What Is Melanin and How It Influences the Skin Color

It is said that skin is the mirror of our inner body. If the body functions good, the skin will look radiant and remain healthy, while if the body is not functioning the right way, the skin will not look good either. Yet, in time, because of internal or external factors the skin becomes spotted and loses its moisture as well as that radiant appearance. In order to know what it is going on with it and why these things happen, it is necessary to know some basic things about skin color and the main components of it.
There are three main factors which contribute, one way or another, to the actual skin color of an individual. The first one is the melanin, the substance which gives the dark color, the second is the carotene which is responsible for the yellowish tint and last, but not least are the blood vessels which give the skin that pink nuance.

Melanin is produced by the melanocytes and it is triggered by the enzyme responsible for coloring the hair, the eyes and the skin. This enzyme is called tyrosinase. The greater the production of melanin is the darker the skin color will be. In addition to influencing the color of the skin, the melanin has also the role of absorbing the solar rays and protecting the body from the invasive effects of the ultraviolet rays. For an effective protection, the amount of melanin increases when the skin is exposed to sun. This is the time when the tan skin appears. However, when the melanin is no longer capable of absorbing the solar rays, the sunburns appear. Mild sunburns usually do not have any long term effects on the skin, as the damaged layers of skin are regenerated and new and healthy skin replaces the damaged ones. Yet, severe sunburns may result in scars and most often in dark patches of skin and brown spots which may remain on the skin for the entire life.
Melanin is present in larger quantities in people with dark skin and in lesser quantities in people with light skin. Thus, those people having light skin are more prone to sun burns and dark spots caused by the sun than those with dark skin.

But not only sun can increase the amount of melanin from the skin. Hormonal imbalances, external factors, such as pollution, wounds and rashes can also increase the amount of melanin from certain portions of the skin, thus making it darker and anesthetic.