What Sunburn Can Tell You About Your Skin's Undertones

According to the Fitzpatrick skin type, a scale that classifies skin color according to how it responds to the sun, a sunburn can tell you a lot about your skin's undertones. Undertones reveal everything about what colors look best on you, from your foundation to clothing to coloring your hair.

If we look at the difference between an undertone and an overtone, the overtone is how you identify, your skin color — black, white, brown, yellow, or red. In contrast, the undertone is the glow beneath your primary skin color, and we all fall into one of four basic categories: cool, warm, neutral, or olive. Healthline's graphic illustrates the differences at a glance. There's a myth that lighter-skinned people automatically have a cool undertone and that very dark skin is warm, but the opposite can be true. Undertone operates independently from skin color, creating a stunning diversity of skin shades.

People with the darkest skin color tan easily and have more melanin, which protects against the sun. They may not be able to detect the redness from a burn, but will still experience all the other symptoms, like excess heat from the skin, itchiness, sensitivity, and eventually, peeling. If you burn quickly and your skin flushes to a bright, bluish-toned red, your undertone is most likely cool. But if you tan easily to a golden, peachy beige, you're most likely on the warmer or olive side.