Benefits of Melanin in the Skin

Melanin is the pigment in our skin. The more melanin a person has, the darker his skin will be and the better his skin will age.

Natural Protection

Darker pigmented individuals, such as African Americans, show aging later and are less apt to develop wrinkles than Caucasians, because African Americans have far more melanin in their skin. Melanin provides a natural barrier and protection from the sun and reduces the risk of skin cancer, according to yourskinandsun.com.

Moisture

According to Serigo Nacht, PhD., who is the executive vice president of R&D and CSO, Riley-Nacht, LLC, melanin functions as a free radical scavenger, because it affects the lipids that maintain moisture in the outer layer of our skin. Moist skin fares better over time than dry skin.

Eumelanin

In an article written by Dianna Clarke for yourskinandsun.com, she explains that a black person produces melanin, even when he is not in the sun. The particular type of melanin that a black person produces is called eumelanin, which is more effective in protecting the skin from UV rays than the melanin that white skin produces. Furthermore, Caucasians only produce melanin when in the sun, after the UV rays have penetrated the epidermis and caused damage to the skin.

History

A person's skin adapts to the climate in which she originates. Those living near the equator are darker-skinned. Those living in the north, such as Scotland, are fair-skinned and exposed to little sunlight. Because the Scottish have such minimal melanin in their skin, they are unable to block out sunlight, so what sunlight they are exposed to enables them to naturally produce vitamin D, which we need to prevent rickets.

Facts

On the other hand, Africans who moved to northern climates during the Industrial Revolution developed rickets and other issues, included bowed legs, fractures and retarded growth, all outcomes of rickets, because they weren't exposed to adequate sunlight, according to yourskinandsun.com.