effectively.

The chart shows six illustrated head-and-shoulders figures, each representing a skin type, above a color-coded table that progresses from light to dark across four rows. Skin Type I: Light, pale white. Always burns. Never tans. Greatest skin cancer risk. Skin Type II: White, fair. Usually burns. Tans with difficulty. High risk. Skin Type III: Medium, white to olive. Sometimes mild burns. Gradually tans to olive. High risk. Skin Type IV: Beige olive, moderate brown. Rarely burns. Easy tans to moderate brown. At risk. Skin Type V: Brown, dark brown. Very rarely burns. Tans very easily. Skin cancer relatively rare. Skin Type VI: Very dark brown to black. Never burns. Always tans. Skin cancer relatively rare.

What is the Monk Skin Tone Scale?

The Monk Skin Tone Scale is a 10-shade system that classifies skin by its color rather than by its reaction to UV light. Developed by Harvard sociologist Dr. Ellis Monk, it was designed to represent a wider range of skin tones than earlier scales, helping researchers confirm that devices and technologies, including wearables and optical sensors, work safely and accurately for everyone.  

Ten rounded vertical swatches sit side by side, each topped with a numbered circle outlined in magenta. Swatch 01 is the lightest, a near-white pale cream, and the tones deepen gradually through beige and olive at the midpoint (05 and 06), into medium and deep browns (07 through 09), ending at 10, a very dark brown-black. Numbers 01 through 05 appear in dark purple type; 06 through 10 appear in white for contrast. Below the swatches, a bar made of angled stripes shifts from yellow through orange, pink, and magenta into deep purple, with the centered white label “Skin Tone.”

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