Skin typing, sun exposure, and sunscreen use in a population of Japanese.

Distribution of Japanese skin types (JSTs), sun-exposure habits, and sunscreen use were surveyed in 379 new outpatients. The largest number of subjects belonged to JST class J-II (65%), J-I was second (24%), and J-III was third (11%). Eighty-eight percent of those studied had occasional or habitual sun exposure during the summer, and many were exposed for more than three hours per exposure day (80% of those with occasional exposure; 62% of those with habitual exposure). More younger persons had occasional sun exposure than older persons. More males had habitual sun exposure than females. Sunscreens were used by 41% of the subjects, but 77% of these used them without accurate understanding of the definition of the sun protection factor. More J-I subjects used sunscreens than J-II and J-III subjects. More females than males used them.