Melanin

Question: How to reduce melanin and get rid of skin tan? I am 23. male....i was light oliveskinned till age 8..Afterwards due to spending too much time in the sun,,,it has turned very dark.......How can I get rid of/reduce the melanin in my skin to get back my natural light skin?...I am using sunscreen/staying away from the sun as much as possible....Any other suggestions for quick results plz?..Thanks

Answer: If you want dramatic results overnight, you would have to opt for surgical procedures and look like Michael Jackson. Else, here's what you can do. Avoid sun exposure and start using sunscreen every time you have to expose yourself to the sun. Meanwhile, try some natural remedies like almond packs and lemon juice. While almond distributes melanin concentration between the layers of the skin (tanning brings all the melanin to the top layer), lemon juice acts as a natural bleach. This page contains the recipes you'd need. http://yoursideoflife.blogspot.com/2008/07/removing-tan-for-lighter-skin.html Do not use skin lightening creams. They contain chemical bleaches that have cancerous ingredients.

Question: What is the health disadvantage to having extra melanin in your body? For my biology class we get bonus points if we find out what the HEALTH disadvantage to having extra melanin (eumelanin) in the body is. I've searched everywhere and cannot find the answer. The only information I did find is cosmetological reasons for complications with laser surgery. But I need the health reason. Any help will be greatly greatly appreciated. -Thankyou, Ava P.S. I need the major reason why it is a disadvantage.

Answer: As a component in the skin it protects against uv damage leading to skin cancer and also premature aging of the skin, this should be listed in the physiology text, check the index.

Question: How do I get rid of the moles or melanin stains on my skin? Hello, Could anybody suggest me any of the teatment options for removing of the moles. Recently, I've got a sun burn and afterwards a lot of moles (melanin stains) appeared on my skin.It's kind of embarrasing for me. Thank you.

Answer: Go to your doctor EMMEDIATLY These can be melanoma!!! If you just want to remove them, go to a dermatoligist and ask for them to surgicly remove the moles, easy as that!!

Question: How do I get rid of the moles or melanin stains on the skin? Hello, Could anybody suggest me any of the teatment options for removing of the moles. Recently, I've got a sun burn and afterwards a lot of moles (melanin stains) appeared on my skin.It's kind of embarrasing for me. Thank you.

Answer: Only a dermatologist or licensed doctor can remove moles for you. It is a relatively easy and painless procedure. If you are experiencing changes in your skin after a sun burn you need to get to the dermatologist right away. Skin cancer is no joke. You want to be able to rule it out or start treatment as soon as possible.

Question: How do to know which self tanners boost your melanin production and which dye your skin? I want to purchase a self tanning cream, and I want one that works like the sun, boosting your melanin production, which gives you a more natural and longer-lasting tanned look. I don't want one that contains dyes.

Answer: When youre born, you produce a set amount of melanin. Unless you have a vitiligo, I dont think anything can change it.

Question: How can i decrease melanin production without buying anything on the internet? I want to know, if there are foods, or certain vitamins, that I can buy at a regular store that decrease melanin production.

Answer: If u like to eat much of beans like soybeans, garbazo, seeds and cashew this might increase your melanin production in your body, there may be some reasons why u may have overproduction of melanin in your body, u just need to regulate them as they are essential also important for the production of the thyroid hormone called thyroxine and is necessary for the synthesis of phospholipids found in myelin sheaths that cover and protect nerves. Your doctor may give you more information on what you should and you should not eat. Good Luck!!!

Question: How to reduce pigmentation or melanin from face naturally? Hai, I have pigmentation and more melanin on my face... Even after taking skin treatment ther is no changes... can anyone give tips how to reduce naturally?

Answer: If possible stay indoors during daytime Wear a wide brimmed hat or cover your face when you go out in the sun Wear wide brimmed sunglasses when you go out in the sun Also apply some sunscreen lotion before you go out during daytime

Question: Is it possible to take melanin supplements that help you tan? I'm pretty pale, and since I have light blue eyes and am very Irish (though I don't freckle very well) I don't have a lot of pigment in my skin. Is there any way that you can take some medicine that would cause your body to produce more melanin pigments, or receive melanin pigments from the medicine? Oh by the way, I don't really care if the medicine works or if it's IN the works. I just want to know if some scientist has thought about it. Thanks!

Answer: If you find something please let me know! I am pretty much the same as you but with light green eyes.

Question: If melanin production is decreased in hair will it fade to blonde or go gray? I am figuring that blonde hair has a much lower melanin content than brown or black, but if that is so then why is graying caused by a natural drop in melanin due to age? It seems like it would go blonde! What am I missing here?

Answer: you are almost right .... melanin is the primary determinant of skin color. It is also found in hair but it is the pheomelanin and eumelanin that mainly decides hair color A small amount of black eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes grey hair. A small amount of brown eumelanin in the absence of other pigments causes yellow (blond) color hair

Question: Is the melanin produced in or skin permanently there? As in, under sun, melanin is produced right? That makes us darker. Does the melanin stay forever (without any use of cosmetics I mean)? Does that mean without cosmetics we can only get darker, never lighter?

Answer: The amount of melanin in your skin is what determines your skin color: whether you're very fair, very medium or very dark, depending on your genetic racial heritage. It's also what provides you protection from ultra violet rays, which is why people darken or "tan." Or freckles, if the melanin isn't distributed evenly in skin. The melanin is always there, but the tan will fade when you stop being out in the sun so much, like in winter time, and your skin will lighten back to it's original color. It doesn't stay dark. You can also use bleaching creams, like Pocelana to artificially fade freckles & tan on the face more quickly, but you have to wear sunscreen and avoid sun to keep the effect. You can always get lighter, just by staying out of the sun, but only as far as your genetics allow.

Question: Is tanning an increase of melanin, or is it the skin burning? I always assumed it was an increase of melanin because the skin is adjusting to the climate. Is it true?

Answer: no that is not true. Climate is nothing but the temperature and humidity in the air which does not have anything at all to do with UV rays and sunlight and tanning. When you tan, you are increasing you blood circulation and making "melanin" which has a pink pigmentation. The melanin is then "oxidized" which turns that pink pigmentation into a golden brown. Each individual tans a different shade of brown depending on your own pigments in your skin. When you BURN it is because you got TOO much UV TOO fast and the pink could not oxidize itself therefore you stuck with the pink.. a sun burn! and for most...once you have that for a few days to a week it oxidizes over time and turns to a tan. :)

Question: Best ways to inhibit melanin production? I already avoid the sun and use SPF 50 when going out. But I want to whiten my skin as much as possible, so lowering the amount of melanin in my body would be great! Any tips or anything?

Answer: You might have to resort to bleaching the skin. There might be a way to do it by asking a dermatologist but most likely they will not advise it. The melanin in your skin protects you from the sun. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Bleach-Your-Skin-Safely---Top-3-Skin-Whitening-Techniques-Revealed!&id=2510775 http://www.lookbeauty.com/SkinCare/SkinBleach/BeautyTips.aspx?m=25&mm=89.htm

Question: What are the characteristics and functions of Melanin, Carotene, and Hemoglobin? What are the characteristics and functions of the three skin pigmentation's of Melanin, Carotene, and Hemoglobin? This is for Anatomy I.

Answer: Melanin is a brown pigment found in skin. The amount and location of melanin determines a person's skin color. Hemoglobin is a red pigment that carries oxygen in red blood cells. Carotene is an orange pigment. It is converted to retinoic acid (vitamin A). Vitamin A has many functions.

Question: Can humans and other animals using pigments such as melanin be considered photosynthetic? With Vitamin D and melanin in humans, conversion of light energy into chemical energy takes place, right? Similar processes must occur in other animals. So, photosynthesis?

