Visible colour
Skin tone is a photo reading, not a fixed category.
Depth describes how light or deep the skin appears. Undertone describes the warm, cool, neutral, or olive cast. Both are useful for colour choices, and both are sensitive to lighting, makeup, filters, and camera processing.
Depth
How light or deep the skin appears. The detector groups the estimate from very light through deep using the ITA angle.
Undertone
The visible warm, cool, neutral, or olive cast. This is usually more useful for clothing colour than depth alone.
Confidence
A note on sample size, lighting consistency, and colour cast. Low confidence is a prompt to retry, not a failure.
The estimate
How the detector samples colour.
The app samples small regions on both cheeks and the forehead, skips pixels that are very dark, very bright, or strongly saturated, and takes the median colour. It converts that colour to CIE Lab, then calculates the Individual Typology Angle (ITA).
ITA is a standard way to describe skin colour lightness in colour science. It is not a diagnosis, a race category, or a measure of health. The undertone label comes from the balance of red-green and yellow-blue components, with an olive check for the green-grey combination.
ITA ranges used here
Boundaries are broad by design. The report shows the numeric angle and a confidence note, not just a bucket.
Palette explorer
Start with the family, then test in daylight.
The palettes are starting points. Use the same family as your estimate, then compare individual colours near your face. A colour can be the “right” temperature and still be the wrong value or clarity for the outfit.
Undertone family
Neutral
Neutral undertones sit between warm and cool. Many colours can work; the most reliable approach is to match the colour's clarity and value to your natural contrast rather than chasing a single temperature.
- Metals
- Both gold and silver; mixed metals often work well
- Contrast
- Match contrast first, then choose temperature.
Colour anchors
Neutrals
Use with care
- Very acidic neon shades if you prefer a calmer look
- Colours that clash in both temperature and clarity
Preferences and contrast can override any palette rule.
What can change the reading
- Lighting: warm indoor bulbs, coloured walls, and strong window light can shift the apparent undertone.
- Camera processing: white balance, HDR, beauty filters, and saturation profiles change pixel colours before the app sees them.
- Makeup and skincare: tinted products, sunscreen cast, and blush can cover the sampled areas.
- Shadows: a strong side shadow can make one cheek read much darker than the other.
For a cleaner estimate, use indirect daylight, no makeup if you are comfortable, and a neutral background. If the confidence is low, try again rather than forcing a category.
This page is educational, not medical advice. It does not diagnose skin conditions or recommend treatments.