What is melanin and why is it important? Pigments: A pigment may be defined as a molecule or material that is able to change the color of reflected or transmitted light due to its selective absorption of light wavelengths. In biology, pigment is found in the fur, skin, hair, and eye co...
What is melanoma?Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. It forms in cells called melanin that make skin color. Melanoma may appear as a new mole, or in moles you already have. Melanoma can form in the skin, eyes, nose, or throat.What increases my risk for melanoma?
What is pigmentation? Pigmentation is caused by the distribution of melanin, a black or brown pigment molecule, under your skin. This pigment exists to protect your skin cells from the sun, and everybody has it. But normally, we don’t notice a nice, even distribution of melanin. We just...
Eye color is genetic. Eye color is also based on how much melanin you have, which determines how much color pigment is deposited in your iris. Just like skin color and hair color, our genes give us a natural color, but those colors will change as we are exposed to more or less sunlig...
The cutis also contains melanin. Melanin protects the body against sun damage by converting the sun's most damaging rays into heat. When the skin is exposed to more of the sun's rays, the body produces more melanin. This darkening of the skin, or tanning, is an indication that the body...
Light: your skin is quite fair but has a ‘warmer’ look and tends to tan, rather than burn, in the sun. Medium: you always look fairly tanned and have a warm, golden or olive appearance. Dark: this is the deepest skin tone, which is very rich in melanin. What is skin's underton...
Fitzpatrick Skin Types range from 1 to 6. In general, those with type 1 skin are most susceptible to sun damage, wrinkles, and sun spots. Type 1 skin is also at high risk for skin cancer. On the other end of the scale, those with type 6 skin have more melanin and are thus better...
Dark spots form when melanosomes (tiny, melanin-containing capsules) accumulate in the skin, resulting in concentrated areas of pigmentation. Here are the three primary causes: Sun Exposure: Long-term UV exposure leads to sunspots, age spots, and lentigines. Hormonal Changes: Hormonal fluctuations...
Monobenzone is the monobenzyl ether of hydroquinone. It is used as a topical drug for medical depigmentation. It has a role as a melanin synthesis inhibitor, a dermatologic drug and an allergen. It derives from a hydroquinone. Monobenzone has been used since the beginning of the 1950s to ...
Slowly, skin cells will start to thicken and melanin pigment will be produced (tanning) in an attempt to stop the UV rays from penetrating through to the deeper layers and damaging the DNA of the cells. When the skin is exposed to high levels of sunlight this may result in hypo or ...