Melanin of the skin, hair, and how to produce more naturally

The melanin is the main pigment in the skin that gives color and tone to the skin tissue. It is a biopolymer naturally produced by the body. Its formation occurs from melanocytes and the amino acid tyrosine, and in addition to this, it also has other functions for the skin and hair.

It travels through the body to the skin and the hair follicle. Its production occurs during the process called embryogenesis.

What is melanin and what is it used for

Melanin is a particle or pigment that, in addition to giving color to the skin, also helps protect against solar radiation, known as UVA and UVB rays.

When the sun hits the skin, there is an increase in its production, grouping together to create a protective barrier and prevent the cells from being damaged. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin is.

Melanin is responsible for the color of the skin and hair, preventing ultraviolet rays from penetrating and causing burns. This is why when a person has dark skin, they are less likely to get sunburned.

Although it is produced naturally, there are some foods that increase the amount of melanin in the skin, so it is possible, through an appropriate diet, to encourage greater synthesis of it.

It is also related to eumelanin, an organic substance that gives color to the hair.

However, not all types are the same as there are several types that we explain below.

Types of melanin

• Eumelanin: This is the type of pigment in the body that provides dark color. It is the one that allows you to get tan or have a toasted skin in summer or when there is a lot of sun. Its composition is rich in sulfur.
  • Black eumelanin: This is responsible for producing black color.
  • Brown eumelanin: This provides a brown color.
• Pheomelanin: This is another type of pigment that gives light color to the skin. Its composition is much richer in sulfur, expressing yellow and red hues. It is responsible for blonde hair.
• Trichrome: This is present in red-haired people.

Both types of melanin serve the function of protecting the skin from the sun and the radiation it emits and reaches us. Its mechanism of action is to group together, and the more there is, the higher our skin phototype will be, meaning the darker it will be.

The lack of melanin in the hair causes gray hair, light skin, and spots. Depending on the amount of these types of melanins, you will have a lighter or darker hair and skin color… the same happens with hair.

Melanin in the skin

In the skin, we can find high concentrations of this pigment, and when it fails or when the melanocytes are unable to produce it normally, skin spots appear.

There are some conditions or skin disorders associated with melanin deficiency. One of them is vitiligo, which is characterized by the appearance of white spots on the skin, hair, and eyes because the pigment-producing cells, melanocytes, are unable to produce it. Its deficiency is also the cause of albinism, when the skin lacks color.

Melanin in the hair

Just like in the skin, melanin in the hair is responsible for providing color and tone, being able to produce different types of hair colors.

It is produced by the melanocytes, and depending on the amount and type of melanin (eumelanin, pheomelanin), you will have one hair color or another.

The production takes place in the cellular matrix of the hair follicle, in the melanosomes of the scalp.

During the anagen phase of hair growth, production begins, and as a general rule, it is a cyclical process. This means it has a start and an end that always repeat unless there is a problem with the melanin-producing cells.

For gray hair

As you can imagine, gray hair appears when there is a low amount of melanin in the hair. This degradation is a natural part of aging, and it is very difficult to restore its levels through food or products that increase it.

What we can do is improve our diet (keep reading to find out what the best foods are below) so that at least the body has all the necessary nutrients to produce it. When we have a deficient diet, one of the first symptoms is the loss of color and vitality in the hair.

However, if gray hair appears, there is little we can do except use dye.

Melanin in the eyes

In this part of the body, something similar happens to the process in the hair and skin. Melanin in the eyes provides color. The different colors of the iris are influenced by the amount of pigment it has.

The colored part of the eye is a direct product of the amount of melanin, with lighter eyes (green, blue, and gray) having the least amount in the iris.

Another function of melanin in the eyes is to protect, which is why people with light eyes are much more sensitive to light. Since they have less pigment, light penetrates much more, causing blindness when it is of high intensity.

Throughout life, melanocytes continue to produce melanin, so it is common for the eye color to darken with age, with a tendency to turn brown.

Melanin-concentrating hormone

It is known as the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), and its function is to stimulate melanocytes, the skin and hair follicle cells that produce the pigment.

Melanin hormone is an orexinogenic hypothalamic peptide with 19 cyclic amino acids, and it controls skin pigmentation. It is present in humans and vertebrate animals.

There is also the melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), which, as its name indicates, increases or decreases the number of these cells. This, in practice, regulates the color of the skin and hair.

What foods contain melanin

A very common question is “what foods contain melanin“, as many people want to have darker skin and look tanned, so we look for natural products and foods that can benefit us in our goals.

However, foods do not contain melanin, but despite this, they can help us improve its synthesis and, in this way, increase its amount in the skin. This will give us a better skin tone and at the same time protect us better from the sun.

Through the nutrients and trace elements ingested with food and natural products, we can produce a large amount of pigment. These are beneficial and have advantages as they protect us more from solar radiation.

The benefits of consuming foods that contain melanin, those that increase its production, are preventing sunburn, certain types of skin cancer, and inhibiting premature aging. They will provide us with a set of healthy properties for the entire epidermis. Not bad at all.

