Patient name:
Date of birth:
Hair, Skin, and Nail Assessment
Skin inspection:
Color:
Normal: evenly colored skin tones, no unusual or prominent discoloration
Abnormal: pallor- pale and ashen, cyanosis- blue colored or mottling (red-purplish marbling),
jaundice- yellow and pale
Description:
Color variation:
Normal: freckles, moles, and sun-tanned areas
Abnormal: rashes- any red or abnormal dark areas, albinism- loss of pigmentation
Description:
Integrity:
Normal: skin is intact and no abnormal red areas
Abnormal: skin is breaking down, pressure ulcer
Description:
Lesions:
Normal: smooth, no lesions, moles, freckles, and birthmark may be present
Abnormal: primary, secondary, or vascular lesions. Are they diffused or localized? Are they
discrete, grouped, linear?
Description:
Texture:
Normal: skin is smooth and even
Abnormal: skin is rough, flaky, and dry
Description:
Moisture:
Normal: skin is moist to dry
Abnormal: diaphoresis in fever, clammy, reduced moisture or dehydrated
Description:
Temperature:
Normal: warm temperature, but not overly warm
Abnormal: Cold, reduced circulation, or extremely warm
Description:
Mobility and Turgor:
Normal: skin pinches easily and immediately return to original position
Abnormal: decreased turgor, dehydrated, and doesn’t immediately return to the original position
Description:
Scalp/Hair inspection:
Color and markings:
Natural color or chemical? Any dandruff? Hair length:
Any other notes:
Amount and distribution:
Normal: fine hair covers the whole body except soles, palms, lips, and nipples; balding is
symmetric
Abnormal: excess hair loss- all over the body, part of the body, just the scalp
Description:
Lesions and infestations:
Normal: scalp has no lesions or infestations
Abnormal: lesions, or lumps; infestations are present
Description:
Tenderness:
Normal: no tenderness
Abnormal: tenderness occurs, note pain level:
Description:
Hair texture:
Normal: smooth and firm
Abnormal: dull, dry, and brittle
Description:
Nail inspection:
Color and markings:
Normal: pink tones, no markings
Abnormal: pale or cyanotic, beaus lines, yellow discoloration
Description:
Cleanliness:
Normal: clean, and manicured
Abnormal: dirty, broken, and/or jagged
Description:
Shape:
Normal: convex inn shape, 160-degree angle between the nail base and skin
Abnormal: Clubbing is visible-early stages or late stages
Description:
Oedema:
Normal: skin rebounds, and nail returns to normal color when pushed on
Abnormal: slight to great indentations, and nail color doesn’t refill normally
Description:
Normal: hard and immobile, nail plate is attached to nail bed
Abnormal: Thickened nails, yellow, brittle
Description: