What is melanin?
What does it do for your skin?
What is melanin?
What does melanin do?
Your skin colour varies based on factors like blood flow, diet, and melanin, produced by cells called melanocytes. Although the number of melanocytes is similar among people, different levels of melanin production lead to different skin shades.
Melanin shields your skin from the sun, and increased production leads to a tan, helping to protect your body against sunburn.
Types of
melanin
Melanocytes create two visible kinds of melanin which differ in terms of their colour tone and where they appear on your body:
- Eumelanin:This comes in black and brown varieties, contributing to the darker tones in your skin, eyes, and hair. Eumelanin determines your hair colour, with blonde hair resulting from an absence of black eumelanin and only a small amount of brown eumelanin.
- Pheomelanin:Responsible for pigments in pinkish areas like your lips and nipples, pheomelanin is predominant in people with red hair when it’s present in equal amounts with eumelanin.
Different shades of
melanin in the skin
Where is it
produced?
Melanin is made by melanocytes which are found in the basal layer of the epidermis (top layer of the skin) and in hair follicles. They’re also present in different parts of your body, such as:
- Adipose tissue (fat)
- The irises of your eyes
- Specific areas of your brain
- Certain regions of your adrenal glands, found on the top of each kidney
- Your inner ear
How does melanin
protect the skin?
- Defence against UV radiationMelanin, mostly eumelanin, helps protect the cells in the outer skin layer, known as the epidermis, from harmful UV light, including UVC, UVB, UVA, and blue light. This protection is achieved by absorbing UV light, helping to prevent damage to the sensitive DNA of your skin cells. It’s important to remember, though, that this protection isn’t complete, and that sun protection is necessary even if you have darker skin.
- The skin’s natural barrierMelanin also works as a defender against harmful particles called reactive oxygen species (ROS). It acts like an antioxidant, neutralising ROS that are created when UV light damages the skin. Without protective substances like antioxidants, these ROS can cause stress and damage to your cells.
It’s important to note that these protective effects are mainly linked to eumelanin. Pheomelanin, which is found in higher amounts in fair‑skinned people, has a much weaker protective effect and may even generate substances that can react with DNA and cause mutations. So don’t forget to apply your sun cream, even if you already have a tan.
Melanin
Melanin types:
Melanin, derived from the amino acid tyrosine, comes in two main types – eumelanin (dark brown) and pheomelanin (red or yellow tint).
Skin defence mechanism:
Melanin acts as a natural defence, absorbing UV light and helping to prevent damage to the skin’s DNA, protecting against UVC, UVB, UVA, and blue light.
Consequences of melanin deficiency:
Insufficient melanin is linked to skin disorders (vitiligo, albinism, melasma), an increased risk of vision loss, sun damage, and hearing issues in the inner ear.
Balance melanin levels:
Ways to help balance melanin levels include using adapted sun creams, addressing hyperpigmentation with skincare products, maintaining a balanced diet rich in antioxidants and vitamins A, C and E, and avoiding unsafe practices like tanning beds.
Consequences of
melanin deficiency
- Vitiligo:This condition leads to a loss of skin colour, resulting in white patches. It happens when the immune system destroys melanocytes. While vitiligo can affect anyone, it’s usually more noticeable in people with darker skin.
- Albinism:A rare condition characterised by very little melanin, causing pale skin, white hair, and blue eyes. People with albinism also face an increased risk of vision loss and sun damage.
- Pigment loss after skin damage:In cases of skin infections, burns, or blisters, your body may struggle to replace melanin in the damaged area.
- Hearing loss:A deficiency of melanin in part of the inner ear is linked to hearing loss. People with insufficient melanin have a higher risk of hearing problems.
How to reduce
excess melanin
There are various treatment options for hyperpigmentation. For example, applying sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher every day can reduce the impact of UV light on the skin and help to prevent new spots from appearing.
If you’re experiencing high levels of excess melanin, or if you’re in any doubt about the nature of your spots (irregular spots, raised spots that change colour), it’s recommended that you speak to your healthcare professional. They’ll be able to check that it isn’t a more serious condition and may recommend specialised topical treatments or specific procedures.
Balancing
melanin levels
A 5‑step skincare routine to help balance excess melanin in the top layers of your skin:
If you’re concerned about melanin excesses, such as hyperpigmentation or an uneven skin tone, it’s important to tailor your skincare routine accordingly.
Start by cleansing your skin with a gentle cleanser suited to your skin type to effectively remove dirt, oil, and impurities.
This sets the scene for targeted exfoliation, which is crucial for addressing dark spots and an uneven skin tone. When you incorporate an exfoliant, it helps to shed dead skin cells, promote cell turnover, and can gradually diminish the appearance of dark spots.
