What is the Sun Gap?

The Fitzpatrick scale, as discussed in our Charting Shade Offerings That Match All Skin Tones post, is also used to determine the response time to exposure to the sun, for instance the lightest Type I skin type will burn in the sun after only 5-10 minutes and will never develop a richer tan tone. Where as the Type IV richest skin type do not experience the visual result of a sun burn, however their natural protection is at the maximum of 90 minutes and after that the risk of damage below skin surface that can cause skin aging and cancers increases. For these reasons incorporating SPF in all cosmetic products is advisable. For those with richest tones, tinted sunscreens are preferred.

Take a look at all formats of Zinc Oxide for every application desire!

To shed some light on just how many people of color are unsure of the need to wear sunscreen, Google queries: “do black people need sunscreen” and “do black people get sunburned” reached breakout terms in 2021 with a staggering 138,000,000 and 5,100,000 results respectively.  And the answer is YES. All people regardless of skin type should be wearing some form of sun protection daily.

Help educate your customers and make their choice easy with this skin tone matching starting point formulations: