Have you ever wondered why some of us can stay in the sun for a longer period of time without any problems, while others get redness or even sunburn after just a short time?
The reason for this lies in the nature of our skin type. The American dermatologist Fitzpatrick has developed a characterization of skin types, according to which people can be classified according to their appearance, their tanning behavior and their sensitivity to the sun. After we have already taken a closer look at the Celtic-Irish type, we would like to devote this article to the Northern European skin type. People with this skin type are characterized by a rather lighter skin tone. The hair color varies from blonde to light brown, the eye color ranges from blue to gray to green. Around 12 percent of Germans have this skin type. Sun worshipers of the Northern European type tend to have a bad hand: they are prone to sunburn - and therefore unfortunately also to skin cancer. The self-protection time, i.e. the time that the skin can survive without additional sun protection, is around 10 to 20 minutes. Representatives of this skin type do tan, but the effect is minimal and the process takes a very long time. Sun protection is always an important issue for all of us, but especially here. If you have Northern European skin type, you should primarily protect your skin from sunlight with clothing. Make sure that your neck, nose, ears, lips, arms and upper body are covered as much as possible. You protect your uncovered skin with a sun protection factor of at least 20.
In general, you are better off staying in the shade than in the blazing sun.