Follow up with a hydrating serum such as the NIVEA Cellular Luminous630 Anti Dark‑Spot Face Treatment Serum, enriched with hyaluronic acid and the patented Luminous ingredient, which acts by balancing existing pigmentation to fade spots and help prevent their appearance.
Make sure you apply a moisturiser such as the NIVEA Cellular Luminous630 Anti Dark‑Spot Day Fluid SPF50, which acts at cell level to fade dark spots and help prevent their appearance while protecting your skin from sun‑induced photoageing, for a mattified finish.
For your evening routine, apply the NIVEA Cellular Luminous630 Anti Dark‑Spot Even Tone Night Cream, formulated with hyaluronic acid and the patented Thiamidol ingredient to strengthen your skin at night, while reducing the look of dark spots and hyperpigmentation, with visible results from 4 weeks*.
Warning: don’t use products containing Thiamidol more than 4 times a day.
*Product use test, 80 women, 5 weeks
Applying eye cream can help reduce the appearance of dark circles, puffiness, and fine lines around your eyes. It provides hydration to delicate skin, improves skin texture, and helps to maintain a youthful, radiant look.
The NIVEA Luminous630 Dark Spot Solution Anti Dark‑Circles Eye Cream is formulated with the patented Thiamidol ingredient to help balance the look of pigmentation irregularities and visibly reduce dark circles around your eyes.
It’s important to reapply SPF protection frequently throughout the day to help preserve your skin’s health and radiance.
The NIVEA UV Shine Control SPF50 protects your skin immediately against sun exposure and other UV‑induced facial skin damage, with an instant and long‑lasting mattifying effect.
Sometimes stretch marks may also show excess melanin. If you’re noticing stretch marks on your body, the NIVEA Luminous range offers the NIVEA Anti Stretch Marks Body Serum to help even out your skin tone, with the first visible results in 2 weeks*.
If you prefer a creamier texture, you could use the NIVEA Anti Marks & Spots Body cream instead, providing 48 hours of moisture and reducing the visibility of marks in 4 weeks***.
One application per day on the targeted area is sufficient. Use only one product containing Thiamidol on your body per day.
*Consumer test, 89 participants
**Instrumental test, 33 subjects
***Consumer test, 87 participants
It’s also important to pick the right sunscreen for your skin. The NIVEA Protect & Bronze range helps make sure you’re using a sunscreen that provides effective protection against UV rays, with no greasy effect. The products are formulated with tan‑activating oils and pro‑melanin extracts for a beautiful, even tan.
Is it possible to boost or reduce melanin
for a healthy complexion?
Antioxidants seem promising in helping to protect your skin from free radicals, which can be generated following UV exposure. Some micronutrients, as well as flavonoids or polyphenols found in plants, work as powerful antioxidants that can be useful to help protect your skin from external influences. Micronutrients could also influence melanin production – some of them might boost melanin, while others could help reduce it.
To get more antioxidants, try eating foods like dark leafy greens, dark berries, dark chocolate, and colourful vegetables. Taking vitamin and mineral supplements might also be helpful.
On the other hand, in cases of hyperpigmentation, some research has shown that vitamin E applied to the skin can reduce melanin production.
To boost your vitamin E intake, you can either take supplements or include more vitamin E‑rich foods in your diet, such as vegetables, grains, seeds, and nuts.
Similar to vitamins A and E, vitamin C acts as an antioxidant. It’s essential for maintaining healthy mucous membranes and might have some influence on melanin production and skin protection.
Including vitamin C‑rich foods in your diet, such as citrus, berries, and leafy green vegetables, has beneficial effects on your skin. Applied to your skin, it can also help lighten dark spots by slowing down the activity of an enzyme called tyrosinase. People often use it in skincare to reduce dark spots and even for treating dark spots on the gums.
It’s recommended that you speak to your health practitioner before adding any supplements to your daily diet.
How to get tanned without
increasing melanin?
Although it’s not safe to increase your melanin production by using tanning beds, you can make your skin look more tanned without exposing yourself to harmful UV rays by using self‑tan products. Sunless tanners don’t increase the melanin in your skin or provide any UV protection, but they leave a pigmented effect on the surface.
This pigment is called melanoidin, which can last a few days and then fades as your skin produces new cells.
If you want to conceal brown spots on your face caused by the sun while getting a more even tinted effect, you might also like to use the NIVEA Cellular630 Anti Dark‑Spot Tinted Fluid SPF 20, which works in two ways – naturally covering imperfections while reducing dark spots with visible results in 4 weeks*.
*Clinical evaluation, 48 women, 12 weeks
SUMMARY
That’s why tailoring a skincare routine through cleansing, targeted serums and moisturisers with sun protection is so important.
Additionally, incorporating antioxidants and vitamins A, C and E into your diet supports your skin’s function and its protection. You’ll also want to avoid harmful practices like tanning beds. Instead, you can use self‑tanning products to achieve a radiant complexion without exposing your skin to UV rays.
