Skin Pigment

Skin color varies from person to person, and culture to culture. Some people have very dark brown skin and others have very white skin, almost no color at all. We get the color in our skin from a pigment called melanin.

What kind of and how much melanin we have determines how dark are skin will be. It is said that those whose ancestors are from areas with more sunlight typically have darker skin.

Types of Melanin

The type of melanin you have will determine the color of your skin. Those with pheomelanin have red skin and those with eumelanin have dark brown skin. The type of skin you have is determined by your genes.

Dark skin blocks sunlight much better than white skin. Because if this, light skinned people have a much greater risk of developing and dying from skin cancer than dark skinned people with the same amount of sun exposure. This is a great benefit to those with darker skin except that they have a harder time getting vitamin D.

As you can see, the color of your skin can greater influence how you take care of it. For those who have very light skin, especially redheads, you have to be much more careful in the sun. Make sure you wear sunscreen whenever you are outside. It is good to get in the habit wearing a lotion with an SPF of at least 12 or 15 every morning.

Some good products are Obagi-C Rx System – C Exfoliating Day Lotion, SPF 12 available through The SkinStore, Natural Skin Care Products, and Neutrogena Moisture Oil-Free Formula SPF-15 Lotion, Untinted – 4 Oz. available through Both are great moisturizers with the necessary amount of SPF to get you through the day.

Take good care of you skin, and if you have dark skin, make sure you get the necessary amount of vitamin D.

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