Melanin Is Pigment
“Depending on a person’s skin color, they may have more of one type than the other. In general, eumelanin is more prevalent in people with darker skin. “So it’s not that people with dark skin have more melanin. They have more of a different type of melanin,” says Lester.” https://www.allure.com/story/common-skin-conditions-treatments-dark-skin
That said, skin pigmentation is your skin color due to a certain amount of melanin, a natural pigment that gives your skin, hair, and eyes their unique color. Also, your skin could become darker or lighter due to changes in your body’s production of melanin.
In fact, many factors could cause this, from the genes you’re born with to skin damage from acne or sun exposure.
All the more reason, you should learn more about what could trigger shifts in skin pigmentation, the role of genetics in skin color, different types of discoloration, and how to treat them.
Amazingly, over 125 genes are known to affect skin pigmentation. Along with hormones, genes are responsible for regulating the melanin production process.
Put another way, they can adjust how much eumelanin or pheomelanin your skin cells produce and how well they survive and function, causing shifts in skin color over time.
Specific variations in skin pigmentation are believed to reflect evolutionary adaptations that allowed our ancestors to survive 300,000 to 1 million years ago.
For instance, as they moved within and outside of Africa, darker and lighter skin came with critical benefits.
Such as…the darker skin helped protect some people from harmful UV rays in high-sun areas. In comparison, lighter skin allowed others to produce vitamin D more efficiently in places with less sunlight (a vital vitamin D synthesis produce skin-pigmentation-Read more
Skin Pigment Discoloration
Likewise, pigment disorders, injuries, and other changes in your body can cause your skin to lighten, be darker, or change in color.
Nevertheless, you might notice changes in your skin tone in multiple areas on the surface of your skin or only in specific patches of skin.
These types of skin pigment discoloration include hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, and depigmentation.
Hyperpigmentation
To this end, hyperpigmentation causes the skin to become darker or different in color due to an abnormally high amount of melanin or other pigments in the skin.
Hyperpigmentation can be caused by:
- Birthmarks
- Age spots
- Acne scars
- Pregnancy (during which melasma or tan, brown, or gray patches can appear on the face)
- Addison’s disease (a rare disorder that causes the decreased function of the adrenal gland and dark patches of skin)
- Certain drugs such as antibiotics and birth control pills
- Sun exposure
- Cryotherapy, laser therapy, or light therapy
Information Sources:
https://www.allure.com
https://www.very wellhealth.com