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This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 28 January 2025. "Skin pigmentation" redirects here. For animal skin pigmentation, see Biological pigment. Extended Coloured family from South Africa showing some spectrum of human skin coloration Human skin color ranges from the darkest brown to the lightest hues. Differences in skin color among ...
The first modern humans had darker skin as the indigenous people of Africa today. Following migration and settlement in Asia and Europe, the selective pressure dark UV-radiation protecting skin decreased where radiation from the sun was less intense. This resulted in the current range of human skin color.
A woman with dark skin. Dark skin is a type of human skin color that is rich in melanin pigments. [1] [2] [3] People with dark skin are often referred to as black people, [4] although this usage can be ambiguous in some countries where it is also used to specifically refer to different ethnic groups or populations. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Dietary changes, however, do not affect the amount of melanin—the substance responsible for skin color—in a person’s skin, so a higher intake of carotenoids will not lighten the skin.
Tyrosine in the skin is converted into melanin, which is the pigment that darkens skin by way of an enzyme called tyrosinase. Vitamin C inhibits that enzyme so less melanin is made so the skin ...
Melanin is the primary determinant of the degree of skin pigmentation and protects the body from harmful ultraviolet radiation. The same ultraviolet radiation is essential for the synthesis of vitamin D in skin, so lighter colored skin – less melanin – is an adaptation related to the prehistoric movement of humans away from equatorial ...
Because individuals with albinism have skin that entirely lacks the dark pigment melanin, which helps protect the skin from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, their skin can burn more easily from overexposure. [8] The human eye normally produces enough pigment to color the iris blue, green or brown and lend
Melanin is a dark pigment primarily responsible for skin color. Once synthesized, melanin is contained in special organelles called melanosomes which can be transported to nearby keratinocytes to induce pigmentation. Thus darker skin tones have more melanosomes present than lighter skin tones.