Olive skin

Spanish footballer Raúl Albiol with olive skin^{[citation needed]}

Olive skin describes a skin color range of some indigenous individuals who are from the Mediterranean and some other parts of Europe, Middle East and regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia Central Asia and Latin American. It may often be skin type 3 and 4 on the Fitzpatrick scale. However, this scale measures depth of skin color and reaction to UV rays, not hue of skin color. Depth of skin color refers to where it falls on a tints and shades or light/dark scale, and hue is the base of the color (i.e. red, yellow, blue). Olive skin is when skin has a mostly yellow hue with touches of blue, essentially producing a green-yellow hue to the skin. Therefore, fair skin can have an olive hue, and some olive-skinned people may burn easily in the sun if they are also fair.

Named for its green and gold undertones (the color of an olive), it refers to a cool, earthy skin tone. People with olive skin may have any hair color or eye color. In olive-skinned people who are naturally fair, the skin is pale, but a slight olive hue remains. This distinguishing aspect of the skin type is what contributes to its name and differentiates it from other skin types.

See also

• Human skin color