The author developed a scale in silicone of shades of human skin. Twenty-seven samples were produced in acetic silicone (Silastic 732 RTV), pigmented with iron oxides and titanium dioxide. The amount of acetic silicone was kept constant (two grams) in all of the samples, and the pigments were mixed to it in varying proportions, until twenty-seven different shades were obtained. By comparing the color of the samples with the skin color of forty-one individuals, five samples were selected of the shades that best matched a patient's color of skin to form a shade guide. With the methodology employed, it was possible to develop a shade guide that will facilitate a definition of a patient's skin color in producing facial prostheses in silicone, to afford economy in time and in material at time for selecting the color.
Maxillofacial prosthesis; Silicones; Pigmentation
