Validation of a Questionnaire to Diagnose the Baumann Skin Type in All Ethnicities and in Various Geographic Locations

Abstract

The Baumann Skin Typing System diagnoses patients as having one of 16 skin types based on their answers to a validated questionnaire [i] known as the Baumann Skin Type Indicator [ii]. The BSTI questionnaire has been tested over the last decade on over 200,000 people of various ages and ethnicities in different geographic locations around the world. In this study, data were collected from 52,862 patients to compare skin type prevalence between those who presented to doctor’s offices and those who took the quiz without supervision online. The most common skin types varied only slightly between patients that took the quiz online and those that completed the questionnaire in their doctor’s office. This indicates that the prevalence of skin types seen in the doctor’s office is similar to that in the general population and that supervision is not necessary to get an accurate result on the BSTI. [iii] In addition, comparison of data gathered in China, Korea, and the US did not show a significant difference in skin type prevalence between Asian and Caucasian skin types. [iv] This study demonstrates that the English version of the BSTI is valid for English speaking patients online, and in doctors’ offices in the US, China and Korea.