Fitzpatrick Skin Type

Fitzpatrick Skin Type is a user-entered Health profile classification based on response to sun exposure: the tendency to burn and tan. HealthKit exposes the current value through HKHealthStore.fitzpatrickSkinType(). Apps can request read access but cannot write this characteristic.

The table summarizes the categories in Apple's enum. It describes a classification, rather than predicting how a particular exposure will affect an individual. The numbered labels are not measured percentages, and a mean of several category codes would not describe a valid skin type.

This is not a direct measurement of skin color, a race or ethnicity label, a UV-dose measurement or a skin examination. The current category also does not document exposure duration, protective measures, medication effects or an individual's full dermatologic history. Do not use it alone to derive a safe exposure duration, a sunscreen prescription or a diagnosis.

UV Exposure is a separate data type describing exposure information; it is not generated from this profile label. Linking the two would require a suitable source for both and a clearly stated purpose.

Apple's notSet value covers both an unset characteristic and denied read permission. It is not an additional skin type. Preserve that uncertainty rather than choosing a default category.

The direct getter exposes a current characteristic, without sample timestamps or a history of revisions. A later selection could be a correction, and cannot establish how skin response changed over time. PulsHealth's current sample sync catalog and profile schema do not store this characteristic; that limitation does not establish whether a category exists in Apple Health.