Sola uses the so-called Fitzpatrick skin type scale to distinguish between different skin tones. It is important not to confuse “skin type” with “tan”. The former is your natural skin color pre-determined by your genes, whereas the latter is your skin reaction to UV radiation.
You may find that you have traits of more than one skin type. In that case, it is recommended to pick the lower tier. For example, if you believe you may be either Type II or Type III, select Type II, to err on the side of caution.
To help you determine your skin type, you can take the Skin Type Quiz (at the bottom of the Skin Type screen) consisting of 8 simple questions.
If you enabled access to the Health app on your iPhone, Sola will try and retrieve your skin type from it.
By the way, did you know that over a million years ago our ancestors in Africa all had dark skin, thanks to melanin? So why do humans have so many different skin tones nowadays?
Scientific evidence suggests that humans began migrating from Africa to the rest of the world around 80,000-50,000 years ago, and those who populated climates with less sun exposure have gradually evolved to have less melanin in their skin, resulting in the present-day diversity of human skin types.