What is melanin, and does it protect me from harmful UV rays?

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 Home: What is melanin?

What is melanin?

Melanin is a natural skin pigment found in all animals. In birds, it creates the variety of colors in the feathers. In humans, it colors our hair, skin and eyes. The more of this pigment in our skin, the darker we are. A fancy name for tanning is melanogenesis, because of specialized skin cells called melanocytes that produce melanin.

When ultraviolet radiation (UV rays) hit the skin, it triggers a defensive response: make melanin. Depending on a person’s ancestry, the skin cells will produce different colors of the pigment. Some will produce a brown color and effectively block some of the rays, while those who are very fair skinned will produce a yellow and red color, which is not as effective, and may even make things worse. Consequently, these people will burn instead of tan. Repeated burns are the leading cause of skin cancer.

This entire darkening process doesn’t happen over an hour, but over a few days. Once the UV rays hit the skin, melanin production slowly begins. Without a base tan or sun protection, you will burn if you remain outdoors too long, and there goes any enjoyment in your vacation, never mind the damage it does to your skin. To tan properly, wear a medium-level sunscreen at all times on the beach.

As a UV blocker, melanin is actually quite weak. It will only raise the natural SPF of your skin to about a 4. Those of African decent have natural SPF ratings of between 4 and 8, depending on how brown or black the skin is. If you’re Caucasian, always wear sunscreen, even after a base tan.