My Skin Pigmentation Is Affecting The Human Body

To begin my skin pigmentation is based on melanin synthesis. The more melanin synthesized, the darker the skin. Having any melanin in keratinocytes helps protect both my epidermis and the dermis layers of skin. Where my skin is naturally darker this happens in my stratum granulosum layer. By being in the sun my skin was exposed to UV radiation. The melanocytes react to the UV radiation by increasing their activity and increasing the amount of melanin in the keratinocytes. Too much UV radiation can damage the core of my cells -the DNA, however just a bit has helped as my epidermis created calcium ions. Calcium ions help with homeostasis. The UV radiation also helped to keratinize and protect my skin. My new tan is both a good and bad thing.

This is not a good thing because I am extremely fair skinned and do not have enough melanocytes to

In scientific terms this would be the melanin in your skin that's reacting. The amount of melanin produced varies among people but overall everyone has the same number of melanocytes within their skin. The good thing about getting sun is that you're receiving Vitamin D from the sun rays. This helps maintain muscles and bones, which is obviously very important. Also, there's a limit of protection that melanin can provide and that limit is higher in people with darker skin. The problem with someone's skin "getting darker" is there can be some damage that is being done. Some of the damaging effects of UV radiation is it can damage you're DNA, it can promote burns, and most commonly it promotes skin cancer. There are pros and cons about your skin getting darker, but I'd say it's safe to say wearing sunblock is always a good thing.

My skin is darker because the melanocytes in the basale layer of epidermis are producing melanin to try to protect me from the harmful UV rays of the sun. This is the good