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This document provides an authoritative framework for the standardized and reproducible measurement of human skin colour. Prepared by CIE Technical Committee 1-92, it establishes a harmonized methodological foundation for the evaluation, comparison and reproduction of skin colour across scientific and industrial domains. The report is particularly relevant for its comprehensive treatment of measurement uncertainty and protocol consistency, addressing key variables such as instrumentation, illumination geometry, body location and individual diversity to ensure reliable and comparable results. Its recommendations apply broadly across fields including digital and medical imaging, prosthetics, computer vision, colour reproduction and cosmetic science, making it a cornerstone reference for research, standardization and professional practice in the accurate and consistent measurement of human skin colour.

Human skin colour is one of the most familiar colours that humans are exposed to, and this familiarity necessitates a strict measurement protocol and accurate colour reproduction in a wide range of applications. The measurement of human skin colour, however, can be problematic due to the structure of the human skin, and measurements made using different techniques can show some variations. In this report, the variability in human skin colour measurement is described and protocols are recommended for good measurement practice. Measurements that were derived using different instruments and different instrument settings are compared and presented as examples of the measurement variability. To support this work, a human skin colour database has been established that includes nine sets of measurements, covering subjects from different national or ethnic groups, genders, ages, and measurements from different body locations, as well as the use of different instruments. This database represents over 10 000 sets of spectral measurements.

Finally, a set of recommendations is presented to aid the decision as to how to best measure the colour of human skin.

The document is written in English, with a short summary in French and German. It consists of 44 pages with 21 figures and 4 tables and is readily available from the CIE Webshop or the National Committees of the CIE.

The price of this publication is EUR 162,- (Members of a National Committee of the CIE receive a 66,7 % discount on this price – please approach your NC for information on accessing this discount).

Human Skin Colour Database, referred to in CIE Technical Report CIE 256:2025 Measuring Human Skin Colour, DOI 10.25039/TR.256.2025, updated versions of the data are available at https://bit.ly/4hGiBh6.