The Baumann Skin Type Quiz Is a scientifically validated questionnaire used by dermatologists to diagnose the Baumann Skin Type®. It is the only valid skin type quiz used around the world.

The latest and most recent version of the Baumann Skin Type Quiz can be found at https://skintypesolutions.com/questionnaire.

Skin Type Solutions is the only skin care routine builder that is based on a scientifically validated quiz that is used by over 100 dermatologists and 280 doctors. The Baumann Skin Typing System is included in many textbooks, including Fitzpatrick’s Dermatology in General Medicine, Neligan’s Plastic Surgery, Nahai’s The Art of Aesthetic Surgery, and Baumann’s Cosmetic Dermatology. The STS quiz is used in cosmeceutical research studies by doctors and skin care companies to categorize patients into 16 Baumann Skin Types.

Only STS and STS Approved Medical Providers have the legal right to use the Baumann Skin Type Indicator Quiz¹ to diagnose the Baumann Skin Type®. We are the only place to find the latest and most up to date version of the Baumann Skin Type Quiz. The 2023 version has data from over 400,000 patients worldwide.

If you are interested in licensing the valid quiz for research purposes, contact DrB@SkinTypeSolutions.com.

Please do not use the quiz without our permission. It is copyrighted in many countries. The 64 question quiz from 2007 is outdated. We want to insure that only the most up-to-date version is used so the data is accurate and can be compared across countries. We will work with you to help design your research study. (See references below for previous research trials.)

A questionnaire must be validated to show that it measures what it is supposed to measure.

For example, lets consider what it means to measure oily skin.

If the quiz says you have oily skin, you will have an increased amount of sebum production when it is measured with a sebometer if the quiz is accurate. Many studies have shown that people incorrectly guess if they make excess sebum, and when asked “Is your skin oily,” their answer often does not correspond with the amount of sebum produced.² For this reason, a series of validated questions is needed to accurately diagnose oily skin. The skin care routine quiz that is used by Skin Type Solutions to diagnose the Baumann Skin Type has been shown to accurately identify skin types with increased sebum production.³

Each parameter of the skin type (also called barrier to skin health) needs to meet this same criteria.

Dry skin should show an impaired skin barrier or decreased sebum secretion.

Sensitive skin should have acne, redness, a positive stinging test, or a positive patch test for skin allergy

Hyperpigmented skin should have uneven pigment as measured by a mexameter or other colorimeter.

Wrinkle-prone skin should have wrinkles, age over 30, or habits that speed skin aging.

In order for a skin type quiz to be accurate to build a skin care routine, it must identify any underlying barriers to skin health and lifestyle habits that may be affecting skin health. The questions must be proven to correlate with these skin issues.

Only STS can license the rights to use the Baumann Skin Type Indicator skin type quiz to dermatologists, medical providers, researchers, chemists and aestheticians.

The only way you can take the quiz is at SkinTypeSolutions.com or by making a telemedicine or office visit to one of our approved doctors.

This is the most tested skin typing system. (See references at the end)

It is discussed in the major dermatology and plastic surgery textbooks and is used by dermatologists around the world.

Our quiz has been shown to make the correct diagnosis when self-administered.

It has been shown to make the correct diagnosis regardless of gender. ^{4 5 6}

It has been tested on multiple ethnicities.⁷

It has been tested on ages 13 and up.⁸

It is used by over 250 doctors in the USA to diagnose the skin type.

Over 100 dermatologists use the STS skin type test in their dermatology offices.

The quiz is constantly validated, adjusted, and updated based on this data.

It is used in many research trials.

These are the most important issues that need to be treated to have the healthiest skin possible. We call these the 4 barriers to skin health.

After each skin issue are the names of the bioengineering devices that are used in clinical research to identify skin type. These were the tests used to validate the skin type quiz questions used by Skin Type Solutions.

TEWAmeter measures transepidermal water loss which is water evaporation off the skin.

Corneometer measures the conductance of electricity in the skin which is affected by the presence of water.

Sebometer measures the amount of sebum produced in a discrete area of the skin and gives a quantitative value.

Sebutape collects lipids that can be analyzed using various methods, such as a chemical assay or spectroscopy.⁹

Sebu Pads can also detect levels of sebum production.

Inflammation manifests as redness in the skin. It can be measured using a camera system such as the Canfield Visia which measures redness

Skin color including redness is measured with a spectrophotometer¹⁰ that measures skin color and gives results as L*, a*,b*.

The darkness or lightness of dark spots is measured using a Mexometer.

Skin color is measured using a spectrophotometer.

Skin aging is measured by evaluating wrinkles.

