What Is Melanin and How It Influences Your Skin Color?

Last Updated on July 7, 2017 by Venessa

My dog gets really bad fur when he is sick. And I get really bad skin and hair when I am sick.   Indeed, skin always reflects our over-all body health. If our body is functioning normally, our skin glows and looks healthy. If we are sick and not feeling well, our skin will not literally glow with health either. Sometimes, though, we can get those tiny brown spots on our skin even if our skin is healthy. And wait, our skin is not as soft and radiant either! What is happening? To understand why this happens, it is important to know about one of the main components of your skin color – MELANIN. Have you ever wondered where your skin gets its color? Its color comes from melanin, a natural pigment which gives your skin its special color. More melanin makes your look tanner! It goes to follow that fair-skinned people have less melanin. However, some of their melanocytes make more melanin when exposed to the sun. Like me! I never get tanned. I only get brown spots. Melanin is produced by melanocytes. It is triggered by an enzyme called tyrosinase which is responsible for the color of your hair, your eyes and your skin. Your skin will be darker if you have a greater production of melanin. Aside from melanin influencing our skin, hair and eye color, the melanin has also the role of protecting us from sun exposure. This is why staying under the sun for a long time gives you a really nice tan. However, melanin does reaches its tipping point and won’t be able to absorb the harmful solar rays anymore. This is when sunburn happens. Mild sunburns usually heal and the damaged layers of the skin regenerates, replacing the damaged parts. Severe sunburns, however, may result in scars and dark brown spots. The increased amount of melanin in our skin is not solely caused by the sun, however. Hormonal imbalance, pollution, wounds and skin rashes can also increase the amount of melanin, resulting to darker patches of skin. If you want to know more about melanin and about the factors which affect the skin color, click here for more information. You will learn all you need to know about your skin as well as great techniques which can whiten your skin in a natural and effective way, without any side effects.