Below are the foods that help produce more pure melanin:

• Blue fish.
• Salmon.
• Tuna.
• Carrots.
• Tomatoes.
• Melon.
• Watermelon.
• Strawberries and large strawberries.
• Cherries.
• Apricots.
• Blueberries.
• Egg yolk.
• Dairy products.
• Rice.
• Corn.
• Tyrosine.
• Cysteine.
• Yogurt.

In addition to these foods that increase melanin in the skin and hair, it is good to take vitamin D in its natural form or through a supplement. Doing this at the same time will help the skin color last much longer, regulating the levels of skin pigments and making them much more stable.

A good option is to add to the diet the foods mentioned, those containing vitamin D, but also to nourish our diet with foods with retinol, which can be replaced by foods with vitamin A and, very important, those containing beta-carotene.

If in addition to this we include foods with vitamin E, we will ensure that the skin color lasts much longer as vitamin E is an antioxidant. It prolongs the life of cells while protecting against free radicals and the sun.

Now that we know what melanin is, what it is for, the different types that exist, and how it works to give color to the skin and hair, let’s explore other interesting topics related to the cells that produce it.

Influence on keratinocytes

These are cells located in the deepest layer of the epidermis, in the basal layer. From there, through the dendrites, they can connect with keratinocytes, which are the cells most abundant in the skin.

Keratinocytes are responsible for the hardness of the skin and the amount of keratin we have. They are present in both the epidermis, the stratum corneum, and in the hair and nails. They form structures in important organs such as the stomach and mouth.

Relationship with melanocytes

Melanocytes are crucial as mentioned at the beginning of the article (check it again if you don’t remember or missed it). Having many of them will help improve the amount of melanin, and keratinocytes will also produce keratin to give thickness to the skin, making it less transparent and less showing of veins.

Good communication between melanin pigments and melanocytes partly ensures healthy skin and strong hair.

Some diseases caused by poor health of melanocytes include melanoma or skin cancer and vitiligo. However, it is not always the case, in many instances, most of the time, rather than degenerating into pathologies, their formation only leads to freckles, lentigines, and moles.

People have different concentrations of melanocytes. While their amounts are similar, there are some differences among human races. The expression of genes defines the amount and production of melanin in the skin. Black people have much more melanin, and Caucasians have much less.

Now, regardless of your race, there are some possibilities to improve its amount, so let’s see them.

How to produce or increase melanin

The most efficient way to increase melanin is to sunbathe with bare skin.

When the sun damages DNA cells through ultraviolet radiation, the body feels the stimulus to produce more melanin to prevent degradation and transformation of the DNA. So, this is a wonderful and very practical way to get it at its peak.

By increasing it, it will also protect us from heat. All the energy we receive from tanning is transformed or dissipated to prevent damage to the body through a process called “ultra-fast internal conversion“. Almost 99% of the temperature is blocked. Although we notice an increase in temperature, the inside of the body remains protected.

Another great way to ensure melanin increases is by eating fruits rich in vitamins. If you missed it, here is the link with foods that contain melanin.

And remember, if you’re sunbathing to achieve a better tan… always use sunscreen for the face and body.

Next, we will answer the most frequently asked questions…

Does it produce skin pigmentation?

Indeed. As we mentioned, melanin is present in the skin and is responsible for brown, dark, and black skin, but also for light and white skin. If there is little, the skin phototype is low, meaning fair skin.

As we also explained, over time, the color fades. This is because there is a continuous renewal of cells and particles, so the original color will be replaced by pheomelanin, which gives normal skin the original color you had. This is the reason why we lose our tan after a few weeks without sun exposure.

People with very little melanin are albinos. This can be due to a lack of this skin and hair pigment, a lack of eumelanin, or both.

Does it accelerate tanning?

Yes. If it didn’t exist, it would be impossible to get tanned, and we would always burn. So, it is responsible for changing the color when you sunbathe.

People with dark skin, as well as those who tan very quickly, have more melanin in their skin. Some tanning accelerators include vitamins to encourage the natural production of melanin. This way, the skin tone improves after sun exposure for a few hours.

Lack of melanin in the hair, eyes, and skin

When there is very little melanin or its deficiency is evident, the skin takes on a whitish color, lacking pigment.

In this sense, there is a disease or condition called hypomelanosis, which can be treated with benzoyl peroxide. It can be identified because small “white marks on the skin” or macules appear.

Lack of melanin is known as hypopigmentation. This appears due to aging, and its absence can also be caused by a disorder in the formation of skin pigments.

Appearance of a melanoma

When you are exposed to the sun, there is an increased demand for melanin production, and the melanocytes, the cells responsible for its production, may increase.

When this happens, melanocytes increase, but there is no control, or there is excessive sun exposure. If we take in too much sun, it is possible for the growth of melanocytes to become excessive.

In the case of this happening, it is likely that skin cancer, known as melanoma, will appear. This type of disease is an abnormal growth of skin cells. They are uncontrolled.