This can be done with:

silicone casts¹¹

a camera system such as the Canfield Visia discussed above

live investigators

the use of light cast across the skin and measuring the shadows.¹²

The original testing took place from July- November 2005 at the University of Miami Department of Dermatology under IRB supervision. 400 participants were patients at the Dermatology Clinic at the Edelman Building of the University of Miami medical campus. Two trained interviewers were assigned to intercept all clinic patients as they entered the waiting room of the clinic. Participation in the survey was entirely voluntary. Informed consent was obtained before the survey was given to the respondents. Once enrolled, demographic information and a dermatological history were obtained by the two interviewers. Next, the study participants were given the survey and asked to complete the Baumann Skin Type Indicator (BSTI) questionnaire, version 1.¹³ This table shows the demographics of the initial 400 participants.

The Baumann Skin Type (BST) result of each of these patients was compared to the CPT diagnosis code (this is the official skin disease diagnosis code used by insurances to reimburse for the office visit) of the dermatologist who saw them in the University of Miami clinic. This dermatologist was unaware of the participant's BSTI quiz result to eliminate bias. This preliminary study showed that the BSTI questionnaire could accurately diagnose the underlying skin problems of the participant prior to seeing a dermatologist.

The questionnaire known as the Baumann Skin Type Indicator was tested on patients around the world and shortened to contain only the most pertinent questions. It was tested when administered by a dermatologist, a staff member and the patients themselves. Questions were adapted until the accurate skin type result was obtained even when the test was self-administered (as determined by the investigating dermatologists).

In 2006, data was compared from participants who took the quiz online versus patients in dermatology practices around the world to see if there was a difference in the incidence of skin types from those who chose to see a dermatologist versus those who did not have a dermatologist. 52,862 participants took the skin type quiz. The data showed that there was no significant difference in skin types between patients who took the quiz online versus those who saw a dermatologist in their office. ¹⁴

The skin type quiz was tested in dermatology clinics around the world including Korea, China and India. In the US, various geographic areas tested the quiz such as the department of dermatology at the University of Colorado with Dr. Pachecho. Colorado has a very dry climate, and the results were compared to results in Miami FL- a humid climate. The skin type quiz was found to be valid in both dry and humid climates. Comparing worldwide data¹⁵ revealed that there was not a significant difference in skin types in the US vs China and Korea. The study showed that worldwide oily skin types (which include what others call normal types) were more common than dry skin types.

The Skin Type Solutions Franchise Systems LLC was created to allow physicians to license the use of the Baumann Skin Typing System. This was tested on dermatologists, plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons and medi-spas and found to be valid in all of these settings. Software was developed to streamline the process and allow the inclusion of all brands that meet the stringent criteria. The skin type quiz was only available in a doctor’s offices until 2021.

After COVID, it was decided that the skin type quiz would be made available online. The data gathered online is constantly begin compared with the data in doctors’ offices. This allows the processes of deep learning to occur and will one day allow accurate artificial intelligence based on a validated skin type quiz.

2023

New studies in Korea, African, Indonesia and Portugal are ongoing.

The Baumann Skin type Indicator Quiz is used by dermatologists around the world using our patented software. The skin typing system is described in many dermatology and medical textbooks.

From 2014- 2020 many studies have used the Baumann Skin Typing System to categorize patients scientifically into skin types. In 2016, a Korean study showed that the BSTI questionnaire was as accurate as a dermatologist’s evaluation in determining skin type. In 2017 the skin typing system was shown to be valid to evaluate post-adolescent acne and valid in Korean females, and in 2019 was shown to be valid when used on males. In 2020 this study showed that the Baumann Skin Typing System can be used to prescribe skin care.

In 2005, Leslie Baumann MD’s New York Times Bestselling Book The Skin Type Solution contained an early paper version of the questionnaire. It was then converted to a digital platform, with new questions added and some others reworded. The quiz was shortened in 2014, and new questions were added in 2020. The most recent version of the Baumann Skin Type Quiz is available only here at Skintypesolutions.com and in STS-approved doctors that can be found here. It is constantly updated as new data is gathered.

Only Skin Type Solutions has the rights to use the Baumann Skin Typing System online! Other quizzes are not the one we are constantly testing, evaluating and updating. Beware of imposters.

¹Baumann L. Understanding and treating various skin types: the Baumann Skin Type Indicator. Dermatol Clin. 2008;26(3):359-73, vi.

²Youn SW, Kim SJ, Hwang IA, Park KC. Evaluation of facial skin type by sebum secretion: discrepancies between subjective descriptions and sebum secretion. Skin Res Technol. 2002;8(3):168-72.

³Baumann LS, Penfield RD, Clarke JL, Duque DK. A validated questionnaire for quantifying skin oiliness. J Cosmet Dermatol Sci App. 2014;4:78-84.

⁴Lee YB, Ahn SK, Ahn GY, Bak H, Hong SP, Go EJ, et al. Baumann Skin Type in the Korean Male Population. Ann Dermatol. 2019;31(6):621-30.