Answer: Yes it is photosynthesis. Photosynthesis of vitamin D in the skin is how it is referred to in all journal articles. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=3030826&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google http://www.photobiology.com/reviews/previtamin/index.html "The skin has been recognized as the site for the sun-mediated photosynthesis of vitamin D3 until recently, however, very little was known about either the sequence of events leading to the formation of vitamin D3 in human skin or the factors that regulate the synthesis of this hormone." http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v77/n1/abs/5615643a.html Melanin reaction is an energy synthesis in fungi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus Dr Dadachova of Albert Einstein College of Medicine says "It's pure speculation but not outside the realm of possibility that melanin could be providing energy to skin cells..." http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/radiation-loving_shrooms.php Photoelectrochemical properties of melanin "Melanin is to the animal kingdom like chlorophyll to the vegetal kingdom. Melanin collects energy from lower-energy radiation sources, kicks electrons into excited states, initiating a process that would end up producing chemical energy, similar to the way in which photosynthesis supplies energy to plants. However, the precise roles of melanin during this process are unknown. Here we show that the increase in the electron-transfer properties of melanin is independent of the energy of the incident photons. We found in controlled in vivo assays that melanin has the remarkable capability of converting lower-energy radiation towards a more useful form of energy." Quoted from Dr Arturo Solis-Herrera's prepublication document. Artificial photosynthesis is studying melanin as a basis for structure-function-relationships in photoconductivety. http://books.google.com/books?id=-3ZJb4ft4G0C&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=photosynthesis+melanin&source=web&ots=SC2dXEAG9Y&sig=HhcuU46-IrSJN9XOCplhesCRKNs#PPA57,M1 Photobiology & photochemistry is a research field looking at the interactions of light and organisms. This can cover more than synthesis as bioluminescence, photoperiodism, photomorphology, and vision also come under this field. American Society for Photobiology http://www.pol-us.net/ASP_Home/index.html http://www.pol-us.net/ http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0031-8655

Question: Is their any way to get rid of some melanin from your eyes, to be spcific the iris? I have brown eyes and I would really like them to be green. I've heard being exposed the sun makes you produce more melanin, and i live where its really sunny, so i try staying out of the sun and wear shades all the time. Really want to change my eye color!

Answer: No, it is genetic. You could get green contacts, but get them from the optometrist !

Question: Can removing body hair reduce melanin in your skin? can it happen? is it possible? AND,, are you more likely to get a tan with no body hair or can having some hair increase melanin production somehow?

Answer: Body hair has nothing to do with melanin production. Shaving would actually just expose your skin to even more UV damage, since you are removing skin cells when you shave.

Question: Do darker people have more melanin than lighter skinned people? I always thought this was the case, but now my pharmacology teacher is saying otherwise. She's says that we have the same amount of melanin, but the melanin in lighter skinned people is closer to their cells so it is not as visible. And the melanin in darker skinned people is spread out, and that is why they appear darker in colour. So what is the truth?

Answer: Yeah she's right. The fact that the melanin is closer to the surface on the cells (melanocytes) makes it more susceptible to genetic mutation so they are more likely to develop melanoma (skin cancer)

Question: How do you increase your skins melanin production with a major darker skin impact? I am naturally brown, but since I have moved location to a place that doesnt have a reputation for keeping the skin sun tanned, my skin is starting to show signs of paleness. Is there a way to restore my dark skin with using household items or certain foods that I eat? Im looking for a major improvement and increase in melanin production without buying cosmetics.

Answer: As far as I know, the only way to stimulate a tan is with UV light.

Question: How do you increase melanin production in the body? What foods increase melanin production in the body.

Answer: The amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine are the main melanin precursors. Deficiencies of phenylalanine or tyrosine can slow the synthesis of melanin. Only phenylalanine is essential and must be eaten.Tyrosine can be made in the liver from phenylalanine. http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/proteins_tyrosine.html http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/proteins_phenylalanine.html http://increasemelanin.blogspot.com/2007/12/foods-to-encourage-melanin-production.html Foods rich in tyrosine or phenylalanine http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/nutritioncontentsorted.php?nutid=509 http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/nutritioncontentsorted.php?nutid=508

Question: Do melanocytes inject melanin into the skin, or do they keep it within their cell membrane? I can't seem to find out if the melanin gets injected into other cells, in between the other cells, or if melanocytes are the only place where melanin is found in the body.

Answer: melanocytes are found within the epidermis and they produce melanin which stays in the skin