Skin Types are determined strictly by genetics - no matter how tan you get, you cannot change your natural skin type.

Skin type is divided into 6 basic levels, determined by how much melanin our skin is capable of producing. Very light skinned people cannot produce as much melanin than those with dark skin, whether or not they are exposed to UV. Since a tan is produced by the darkening of melanin exposed to UV, light skinned people have to be much more cautious when tanning. Knowing where you are on the skin type scale, and keeping in mind that there are variations even within the same skin type group, will help you to prevent overexposure and skin damage. To assist you, we have developed the Solar Typing system to make it easy to tan responsibly within your skin's limits.

Skin types developed over thousands of years as a result of environmental factors. People living in extremely warm climates naturally developed darker skin with more melanin in it to protect them from the constant UV exposure. The body does need UV to thrive, however, so the skin adjusted to allow a sufficient amount of UV to be absorbed depending on the latitude. For this reason, people living in northern areas with less sun throughout the year developed very light skin to allow as much UV to be absorbed as possible.

an overview of skin types:

I Always burns and never tans. Light eyes. Freckles. Usually red hair. Scottish, English, Irish.

II Always burns, sometimes tans. Light eyes. Freckles. Light or dark blonde hair. English, Scandinavian.

III Sometimes burns, always tans. Blue or Brown eyes. Dark hair. Central European.

IV Almost never burns, tans readily. Dark eyes. Dark hair. Mediterranean, Asian or Hispanic.