⁵Ahn SK, Jun M, Bak H, Park BD, Hong SP, Lee SH, et al. Baumann skin type in the Korean female population. Ann Dermatol. 2017;29(5):586-96.

⁶Choi JY, Choi YJ, Nam JH, Jung HJ, Lee GY, Kim WS. Identifying skin type using the Baumann skin type questionnaire in Korean women who visited a dermatologic clinic. Kor J Dermatol. 2016;54(6):422-37.

⁷Baumann L. Validation of a questionnaire to diagnose the Baumann skin type in all ethnicities and in various geographic locations. J Cosmet Dermatol Sci App. 2016;6(1):34-40.

⁸Lee YB, Park SM, Bae JM, Yu DS, Kim HJ, Kim JW. Which Skin Type Is Prevalent in Korean Post-Adolescent Acne Patients?: A Pilot Study Using the Baumann Skin Type Indicator. Ann Dermatol. 2017;29(6):817-9.

⁹Ashraf, Z., Pasha, U., Greenstone, V., Akbar, J., Apenbrinck, E., Foulks, G. N., & Borchman, D. (2011). Quantification of human sebum on skin and human meibum on the eye lid margin using Sebutape®, spectroscopy and chemical analysis. Current eye research, 36(6), 553-562.

¹⁰Pershing, L. K., Tirumala, V. P., Nelson, J. L., Corlett, J. L., Lin, A. G., Meyer, L. J., & Leachman, S. A. (2008). Reflectance spectrophotometer: the dermatologists' sphygmomanometer for skin phototyping?. Journal of investigative Dermatology, 128(7), 1633-1640.

¹¹Berardesca, E., Farinelli, N., Rabbiosi, G. A. N. D., & Maibach, H. I. (1991). Skin bioengineering in the noninvasive assessment of cutaneous aging. Dermatology, 182(1), 1-6.

¹²Bielfeldt, S., Böhling, A., & Wilhelm, P. K. (2011). Bioengineering methods to assess aging parameters in the depth of the skin. SOFW J, 3, 1-8.

¹³ Baumann L. The Skin Type Solution. (Bantam Del NY 2005)

¹⁴Baumann, Leslie. “Validation of a Questionnaire to Diagnose the Baumann Skin Type in All Ethnicities and in Various Geographic Locations” Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications 6 (2016): 34-40.

¹⁵Baumann, Leslie. “Validation of a Questionnaire to Diagnose the Baumann Skin Type in All Ethnicities and in Various Geographic Locations” Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications 6 (2016): 34-40.

¹⁶Choi, J. Y., Choi, Y. J., Nam, J. H., Jung, H. J., Lee, G. Y., & Kim, W. S. (2016). Identifying skin type using the Baumann skin type questionnaire in Korean women who visited a dermatologic clinic. Korean Journal of Dermatology, 54(6), 422-437.

¹⁷Lee, Y. B., Park, S. M., Bae, J. M., Yu, D. S., Kim, H. J., & Kim, J. W. (2017). Which Skin Type Is Prevalent in Korean Post-Adolescent Acne Patients?: A Pilot Study Using the Baumann Skin Type Indicator. Annals of Dermatology, 29(6), 817.

¹⁸Ahn, S. K., Jun, M., Bak, H., Park, B. D., Hong, S. P., Lee, S. H., ... & Goo, J. W. (2017). Baumann skin type in the Korean female population. Annals of dermatology, 29(5), 586-596.

¹⁹Lee, Young Bin, Sung Ku Ahn, Gun Young Ahn, Hana Bak, Seung Phil Hong, Eun Jung Go, Chang Ook Park et al. "Baumann Skin Type in the Korean Male Population." Annals of Dermatology 31, no. 6 (2019): 621-630.

²⁰Hong, J. Y., Park, S. J., Seo, S. J., & Park, K. Y. (2020). Oily sensitive skin: A review of management options. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 19(5), 1016-1020.

²¹ Cho, S. I., Kim, D., Lee, H., Um, T. T., & Kim, H. (2023). Explore highly relevant questions in the Baumann skin type questionnaire through the digital skin analyzer: A retrospective single?center study in South Korea. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.

²² Oliveira, R., Ferreira, J., Azevedo, L. F., & Almeida, I. F. (2023). An Overview of Methods to Characterize Skin Type: Focus on Visual Rating Scales and Self-Report Instruments. Cosmetics, 10(1), 14.

²³ Tao, M., Li, M., Zhang, Y., Gu, D., Pan, R., & Xu, Y. (2023). The relationship between the distribution of facial erythema and skin type in rosacea patients: a cross-sectional analysis. Archives of Dermatological Research, 1-4.

²⁴ Efata, R., Loka, W. I., Wijaya, N., & Suhartono, D. (2023). Facial Skin Type Prediction Based on Baumann Skin Type Solutions Theory Using Machine Learning. TEM Journal, 12(1).